Despite Harsh Winter, Orchards Golf Club On Schedule

By David Shefter, USGA

South Hadley, Mass. - Dealing with harsh winters is nothing new for golf courses located in the northeast part of the United States. And The Orchards Golf Club, site of the 2004 U.S. Women's Open July 1-4, was not immune to the quirky weather that affected the area this past March.

The Donald Ross-designed course, located on the campus of Mount Holyoke College, suffered some turf damage from a familiar process known as crown hydration. It's the same kind of harm that the 2001 U.S. Senior Open site, Salem (Mass.) Country Club, endured during the 2000-01 winter season. Salem recovered fine and the championship went on without any maintenance problems.

Matt Manzi, the superintendent at The Orchards, said the damage at his course was far less severe than Salem received three years ago. But as a precautionary measure, six temporary greens were established when the club opened this spring to allow for the damaged putting surfaces to recover. Four of the six have bounced back fully and are in operation, while the greens at holes three and eight are just about back to normal. Manzi said temporary greens are still in use on those holes as a precaution.

"We had a thaw and the water cooled and then froze," said Manzi. "It kind of sucked all the water out of the cells and the plant. It's something that I'm used to, but I had never seen it this severe.

"We've have site visits (by USGA officials) and everybody has been pretty impressed with the recovery. It's moving along faster than I think."

Since the fall, nine new tee boxes were constructed and four spruce trees were uprooted behind the 16th tee to allow for better turf growth. Manzi and his staff just finished re-sodding the tee and things look fine.

As for the rough and green speeds, Manzi added that he hopes to grow the rough to at least four inches and then adjust accordingly.

"(USGA championship agronomist) Tim (Moraghan) will make that decision," said Manzi, who took the job at The Orchards just six months ago. "We want to make it fair to (the competitors). It will probably fall between three and three and a half (inches).

"It is hard to say (how fast the greens will be). They are pretty undulating and subtle, so it's hard to gauge what speed we want. We'll probably set them around 10.5 (on the Stimpmeter) and adjust accordingly."

With the Women's Open now just six weeks away, Manzi is starting to feel the anxiety that any person in charge of course maintenance would get prior to a national championship.

"It starts to creep on you," said Manzi. "Things are really picking up here. The tents went up this week. It's all starting to set in."