I was at Pebble Beach in June to work with course superintendent Chris Dalhamer and the Pebble Beach course maintenance staff along with scores of volunteers for the US Open. Chris Dalhamer, who studied business at Corvallis for two years, could be an honorary alumnus of the Oregon State University turfgrass program.

Pebble Beach is one of the more salubrious places in the world, especially when the weather is clement, so I was not surprised that the US Open came off so well. But what really surprised me was how many of the volunteers at Pebble Beach have a turfgrass degree from Oregon State University. I think there were ten of us working at sunny Pebble Beach that week, including Tom Huesgen, previously superintendent at Pebble Beach, and Eric Johnson from Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. 

This year I have been involved with course preparation for the Masters, the US Open, and the Open Championship. In fact, I write this from the Jubilee Greenkeeping Center at St. Andrews. All of these tournaments are great fun to work at, and all of the people involved are exceptionally competent and professional, but it was especially fun to work at the US Open with so many Beavers, the most diligent worker in the animal kingdom.