North Carolina Amateur Week - Day 7

Hello and welcome to "The Greenkeeper"!  Today is Sunday, June 8th and today we crowned the champion of the 54th North Carolina Amateur!  This morning's course tour felt like yesterday's as temperatures (72 F) and conditions were the same (cloudy). There was significant rain moving towards Charlotte out of Greenville/Spartanburg, but it continued to dissipate as it approached. 

For the final time, the boys and I hit the course precisely at 5:30 am for morning setup.  Once again greens were mowed and rolled (soil moisture readings gathered and water applied by hand where necessary), dew removed from fairways, teeing grounds walk mowed, bunkers smoothed and hand raked, etc.  The golf course has been in championship condition all week thanks to the tireless efforts of my staff and team!    

Best Golf Course Maintenance Team in NC!

I am extremely proud of them for their accomplishment and extremely grateful for their hard work and dedication.  My staff is a very diverse group representing six countries (El Salvador, England, Mexico, Thailand, Ukraine, and United States), but they are one solid unit!  Thanks guys!!

Play got underway under grey skies and breezy conditions this morning.  We monitored the sky and radar all morning.  Just when the leaders reached the tenth green our luck for the week ran out and play had to be suspended (12:10 PM).  We definitely had rain headed our way, and the decision to suspend play was made due to lightning in the area.  The course was cleared of competitors and spectators just before the rain began to fall.  Fortunately, we only had rain (0.60" to be exact).  With no wind associated with the system we did not have any debris to clean up before play could resume.  The golf course soaked up the rain quite nicely and play resumed at approximately 2:30 PM.

When play resumed the last group had a gallery following them and those spectators were treated to some excellent golf.  The tournament came down to the two young men who had led over the past three days, Joshua Martin of Pinehurst and Charlotte's Bailey Patrick, Jr.  A couple of untimely bogeys down the stretch for Mr. Patrick coupled with outstanding birdies from Mr. Martin (the young man is only 17) allowed Joshua Martin to capture the Billy Joe Patton Trophy and the 2014 North Carolina Amateur Championship with a four-round total of 270 (-14).

Joshua Martin, Pinehurst, NC

Official North Carolina Amateur Championship Web Page

Joshua Martin joins an impressive list of past winners including Billy Joe Patton, Scott Hoch (two-time winner), Charlotte's Nolan Mills (his son Nolan III competed this year), Michael Bradley and Paul Simson (four-time winner).

I want to thank the Carolinas Golf Association, Executive Director Jack Nance, Director of Championships Andy Priest and their staff for being such a pleasure to work with!  It is easy to bring your A game when you are working with a Class A organization!

A big thanks to @CGCGreenkeeper and his staff for @CGC1929 being in wonderful condition for the 54th NC Am. The train of mowers was a sight!
— Carolinas Golf Assoc (@CGAgolf1909) June 8, 2014

Next week I will post a "Best Of" recap along with some information regarding course conditions, and a special announcement.  Until then...

See you on the course,

Matthew Wharton
Golf Course Superintendent