Immediately after the 106th Rose Bowl Game, we went over to Brookside Golf Club just outside the north end zone of the stadium in Pasadena, California to visit with superintendent George Winters.
Each year for the Rose Bowl, UCLA home football games, concerts and several other events throughout the year, Winters and his team convert parts of the 36-hole Brookside property into parking and tailgate areas.
When the events are over, his team works throughout the night to turn all 36 holes
The Goodyear blimp makes an appearance on New Year's Day. Photos by Lauren Reitman
Finally, it's here.
Today is game day at the Rose Bowl.
The staging area for the Rose Parade is just about a mile from the stadium, and while tens of thousands of people camped out overnight to hold their spot to view the parade, New Year's Day is hardly a day of leisure for superintendent Will Schnell, assistant Miguel Yepez and their crew.
The day is scheduled to start around 8 a.m. with an
High school teacher Geoff Thran, also a groundskeeper at the Rose Bowl, creates a replica of the Rose Bowl field every year on his lawn.
Talk about taking your work home with you.
When Rose Bowl groundskeeper Geoff Thran leaves the stadium after a long day of work, he goes home to a smaller version of the field he just left.
A high school health teacher at Mountain View High School in El Monte, California, Thran also is a part-time groundskeeper at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. And
One of the folks who helps make things run in preparation for the Rose Bowl is George Wiley. A retired Pasadena Police officer, Wiley has been around many a Rose Bowl - as a police officer, working security for the game and also as part of superintendent Will Schnell's team.
He also is an entrepreneur who started his own company, First Down Football Products and developed a few things used around the Rose Bowl that are used almost daily, including stencils for painting numbers and metal gua
After being dealt a lucky hand with no frost or rain, the team removes the tarps long before sunrise. Photos by Lauren Reitman
After four days at the Rose Bowl, I'm continually amazed at how people are so awestruck by a 2,5-acre plot of turf.
There are tours running through this place all the time, and the field is the big draw for them. They can get to the fence ringing the field, but not on the turf itself. So close, yet so far away.. When both teams visited the stadium Monday, firs
In this episode of The Buddy 'n Randy Show, we advise Golf Course Personnel in "How not to get kicked in The Jimmy in 2020".
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Work continues on an Oregon football float. Photos by Lauren Reitman
Sunday was tabbed "Sunday Funday" at the Rose Bowl for the two teams competing in the 106th edition of college football's oldest postseason game.
We took a queue from the Oregon Ducks and Wisconsin Badgers and wandered across the street from the stadium to the Rose Bowl float-staging area. I've watched the Rose Bowl for generations and know all about the ground rules of using primarily organic matter to decorate the
Chris Chang double checks measurements for the crosshatch at the 35 yard line.
Things finally got going Saturday on painting day as the time on the clock got closer to 9 than 8. After a quick team meeting led by assistant superintendent Miguel Yepez, who, make no mistake about it, was running this show, a team of about 20 that included some folks borrowed from other departments set off on their assignments, painting yard lines, hash marks, sidelines, end lines, logos and 10-yard markers.
Cloudy skies and cold temperatures postponed the start of painting day by nearly an hour. Photos by Lauren Reitman
"Good work, good work," Will Schnell mutters at a tone that is barely audible as he inspects the recently applied paint job at the Rose Bowl Stadium.
Yard lines, hash marks, end zones and logos appeared flawless in an inspection tour Schnell was taking earlier than he had wanted. Even the 100-plus-year-old history and tradition of the Rose Bowl Game is no match for Mothe
A quick mow before painting the field again.
Albert Hammond made a name for himself in the early 1970s singing a hit tune that perpetuated the myth that it never rains in Southern California. In fact, his song rose to No. 5 on the Billboard Top 100 as he spread this disinformation.
In reality, as Hammond says later in the chorus, "it pours."
The first day volunteering for Rose Bowl field superintendent Will Schnell and his team as they get ready for the 106th Rose Bowl on New Yea
Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, here discussing strategy with one of his players, led the Fighting Irish to a 27-10 win over Stanford in the school's only Rose Bowl appearance on New Year's Day, 1925.
TurfNet will soon be headed to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as part of field superintendent Will Schnell's crew in the run-up to the New Year's Day game between Oregon and Wisconsin thanks to our partners at Brandt. Coverage will focus on efforts to prep the world's most famous field for college
I’ve made my way back to Minneapolis after a wonderful two weeks in Australia. My time spent at Royal Melbourne Golf Club volunteering was incredible and educational. Richard Forsyth, Craig Anthony and the rest of the staff were so accommodating to the volunteers and really appreciated our time there. A special thank you to Sonia Robertson, Links Administration, who coordinated all the volunteer information, schedules and uniforms! We always felt welcomed. Thank you for the hospitality!
