Historic rainfall ruined the holidays and his own home while swamping the clubhouse and course at Aberdeen GC where Matt O’Dell is GM/Superintendent—but did nothing to dampen the property’s special spirit.
Imagine being halfway around the world, celebrating the holidays, when you get a phone call from the boss telling you that heavy rains were forcing the river that runs next to your golf course out of its banks, and water was now covering all but two of your putting greens.
Some Christmas present, huh?
Matt O’Dell, General Manager and Golf Course Superintendent of Aberdeen Golf Club in Eureka, Mo., was in England visiting family in late December 2015 when the calls from the club’s ownership became more ominous with each passing day. Sitting in the Meramec River basin, with the course surrounded by the river on three sides, flooding was not unusual at the property. In a 2008 flood, several bunkers were washed out, but that was the result of seven inches over a 10-day period. This time, over a three-day period, the course at Aberdeen GC received 11.75 inches in rain.
Super in the Spotlight: Matt O’DellCurrent Position: General Manager & Golf Course Superintendent, Aberdeen Golf Club |
“Because I am from England, I make it a point to take a vacation for the holidays,” O’Dell says. “We were stuck until January 5 because we could not get our airplane tickets changed. We felt trapped and helpless as we heard the updates.”
To make matters worse, the golf course, clubhouse and maintenance facility were not the only facilities that needed to be rescued. Numerous homes on the course—including O’Dell’s—were damaged as well. O’Dell’s own house had four-and-a-half-feet of water in the first floor, and the basement was completely under water. Lost was the deck, hot tub, children’s play set from the backyard, and some other items outside. Of all of the items on the first floor, 95% was lost.
“The staff and neighbors all pitched in to clean up,” O’Dell says. “It was a major job. But we got the course open for limited play by January 30. The feedback has been great. It’s really hard to believe we are open again [that quickly], given the damage.”
C&RB: What was the extent of the damage to the course and buildings?
O’Dell: We had five feet of water in our clubhouse, cart barn and maintenance buildings. The clubhouse had to be completely gutted, and 20% of our maintenance machines were lost.
Golf Course Profile: Aberdeen Golf ClubWebsite: www.aberdeengolf.com |
The golf course had anywhere from six to 15 feet of water on it. We had 17 of 19 greens under water. We lost 75% of our bunkers, with about 50% of them losing all sand and drainage. We lost some of the turf work we had done in the late fall and had some gravel paths throughout the course that washed away. Two of the paths were dumped onto two of our greens.
C&RB: What did the clean-up entail?
O’Dell: The first thing we did was basic cleanup on the course—debris, limbs, trash, etc. Then we started cleaning paths and moved to brushing fairways. We followed that by blowing all the fairways. Then we repaired and replaced drainage on the bunkers and moved to adding sand to the bunkers. To date, we are around the 400-ton mark [in added sand].
In late February, I started verticutting the greens, as we have a small amount of silt in the canopy that we have to remove. We then mowed after the process, to great reviews on the speed and conditions of the greens (but sometimes, you have to remind guys it’s February in St. Louis). I will look to continue this process for a few weeks until we start to aerify.
Our practice green had a 12-foot by four-foot-wide hole in it. We replaced drainage and sand, and then added soil to make it two different greens—one for putting and one for chipping.
Off the course, we are currently operating out of a shed. With the clubhouse damage, our customers are not permitted in the building. In fact, over a three-day stretch my job was to paint the inside of the clubhouse after we redid the drywall and got new appliances. The shed will then become our starter’s hut, to further add to our “Scottish feel.”
C&RB: Speaking of that, Aberdeen’s course is described as a “links” style. How close is it to what you saw in England, and how does it play?
O’Dell: Because we sit low in a river basin, it has a links feel to it. It’s the only one of its kind in the St. Louis area. We do our best to maintain it in the way it was designed to play.
The bunkering is in the right places on all of the fairways, to offer a challenge. About 10% of our bunkers have sod walls and the flat bottom. It makes the ball run back into the sand, making you feel you were robbed in some way. [Designer] Gary Kern did a great job with the bunkering—they always seem to be in the way!
We allow our surrounding native areas to grow long and unkempt. We do have very wide fairways—as wide as 50 to 75 yards. After about 10 to 20 yards of rough, you get into the native areas.
