As anticipated, rain arrived in the area Monday night around 11 PM and continued well into Tuesday morning. It started as a steady rain and increased as the morning continued.  Our 4:00 AM work session included everyone suiting up in "waterproofs" -- the local vernacular for rain gear. David Escobedo had to purchase a set since there is so little rainfall in Phoenix.

Wet conditions in the morning.

Tuesday morning briefing.

Most tasks (mowing, bunkers, tidying up, etc. ) went on as planned. We were of course told to be mindful of slipping both in vehicles and while walking the course. The beauty of a true links course is that since it is sand-based it drains very well. Despite the constant, heavy rainfall the course had virtually no accumulation of water.

In honor of his American volunteers Bernard donned a TurfNet cap on the 4th of July.

We completed our morning session and proceeded to hang up our rain gear in the designated drying room. Given the amount of rainfall, drying rooms are a standard feature of most maintenance facilities. The room is basically a small room with plenty of hooks and clothes rods to hang your wet gear. After a rain event it is heated like a sauna and your waterproofs are dry within a few hours.

Upon our return home, hot showers were the order of the day and all four of us caught up on much-needed sleep. We are in a rented house that is used as student housing for a nearby university during the school year.

When we returned for our evening shift (4 PM) the rain had cleared and the pros were out getting in some practice. David Escobedo was on bunker duty again, Marty mowed tees, and Dana worked on a variety of equipment until what was out on the course came back for inspection and adjustment. I was assigned to litter picking duty with Stephen, a member of the Portstewart staff. We combed the entire course wall-to-wall, collecting whatever had been left behind. With the Pro-Am starting the next day the course was to be spotless for the first full field event of the week.

The group before heading out for the evening shift. Roughly sixty (40 volunteers and 20 full time staff.)

Evening divoting.

Tuesday night half of our group (you'll have to guess which two) went into town to the Anchor Bar -- one of just three nightspots in Portstewart. Fortunately there were a few other members of the greenkeeping team there so we all caught up on events of the day, family, home courses, etc. We kept it tame since we realized that 3:30 AM would arrive soon enough.

We were all looking forward to finally having golfers out on the course for the Pro-Am after three days of work on it.