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June 18, 2010

Be Sure to Visit the Official Site of the U.S. Open Championship
by USGA Green Section Staff
The 2010 U.S. Open is well underway and many of us have staked out our spot in front of our televisions to watch the best players in the world compete on one of the worlds best courses - the Pebble Beach Golf Links. But as comfortable as that easy chair may be you really must move to the computer or fire up your mobile device long enough to check out USOpen.com. Of course you can find scores and stats but there is much, much more to enhance your Open experience. And for those that are intested in how the course is prepared, there are numerous videos and articles to give you an inside look at this aspect of championship golf.
 
 
A National Championship Takes a Team Effort
By the USGA

Pebble Beach, Calif. - An international field is gathered for the 110th U.S. Open Championship - and not just the 156 contestants vying for the title. To help get the Pebble Beach Golf Links in top shape and keep

Meeting time: The maintenance crew receives their early morning instructions. (Kimberly Erusha/USGA)

Type caption text here.
Maintenance staff at Pebble Beach
it that way, volunteers have traveled to the Monterey Peninsula to lend a hand. In addition, an Asian contingent of golf course superintendents is on site to learn the latest techniques to help them keep their courses up to the best standards possible.

 
Want Your Course to Look Like What You See On Television?
by the USGA Green Section Staff
After every televised golf tournament, the Green Section staff agronomists are asked by golfers why their course can't be more like what the pros play. This short animation will help explain why very few courses can achieve such a goal on a consistent basis.
 
 
 
Report From The 2010 U.S. Open
by Stanley J. Zontek, director, Mid-Atlantic Region 

Why would a USGA Green Section Mid-Atlantic agronomist be reporting from Pebble Beach Golf Links, site of the 2010 U.S. Open Championship, this week? With the 2011 U.S. Open Championship scheduled for Congressional Country Club, the agronomist in charge of that championship works the prior year's event to help with continuity. This helps in the learning curve for all of the necessary details that go into preparing the golf course for the national championship.

Image 1
PB crew  
Image 1 - Everything takes a great deal of maintenance in terms of planning and execution for what the viewers see on television and what the contestants experience as they play the course. It doesn't just happen by itself; it takes volunteers, and lots of them.
 
Image 2 - It is the combination of the on-site superintendents, assistants, mechanics, and grounds crew from the existing staff, along with all of the volunteers who ultimately produce the quality turf on which this major championship is played. Without their hard
Image 2
Hand watering
work, dedication and experience of these individuals none of the USGA championships would be as successful. While most of these individuals will never appear on television, their good works will. With the U.S. Open just around the corner (June 17-20) the Pebble Beach Golf Links is a very busy place. To get an idea of what goes into preparing a site for a major championship sit back and listen to this 20 minute recorded webcast delivered by Pat Gross of the USGA Green Section.
 
As the Worm Turns
by Bob Vavrek, senior agronomist, North-Central Region
Golfers throughout the upper Midwest have noticed a considerable amount of earthworm activity on fairways and approaches during the past few weeks of rainy weather. Worms are beneficial organisms that Worms on greenfeed on various forms of soil organic matter, such as partially decomposed leaf litter. Soil-plus-organic-matter goes into one end of a worm and then soil-minus-some-of-the-organic-matter comes out the other end. They mostly feed at night, and the small dollops of worm waste, called castings, are deposited on the playing surface over the burrow
 
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The USGA Green Section Portal
A Valuable Resource For All, And It's Free 
 
Be sure to take a minute to visit the Green Section's portal at http://gsportal.usga.org. There you will find information regarding upcoming live webcasts and links to recordings of more than 30 previously delivered webcasts, as well as announcements regarding upcoming USGA Green Section activities, education conferences, and meetings.
 

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