Editor’s Note: Nick Sage from Bloomington, MN, graduated from the UNL PGA Golf Management Program in December 2013. He is now the Assistant Golf Professional at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, MN, site of the 2016 Ryder Cup matches. We thought it would be fun to follow Nick through the year as Hazeltine prepares to host this prestigious international event. Below is his second installment.
Ryder Cup fever at Hazeltine National is in full swing! Before we know it, the Ryder Cup will be here and gone and on to Paris in 2018.
The golf course has been re-routed for the Ryder Cup and the Hazeltine membership has decided to play that routing the entire year. The front nine holes will be holes 1-4, 14-18, and the back nine holes will be 10-13, 5-9. Construction on the pavilions, tents, grandstands, and anything else needing to be built began on June 1st and will continue all the way into September. Several temporary access roads have been built inside the property for the numerous trucks and semis to deliver the materials and for the construction workers to get around without interrupting play of the members.
June and July are the busiest months for me and the other Professionals at Hazeltine. Our entire member event season is condensed into those two months. Typically, we would have several events in August, but in order to accommodate the demands of the world’s biggest golf event, they were moved into the front end of the season. Starting August 1, turf mats will be provided to all players, and they will be instructed to use them in the fairway and on the par-three tee boxes. This practice will result in the golf course looking like no one has ever hit a shot on it come the week of the Ryder Cup (Sep. 27-Oct. 2).
My primary responsibilities leading up to the Ryder Cup will be nothing out of the normal: taking care of the members, managing events and corporate outings, assisting the Ryder Cup staff with anything they need, merchandising, and any general golf-related services that need to be taken care of. The Ryder Cup will be gone before we know it. We are all trying to enjoy the ride as the biggest golf event in the world rolls into our backyard. It is a once-in-a-lifetime event for Hazeltine – as well as for me – to be a part of one of the most anticipated Ryder Cup matches in all of golf.
Stay tuned for a post Ryder Cup newsletter article!
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/gtxo