The Jolly Greens Giant

The Phoenix Open's head groundskeeper talks lawn maintenance, tipsy spectators and meeting Bill Murray

In case you’ve been too busy burning office supplies inside your cubicle to stay warm, you might have forgotten that it’s Phoenix Open time. Wait, wait, our legal council is strongly suggesting that we refer to said event as the Waste Management Phoenix Open (formerly the FBR Phoenix Open, that’s technically held in North Scottsdale.)

Anywho, we first thought about writing on the actual golf tournament, but quickly realized we’d rather watch grass grow. Which got us thinking about all the hardworking people who work around the clock to transform our desert into a lush, immaculately-manicured “Don’t You Wish You Were Here?” postcard for all those frozen folks back East. So we dialed up Jeff Plotts, Director of Golf Course Management for the TPC Scottsdale, and asked what it’s like to try to host a PGA tournament in the middle of one of world’s largest parties?

How long have you been at the TPC Scottsdale?
This is my sixth Tournament, which is how we measure time around here.

How do you prepare a golf course to not only host the world’s best golfers, but also half a million spectators?
First of all, it’s a great facility that was specifically designed to handle large crowds. But the work actually begins when we overseed (put in winter grass), because that’s the foundation of a great playing surface. I also rely heavily on my staff, eight of whom have been here for more than 20 years.

We have to ask, what it’s like trying to maintain order in the middle of week-long party disguised as a PGA Tour event?
I can’t say too much, but trust me, I’ve seen anything and everything you can imagine. My favorite was a few years back, when the tournament had wrapped for the day a few hours earlier and I was mowing while dodging a few stragglers still, ahem, ‘laying around’ the spectator areas. One guy sat up and asked me when the next golfers we’re coming through. I told him not until 8 am the next day, and he just shrugged and popped open another beer.

Read the rest of the interview, including Plotts’ run in with the world’s most famed greenskeeper, Bill Murray of Caddyshack infamy, at DLT.