As soon as I heard the U.S. Open was coming to the Northwest, I knew I would soon be able to check off the top item on my bucket list. I could not be happier for Eric Johnson, Josh Lewis and their crew for how the week is shaping up as they prepare the course to championship specifications. It is early in the week and I have already met so many wonderful people from around the world who have made the trip to be part of this historic event.
While golf is in the national spotlight, the USGA and First Green Foundation decided to use the opportunity to promote a new campaign, highlighting the First Green Foundation. As a part of the campaign, a 30-second tv spot will air on Fox during the U.S. Open.
The First Green was also invited to participate in the U.S. Open community celebration event. Over 500 children participated in the five learning lab booths, learning about bugs, water, soils and mathematics.
The entire First Green board also participated, including Steve Kealy, Jeff Gullikson, CGCS, Karen Armstead, Cathy Relyea, Lynn McKay, Jeff and Annie Shelley and myself. I also invited some superintendent volunteers who were in town to help the agronomy team, including Scot Dey of Mission Viejo Country Club, Andrew McDaniel of Keya Golf Club in Japan and Masaru Shimizu of Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan, as well. Steve Kealy's assistants, Kyle Young and Nick Magnuson, also joined and did an outstanding job teaching the soils lab. Dey, McDaniel and Masaru manned the hitting cage. We could not have pulled off the entire day without their help. The entire day was a success.
 |
| McDaniel, Dey and Shimizu helping a young player hit balls into the net |
 |
| Jeff Gullikson uses balls of tape to demonstrate how attraction between molecules of water happens |
 |
| Steve Kealy covers mathematical calculations |
I've got just a short window to write this post as the 3 a.m. wake-up call comes early. I will provide the day two and three recap tomorrow as my time allows.
No comments:
Post a Comment