Bunkers might get big test

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By Craig DeVrieze | Saturday, July 12, 2008 |

You couldn’t quite say Paul Grogan loves it when a plan comes together.

Up to 2 inches of rain starting early this morning still was expected to tax the TPC Deere Run superintendent’s 36-man grounds crew, a chief reason third-round John Deere Classic starting times have been pushed back 3 hours.

Still, a hard morning rain would leave Grogan and PGA Tour officials feeling downright prescient for having rebuilt all of Deere Run’s 78 sand bunkers since last year’s tournament.

As a precaution, tournament director Arvin Ginn has opted to send players off both tees in threesomes beginning at 10 this morning and continuing through noon.

Originally, players would have gone off the first tee in twos, with the leaders heading off around 1 to accommodate a 5 p.m. finish for the CBS national broadcast.

“Now, we still make (the 2-5 p.m.) television (window) as scheduled,” said PGA Tour tournament director Arvin Ginn. “And even if we don’t make television by going two tees, we’ll have enough daylight to where we can finish the round tomorrow.”

A year ago, heavy rains would have washed all the sand down the deep faces of the course’s bunkers, requiring a massive man effort to return each of the 78 pits to tournament-ready conditions.

“They would not have been playable until early afternoon,” Grogan said of the bunkers as originally constructed before Deere Run opened in 2000.

And that’s assuming Grogan could find enough volunteer assistance to supplement his crew.

“If you got 2 inches of downpour, you’re talking about a total of — this might sound ridiculous — 680 man hours in order to restore everything,” Ginn estimated. “Now we’re talking about 17 (man hours).”

Grogan said the plan now was to rake the rebuilt bunkers on Friday night, and expect them to be wet, but ready for play today.

No mess. No fuss.

Ginn said the $800,000 the Tour spent to renovate bunkers at the Tour managed facility clearly was money well spent.

“Thrilled to death,” he said of the timely change. “It’s something we needed to do and we stepped up and did it. Now, we prepare all the bunkers tonight and we’re not fearful what will happen tomorrow.”

Players expect play to be a bit slower with threesomes, but don’t expect scores to suffer with softened greens.

“When you get soft conditions, guys make a lot of birdies,” said Kenny Perry, who is tied for second through two rounds. “It’s going to be a shootout.”

As for the potential for additional weather issues today, Eric Axley, also part of a three-way tie for second, shrugged.

Thursday lightning delays made the JDC the 14th of 30 Tour events this year to experience a weather delay.

“Beats the alternative,” Axley said of playing golf in inclement weather that seems to tail the Tour. “I like my job.”

Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com.