'Pinehurst No.2 Is Unique - It's The Pinnacle For Me To Be Here This Week' - English Greenkeeper Reveals How The Iconic Course Is Maintained During A US Open

As we all enjoy the 2024 US Open this week, spare a thought for all of the people who helped prepare Pinehurst No.2 for its latest stretch in the spotlight. In this case, the 120 green staff - most of whom are volunteers and some of whom are from halfway across the world.

They need to be awake at 4am to prepare the iconic layout for the day ahead, taking naps in the middle of day while the players do what they must to win. Once the final putt has dropped, it's back to work once more.

But for English greenkeeper, Graeme Roberts, this seven days of broken sleep and meticulous toil is the pinnacle of his career so far.

Not that he is a stranger to one of the world's most famous courses. The 36-year-old, who is course manager at Hayling Golf Club near Portsmouth on the southern coast of the UK, first came to North Carolina in 2008.

He served an internship for young ground staff through Ohio State University, spending six months at Pinehurst Resort and the other half of the year at Harbor Town GC on Hilton Head Island.

Following in his father's footsteps of becoming a greenkeeper, Roberts returned back home to England before later contacting his old boss, Kevin Robinson to enquire about positions at the consecutive US Opens at Pinehurst in 2014. 

Robinson said yes, and Roberts went on to not only work at the 2014 US Open and 2014 US Women's Open, but also at the 2015 US Open (Chambers Bay), 2015 PGA Championship (Whistling Straits), 2018 Ryder Cup (Hazeltine), 2019 Open Championship (Royal Portrush), and 2023 Open Championship (Royal Liverpool).

But despite all of those experiences at several incredible places, Roberts says Pinehurst No.2 tops the lot.

Speaking to Golf Monthly, he said: "I would definitely say the US Opens at Pinehurst have been a highlight because it's great to come back here and see old friends, see my old boss, and the course itself is just phenomenal. 

"Course No.2 at Pinehurst is just so unique compared to other US Open courses. So that's been a real pinnacle for me to come and see it and be a part of it this week. Pinehurst has such a unique and special look to it again since the restoration. It's really something special out here."

Roberts shared that what makes the week so special is spending time with other passionate grounds staff who are all working in unison to ensure Pinehurst No.2 is at its resplendent best.

The US Open pulls in around 70 external volunteers to help across the seven days of action, adding on to the circa 50 staff from Pinehurst Resort - 20 of whom are specifically assigned to Pinehurst No.2 throughout the year.

He said: "Where all of the extra staff here are volunteers, the fact that you've got to give up your own time to do it, you have to be passionate about it. That's the biggest thing. You're always surrounded by people who love what they do. It's a lot of fun as well.

"This is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, but the atmosphere is so positive and you can still have fun doing while getting the job done to a really high standard as well."

But with so many external staff brought in, how are they managed and what jobs are people entrusted with? Well, according to Roberts, due to the scale of the operation, it really can be anything and everything - including tasks that most people would not even consider.

"Typically, when you're volunteering at these sort of events - like a Major - for consistency, you're given a job at the start of the week and you might have one job for the morning shift and one job for the evening shift," said Roberts.

"Usually, if there's no change in the conditions, you'll stay on that job through the week. That way, it means everyone gets really comfortable with the job they're doing and we can be as efficient as possible.

"There are volunteers mowing greens, fairways, tee boxes. They've got a couple of people helping change hole locations. Pretty much every job there is, there are volunteers involved in it in one way or another.

"They might be paired up with members of staff who work here full-time, or some are volunteers who have returned a few times and are quite competent in what they do because they know the course - they can lead teams as well.

"This week, I'm doing moisture meter data collection. There are numerous teams that go out in the morning and in the evening, record the moisture percentage in the greens and hand water when necessary, based on what percentage of moisture the USGA and Pinehurst want for their greens each day. Our target is currently 25% moisture, but that may change as the week progresses."

With tee times beginning at 6:45am on Thursday and Friday, and play not finishing until the sun goes down at around 8:30pm in North Carolina, Roberts shared the days can be very long and catching up on sleep when you can is an important skill to develop.

Arriving at the course at 4am, the 120 staff are briefed by super intendant John Jeffries before being let out in job-priority order to as not to try and avoid any early chaos.

Going on to explain how certain jobs see a much earlier finish than others, Roberts said: "The first people that go out are the greens mowers, they'll head out to their assigned greens. So we'll usually be out by 4:15am, and depending on your task, you might be done between 6:30am and 9:30am.

"With the greens mowers at Pinehurst, they have a mower designated to every single green. So you'll have one operator cut the green and one assisting them by moving the turning boards. They're basically plastic board that go on the collars to protect them from the mower.

"Once they're done with that green, that's them done for the morning. Whereas some of the tasks that take longer are things like changing holes as that's done in correlation with the USGA."

And once the players begin their quest for glory throughout the day, Roberts and his fellow ground staff are off for a quick nap before the cycle continues...