AT GROUNDS LEVEL

Tuesday, September 15 at 1:30 p.m.

Here's a question for you: How do you prepare a club golf course for a National Championship? There are many parts to the answer, but the first answer this week is, "Get up early." The Grounds Crew at Beverly shows up around 4:30 a.m. every day of the Championship. They hit the golf course in vehicles equipped with headlights and flashlights. They stay all day and start preparing the golf course in the early evening, when play has finally concluded. They kill time in the Maintenance facility (an antiquated shack, to be sure) waiting for play to finish so they can get back out on the golf course.

Most of us know who Keith Peterson is, but very few know the crew. Joe Schneider is Keith's talented Assistant Superintendent. He has only been with us for seven months, but you can tell he's going to get a "head" job someday soon. Julius Liptak is the guy in charge of taking care of the equipment and he's been at Beverly for more than twenty years! And that's nothing compared to Genro Alvarado, who has been working on the crew at Beverly since April, 1978. Jimmy Carter was the President at that time, for those keeping score. His buddy Seve Gutierrez came just a year later.

The rest of the guys are named Joaquin, Bravlio (two men with this name), Juan (two Juans), Vicente, Jesus, Paulino, Erik, Pedro, Jose, Avel, Pedro, Rene, Dave and Mauricio.

The next time you're out on the golf course and you see any of these guys, please say thank you. It is these men who have made your golf course into a Championship layout that equals anything the USGA has seen in many years. To paraphrase Barbra Streisand, the golf course didn't maintain itself and the "director", Keith Peterson, who has a constant, if quiet presence on the golf course has done a magnificent job.

And just so he doesn't think I've forgotten, Ed Golz has done a great job heading up the Grounds Committee. The entire crew had their photograph taken on the 18th Green this morning. I'm going to request that we hang one copy in the clubhouse to remind everybody who is taking care of their golf course.

The other one can go in the Maintenance facility.

Which hopefully will be demolished soon. They deserve a better work environment.

Terry Lavin