We chatted to the superintendent at The Grange Golf Club in the lead up to LIV Golf, about what it took to prepare the course for the event.
LIV Golf is gracing Adelaide from 21 to 23 April, hosted as The Grange Golf Club for its inaugural Australian event.
But what exactly does it take to get the course looking so schmick?
We chat with Rowan Daymond, Superintendent of The Grange Golf Club, who shares the work that’s gone into preparing for LIV Golf.
How long have you been with Grange, and what do you do as superintendent of the club?
I’ve been in the role for five years. My main role is to manage our staff and volunteers.
What do you think about LIV Golf being in Adelaide?
It’s exciting. Not just for Grange but for Adelaide and golfing in Australia. It’s been great, bringing many younger people and fresh ideas to golf.
What does it take to get the course ready for an event of this scale?
It takes a lot of time and planning, and it’s been a good experience.
A lot of work goes into the out-of-play areas, like the vegetation areas. We’ve also got a lot of young workers at the moment who have a limited amount of tournament experience, so we’ve been upskilling them quickly and ensuring they knew how important it was to ensure no little mistakes were made. I think we’ve done it quite well.
On a normal week, we have 32 staff, but we’re up to about 60 for the event.
The preparation involves changing holes, cutting greens, rolling, and raking bunkers. We’ve got two mechanics, two people in the conservation land management area who deal with everything that’s not turf, a lot of spraying and irrigation work, and overseeing all the quality control.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO THE END TO SEE WHAT IT TAKES:
How long has it taken to prepare for LIV Golf?
It’s been a five-month lead-in for this event.
From an environmental perspective, what’s important?
Significant vegetation is a real focus for us, even without an event. As I mentioned, we have two conservation land managers who put a lot of time and effort into our vegetation. Managing the event here and contractors on site has been really important. People may not know, but we have quite a few species on site that are significant and rare in South Australia, like a little colony of orchids that are the only ones in the Adelaide Plains.
We’re surrounded by significant vegetation here.
What are you most looking forward to with the golf?
I’m not looking forward to it being finished because it is such a long lead-in, and it’s so good to have it here – it’s good for our staff and the club, and once an event is over, you go through a real lull. Seeing that caliber of golfers around and the excitement on other people’s faces is a highlight, as well as when they see the course and the condition it’s in. It’s also great to hear the comments from the golfers. The members here have been talking about how good it’s been for the last month or two, and that’s the best part about it for me.
But really, seeing Cam Smith tear this place apart will be great fun.