One of the best features of the course is that it truly changes its personality through the seasons. We try to keep it firm and fast in the summer, with the native areas high. Then for the fall and winter, we mow the native areas down and the course slows a bit with the change of seasons.
The wind is also a factor most of the time; it blows through the river basin and can cause problems.
We recently received a new rating from our local metro golf group and are now considered the third-hardest course in the St. Louis area. This is from the new back tees that we had constructed. It’s a course that on first glance will seem easy—but then you card a high score and wonder how that happened!
C&RB: What are the challenges of managing turf for a course like yours in the transition zone?
O’Dell: That was the big difference from England. I had never seen people hand-water before. We had crews of three and four people just to hand-water at Bellerive. It was bizarre and at the same time horrible. You could lose turf in a matter of hours, if not minutes. So many factors go into managing turf in this part of the country, and a wrong decision can cost you everything.
For us at Aberdeen, we have to rely on cultural practices with our limited budget. I can remember a few seasons ago, it was so hot for so long that I was punching greens every two weeks to let them breathe, and I was constantly fearful of spot storms amid 100-degree temperatures. It can lead to many long, long days.
C&RB: What has been done to the course since you arrived?
O’Dell: Since I took over the club, with the help of the ownership, we have really tried to improve the course. We have added 12 new tees, eight new bunkers and moved some of the putting greens around, allowing for some tucked pins. We have reshaped the driving range and some fairways.
We consider ourselves very, very lucky in that we have a core group of golfers who play here often. We can normally tell each weekend by the same guys we see and the same habits they keep. With St. Louis having many options to play, competition is tough and a lot of golfers travel. We are getting more and more [players] to make the trip out to see us. We’re one of the few non-private courses in the area that hosts USGA events. We’re proud of what we do on a limited budget.
C&RB: How did you personally get into the business?
O’Dell: I thought I would get to play a lot of golf, so I decided to go to turf school. I even spent some time in the PGA program. I got my handicap to a three, but work and marriage cut back my play. If you work in the golf industry, do not expect to play much golf.
I came over to the United States when I was 25, thanks to an internship program offered by Michael O’Keefe at Ohio State. I was fortunate to be assigned to Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, when we were scheduled to host the American Express Championships in late September of 2001. But the terrorists hit on the 11th, and a few days later the decision was made to cancel. It was a tough time all the way around.
C&RB: How difficult is it to be both GM and Superintendent of your club?
O’Dell: The dual role really came about from the budget restraints during the recession. I had moved from a nearby course as the assistant superintendent to become the GM at Aberdeen. The superintendent job was then assigned to me later that year when he left.
For us it makes more sense, but I would not recommend it for everyone. It depends on the size of the club. With myself living only a few yards away, it makes sense. My normal day is up at 5 a.m. to open up the clubhouse and maintenance facility, remove equipment needed for the day, and mow a few greens until other staff arrives. Then I take some time to greet customers, before going back outside to help out with some of the daily work.
I normally meet with the ownership for a few minutes, then discuss the day with the clubhouse staff. Then it’s back outside for a while longer, until the maintenance crew takes off for the day. After that I plan the following day, spend some time with customers, and do some paperwork and catch up on some e-mails.
My day will finish around 5:30 p.m. I try to meet my daughter as she gets off the bus at 4:30 p.m. I spend a couple hours in the evening catching up on any items I missed or planning some e-blasts or updating websites, social media etc. I like it because I get to do a little bit of everything. It’s not that superintendents are not qualified to be GMs, but you have to be in the right situation.
C&RB: What future plans do you have for Aberdeen GC?
O’Dell: With the flood damage we periodically get, we are actually trying to flood-proof some of the holes. We are in the process of filling in a couple of bunkers that are situated in low-lying areas on the course, making them simple turf bunkers that we will mow at a normal rough height.
A couple of seasons ago, we started on a new nine holes. It was an idea to provide a venue for kids and beginners to learn the game away from the larger, busier course that might feel intimidating to some. The nine holes are adjacent to the main course and will have only one teeing ground, no bunkers, and be walking-only. The holes will range from 75 to 375 yards in length and also have some gentle ups-and-downs to them. We designed, and have shaped and seeded, all of the nine holes in-house. We are looking to open this course in the spring of 2017.
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