Roger Meier, Golf Course Superintendent at Valhalla Golf Club, is a busy man. Since arriving at Valhalla in 20110, he has overseen the reconstruction of all of the greens, practice range, renovation of all primary rough areas; along with adding/renovating all of the bunkers, and the installation of a state of the art irrigation system. He has hosted 2 major championships (Senior PGA Championship in 20111 and the 2014 PGA Championship). In his spare time, he serves as President of the Kentuckiana Golf Course Superintendents Association and the Board for the Kentucky Turfgrass Council.
In addition to all of this, he is making steady progress towards implementing the TDA drainage plan that was done for Valhalla in 2011. Sanders Construction, famous for their attention to detail in greens construction, has installed the previous two phases. Sam Morrow, job superintendent for Sanders, has been there every step of the way.
Without the drainage and the topdress program that was implemented on fairways prior to the event, we would not have completed the event until the following Tuesday with rain that continued into Monday after the event. Despite the two inches of rain that fell Friday through Sunday, we were able to get the players back on the course in time to finish just before dark on Sunday. Monday would have been a total washout, and we would have been in for an anticlimactic finish.
The first phase, in 2012, focused on the holes that were the most critical to the club hosting the 2014 PGA. Roger says, “Without the drainage and the topdress program that was implemented on fairways prior to the event, we would not have completed the event until the following Tuesday with rain that continued into Monday after the event. Despite the two inches of rain that fell Friday through Sunday, we were able to get the players back on the course in time to finish just before dark on Sunday. Monday would have been a total washout, and we would have been in for an anticlimactic finish. As it was, the event was a huge success with an incredible back nine of golf by Rory.”
Channel drain on #1 Valhalla
The third phase focuses on four holes, and was started in November. After a break for the winter, the work will be completed in March. Roger assumes that the work will complete with the implementation of two more phases. One of the advantages of the TDA system is that a club can break up projects into multiple phases. This lets the club schedule work in their off season, creating minimal disruption to their membership, and spreading the cost over multiple years.