Touches of green

June Casagrande

In just five weeks, the Newport Beach Country Club is transformed

from a pristine and serene stretch of green into a makeshift city,

bustling with the business of one big golf event.

The work required to get the golf course ready for the annual

Toshiba Senior Classic is staggering, but worthwhile. And nowhere is

this more evident than on the 18th green.

“There’s a tremendous amount of preparation that goes into getting

the golf course ready,” said Jeff Purser, tournament director for the

Champions Tour event.

How’s this for tremendous: The tents and other temporary

structures that spring up for the tournament encompass nearly 100,000

square feet of floor space, much of it right next to the 18th green.

“We’re basically building the facilities that we need for the

production of the event: entry tents, merchants’ tents, scoring

tents, communications facilities -- a lot of things we need for our

sponsors,” Purser said.

The 15th through 18th greens and fairways have, by far, the most

structures. On the 18th hole, about 15 structures will serve as comfy

vantage points for the guests of more than 20 sponsors. On the 17th,

there’s six structures that will house about nine companies. On the

16th green, there’s three. On the 15th, there’s only one, but that

tent houses about 14 companies that sponsor and enjoy the event.

Of course, none of the tents or trailers can go up until after the

greenskeepers at the golf course have done their thing. Under the

guidance of Newport Beach Country Club expert Ron Benedict, the green

is meticulously kept up all year long.

“I would call it an art form,” Purser said. “The timing of the

application of the chemicals and seeds, the watering, the day-to-day

process he needs to follow to keep the course in shape is an art.”

But in the end, Purser said, it’s worth it.

“You definitely want to know that, when the tournament starts, all

this is taken care of and you can get on with the business of putting

on the tournament and taking care of your sponsors.”