PGA TOUR Championship Volunteer Program


Good morning!

We are now one month after the the 2015 PGA TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola here at East Lake Golf Club and looking back, our volunteer program was the most successful we've ever had! Because of the support of all of our sponsors, we were able to provide a first class experience for our volunteers.


The Volunteer Oasis had a constant supply of TV coverage, food, and Coke beverages for the Agronomy team.


In all we had 92 volunteers come from all across the Eastern United States to make the Tournament a huge agronomic success. As you can see above, our new "Volunteer Oasis" was a great venue for everyone to gather before and between shifts for food, meetings, and good conversation. Every single meal of the week was catered by many of our sponsors. We had everything from eggs, grits, bacon, and biscuits, to BBQ, pizza, brats, and pork chops. Needless to say, everyone was well fed throughout the week.
 
Our tremendous sponsors provided meals, snacks, jackets, hats, shirts, hotel rooms, and too many other things to count. It is important to note that we only reached out to companies who provide products or services that we use on a daily basis here at East Lake. We are proud to be sponsored by every one of these great companies. THANK YOU SO MUCH!



Additionally we wanted to Thank Dr. John Kaminski of Penn State University for brining twenty of his senior turfgrass students, and professors Charles Granger and Ashley Wilkinson for bringing seven of their turfgrass students to Volunteer at the PGA TOUR Championship. We as a management team here at East Lake believe very much in giving back to the next generation of upcoming industry professionals. We put emphasis on spending time with everyone we could, talking turf, industry, and fielding any questions that came about. Thank you so much again for coming, it was a pleasure having all of you, and we hope it was a tremendous experience for you! Hope to see you again next year!
 
 
A photo from Saturday night of East Lake staff with Penn State students, Horry Georgetown students, and other volunteers from across Georgia and the East Coast!




 

Outside of the shop, it was down to business. The course was in great shape coming into the week, and with the help of our volunteer staff, the course was maintained to perfection every morning and night.

 

PSU senior JP getting after it!


Assistant Charles Aubry with his eyes on the prize...





 
East Lake crew waiting on golf to clear while sporting hats, shirts, and jackets provided by John Deere and Bayer. Thank you!


 
Bunker care procedures changed slightly everyday according to environmental conditions. Here Charles gets everyone on the same page.


 
Crews waiting for fairway mowers and blowers to clear #5 fairway.



East Lake's Jon Garbe and PSU's Dylan getting ready to rock and roll with NBC in the background.
 
As you can see on the radar behind me, things were about to change....


 
The entire team showed tremendous effort and resiliency even when the rains came!
 
Radar, radar, radar.......

 
If you have not had a chance click over to Turf Republic to check out all of the coverage from throughout the week.




 
The East Lake Agronomy Team with PGA TOUR Championship and FedEx Cup champion Jordan Spieth. You could not ask for a better champion. Very gracious with and without the cameras, and very appreciative of our team's great effort throughout the championship.

Thanks for reading, and recapping the 2015 PGA TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola with us. We hope that many more qualified golf course maintenance employees and students are able to join us for the 2016 championship! If you are interested, send an email to mrowell@eastlakegolfclub.com or jtharp@eastlakegolfclub.com and we will get you on the email contact list for next spring.


-Jason Tharp
Assistant Superintendent
East Lake Golf Club

 

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