The week of The Maxwell is always a busy time for the guys at Dornick Hills Country Club. After all, they’re the ones putting it on, and there is a lot of work to be done to get the course prepared.
But the workload doubled this year, because just a few days before Ardmore’s annual men’s college golf tournament was played, Dornick Hills was the host site for the Class 5A boys state tournament.
But it was no problem. Although there was more time in between, the staff had an idea of what it would be like after it hosted the Class 3A girls state tournament a year ago, which wrapped up eight days prior to the Maxwell.
“We had been planning the high school tournament for 2 1/2 years, and we had hoped that we were going to be able to host for this year,” Dornick Hills golf pro Steve Ramsey said. “Having the 5A state championship is very important to us, so our planning over a span that consisted of quite a length of time helped us get prepared for it. We were able to have enough carts for both events.”
Of course, the most important aspect is the golf course, and that kept the grounds crew busy, especially with rain delays on both days of the state tournament.
“It has been really busy this week,” groundskeeping supervisor Johnny White said. “With the 5A championship going on, we weren’t able to do much on Monday and Tuesday. Then, we really had to pick up some extra time to work night and day Wednesday and Thursday to get the course ready for The Maxwell, which started Friday. So, we were really busy through the week, doing everything we can to get it in the best condition for these guys to play.”
With a lot of action from both events, plenty of divot damage can occur from bad swings. But, the grass basically heals itself in most areas, White said.
“On the tee box, we’ll go in and top dress them, and smooth them up,” he said. “At this time of the year, the grass is growing pretty good, so it doesn’t do a whole lot of damage. On the fairways, we fill the divots with sand, and they’ll heal themselves back up. As far as greens go, we’re trying to keep them hard and firm, so we don’t get large ball marks. It’s not a real problem tournament-wise, but there are a lot of (divots) because there is a large number of play going on. But most of all, it takes care of itself.”
There was lots of concern Tuesday morning when rain came pouring down. Golfers competing in the high school event had to wait and see if they would be able to start the final round during a two-hour delay.
“(Rain) is an advantage for the grass,” White said. “But it is harder on us because the rain came down at a real hard pace. Anytime it comes down 3/4 of an inch in less than an hour, it washes the bunkers, and we have to go back in and shovel those back up. Some of them don’t drain quick enough. The rain stopped at 9:30 a.m., and we needed to start playing at 10. We had to go out and physically pick a bunch of pumps, go to the bunkers and pump water out so the players could have a clean place to hit out of the bunkers if their ball lands there, instead of being penalized for not being able to see the ball in the water.”
But things worked out, and the young athletes got in their final round, which led to the local favorite, the Ardmore Tigers getting crowned state champions.
“Early May is always the beginning of our peak time,” Ramsey said. “Sometimes, if the weather doesn’t cooperate, it affects us a little it in what we do. It was a little cool this year for The Maxwell, and we were a little nervous about it. But the course came together nicely, and it held up for the golf event.”
“The high school event came out great. We had the bad weather day on the second day, and that was our only worry — if would we be able to get it in. We were able to and everyone enjoyed it. Steve Ross, the Ardmore coach was part of the tournament committee, and he really put in a lot of effort. He had dinner for the players on Sunday night, and got lunches provided for them. The community provided donations for that. If it wasn’t for them, it would not have been the success it was.”
As soon as the 5A state championship was over, the signs were going up for The Maxwell.
“It’s an event that has gone on long enough, that you know what is ahead,” Ramsey said.
“When we host a tournament of this quality, we want to show our course off, and we’ll get it in the best condition possible,” White said. “For The Maxwell, we make it a little tougher to play in than what we normally do for the girls or boys. The kids are not used to those fast greens and hard greens, so we make it a little bit easier on them.
“My crew always looks forward to doing this. It’s our go-time to show off what we do for a living. We like for the community to get behind us, and we like to show what Perry (Maxwell) actually built out here. So, we enjoy it.”
Mike Moguin, 221-6522
mike.moguin@ardmoreite.com