Du
I’d had heard reference to this Sandbelt numerous times before ever actually standing in it and on it. One quickly realizes that the sand that makes up the Sandbelt is unique... and plentiful.
We’ve probably all seen the video of Richard Forsyth explaining how the sand interlocks and how it packs so firm that you can create a vertical face with it, and I was fortunate enough to get my hands in it to do some pre-Presidents Cup bunker repair.
Once mixed with water the sand beg
The Presidents Cup was a huge hit globally as Royal Melbourne showed the unique sandbelt style of golf that included extremely firm greens and approaches. The Internationals played inspired golf before succumbing to a comeback by the Americans, making for an intense final round and much talk about tour events coming back to the Melbourne Sandbelt.
Agronomically, RMGC was in top condition and ready to test the best professional golfers around the world. Social media was lighting up with thr
For many of us in the green industry, our landscapes experience four seasons every year. The flush of spring gives way to the deep lushness of summer, which gives way to the fall colors as the seasons follow their inexorable progression. Yet as fall slips into winter we are presented with the starkest of seasons we face for our grounds. Winter weather and cold temps challenge grounds people while performing cool season duties such as dormant pruning, snow removal, and even construction projects.
Growing Bandera Bermudagrass sod on plastic promotes lateral growth that produces a playing surface with high tensile strength. Photos by West Coast Turf
Thanks to tremendous advancements in strength training and nutrition, today's college athletes are bigger, stronger and faster than their predecessors. In fact, it is difficult to imagine many things stronger than a 300-pound lineman.
At least where the Rose Bowl is concerned, you can start with the playing surface underneath his fe
I’ll start this post with a healthy dose of honesty. I’m tired. This year has been one chock full of a very many things, a lot of goodness, hardship, tough conversations, and wonderful connections. Now one could say, “well, that’s life”, and that is true… but 2019 was a solid one. As I sit down to write the last post of the year, I simply cannot deny the fact that the cumulative fatigue of the year has caught up with me.
When I find myself strung out, writing is tough. The flow of ideas an
In this holiday episode of Rockbottum Radio, among zero-environmental impact mowers and white-lightning eggnog, it's the annual Christmas dinner for the crew and a twisted attempt at caroling ("In the fairway we can build a snowman..."). Aint Feemy runs over a slow-play golfer with her cart for calling her a Boomer. And, for Storytime, RW tells about his most memorable Christmas (1977, after two seasons as an assistant superintendent), when he also discovered Clarence the angel and Mr. Potter.
Royal Melbourne created a set of President Cup 2019 Group Goals to help the maintenance staff achieve the desired results by following set guidelines.
The first goal is to Own Your Job, meaning do the best you can do and when you walk away from it put your name on it. I just love this goal! How simple to get across the message of doing your best on every job every day.
The second goal is Communication. This starts with the morning meetings led by Richard giving instruction and laughs
Royal Melbourne Golf Club has one of the most technologically advanced and well thought-out maintenance facilities I’ve ever experienced. The moment you walk in the electric sliding front door, you know you are in a special place.
Every morning we convene in the break room that easily seats all 80 volunteers with room for more. The break room has two ends, both of which have a dishwasher, sink, instant hot water tap, and enough plates and cutlery to furnish a large cafeteria. The managers u
What do Augusta National Golf Club and the Rose Bowl have in common? Each is widely regarded as having the finest playing surface for its respective marquee event.
The greens at Augusta during the Masters Tournament are the envy of golfers everywhere and the bane of golf course superintendents. The playing surface for the Rose Bowl Game is regarded as the finest in college football and has been dubbed "The World's Most Famous Field."
Although many superintendents have prepped at August
The first few days at Royal Melbourne showcased a beautiful natural Melbourne sandbelt course and great Australian hospitality. Richard Forsyth explained in the orientation meeting that the goal is to show sandbelt golf to the world by keeping the course firm, fast, and rugged. Short grass surfaces will be pristine but the rough and bunkers will look very natural.
Paul and I have gotten used to the course and the jobs over these days. Mowing surfaces, watering, divoting, and detail work hav
Check out our Top 3 Skeletal Golf Tips of the Year!
#1: Dustin Riley of Oconomowoc Golf Club in Wisconsin, is this year’s big winner. Dustin wins the Rockbottum “Iron Skillet”* for his amazing tip on reframing tees to fit your spray rig. (See TurfNet Forum) Instead of just topdressing heavy or capping and leveling a tee designed and built by somebody with no GCS experience, Dustin explains how to reframe the tee to the specs needed to match your spray rig. This is brilliant SGT thinki
