Eagle Point superintendent, staff prep for Wells Fargo

The fairways are brilliant green, the bunkers are sparkling white, the straw in the pines is a deep auburn hue. The greens are healthy and pure.

Excellent weather conditions since late fall have helped Eagle Point Golf Club superintendent Craig Walsh and his staff put the course in pristine condition in advance of next month’s Wells Fargo Championship. Tweaks made in recent weeks point toward the singular goal of making the course peak during the first week in May.

“Starting the first week of March we increased mowing frequency, started adjusting the height of cuts, started adjusting mow lines on the fairways for better definition” Walsh said.

PGA Tour agronomist Chuck Green visited once each month since the first of the year, offering his advice on what the Tour expects. Walsh and his staff have met those intentions. They’ve discussed speed of greens (depends on weather conditions) and rough heights (around two inches). Rainfall here or there always helps. The most important piece of unrevealed information is the 7-10 day advance weather forecast.

“Our main goal is for all the golfers to enjoy the golf course and have a great time,” said Walsh, a Mississippi State alum. “With the condition of the golf course right now we can adjust to which weather pattern we see coming. Obviously we don’t want to have our greens at a high speed if the wind is going to blow a lot. That will be a main focus of our ours going into the tournament week. The conditions will be similar to what they’re used to out on Tour.”

Eagle Point overseeded its bermuda fairways with rye grass last fall. Bermuda is a warm weather grass that goes dormant (turns brown) in the late fall and winter. Rye thrives in cold weather, however. Augusta National overseeds with rye to create strong turf that radiates on a high-definition screen.

Eagle Point president Bobby Long told media members last month that the club used Augusta National as a model for creating an aesthetically pleasing course. Long is also a member at Augusta National and Eagle Point hired its former superintendent Marsh Benson as a consultant to refine the course over the last two years.

Walsh and his 36-man staff executed the vision to perfection.

Walsh’s staff will triple during tournament week as 75 golf course maintenance workers from around the nation travel to Wilmington to volunteer for a schedule of (very) early mornings and seven days of mowing, blowing and grooming.

They are trained professionals from some of the finest clubs in the nation, such as Los Angeles Country Club, Baltimore CC, Oakmont and Merion. The Country Club of Landfall is also sending some of its staff to Eagle Point for the week. Many have worked on golf courses during major golf tournaments before.

After orientation at the course on Sunday, April 30th, they’ll be in for long days that start at 3:30 a.m., have them on the golf course by 5 a.m., allow for a break during the day, weather permitting, and winds down around 9 each evening.

During the round, there will be six golf course maintenance response teams scattered around the course, operating vehicles stocked with first aid kits, replacement cups, snake grabbers, etc. to address an array of issues.

Inclement weather would create the need for additional volunteers from local courses. The club also has several companies, such as a tree service, on call for the week, to address any emergency measures.

It’s a familiar routine for Walsh, who arrived at Eagle Point three years ago after stints at Haig Point on Dafuskie Island, South Carolina and the Golf Club of Georgia, which hosted several professional tournaments.

So how does it feel to maintain every blade of grass on roughly 200 acres, knowing the golf world and curious observers will see only the final product, which was created by hundreds of hours of planning and labor?

“Just the pressure of not letting the great membership here at Eagle Point down, and putting on a good show for Wilmington,” Walsh said. “The pressure has been making sure we peak at the right time. The extra layer has been the added improvements that we’ve done and making sure they come out at the right time.”