Graphic: Golfdom staff
The 2023 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship will kick off on Sept. 18, a welcome change for Superintendent Dennis Bowsher after the PGA Tour moved the tournament during the 2018 Korn Ferry season.
The past four tournaments have started in the final two weeks of August, which has proved to be unfortunate timing for Bowsher and his 15 full-time employees.
As a university course, Bowsher says students make up a solid chunk of his workforce during the season, joining his full-timers and 15 or so retirees.
“We’ve had (students) have their first day on the job at tournament time because the fall semester students are just moving back during that time,” he says. “With the September start, we’re going to have a better opportunity to, at least, get the students who want to start in the fall trained for a week or two before the tournament gets here.”
The move to September will also give Bowsher extra time to get his course to its best conditions. It also helps because the Nationwide Children’s is the third of four Korn Ferry Tour Finals, meaning the tournament field will be just 120 golfers, down from the 156 at the Finals’ first stop in Boise, Idaho.
“We’ll have a lot less daylight (around tournament time), which is going to make it tight on us to get a large part of our work done in the morning and evening,” he says. “In a typical year, we’re a bit drier in September, so, hopefully, we see that again this year and get the course firmer and faster.”
Dennis Bowsher, superintendent at the Ohio State University Golf Club says the support tournament organizers give to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, located in Columbus, Ohio, adds to the pride he feels in hosting the tournament. (Photo: HNS Sports Group)
What else changes?
The lead-up to tournament week is already busy enough for Bowsher, with additional mowing among other duties — including training newly-minted staff members.
“The biggest difference as we lead up to the tournament and advance week is the frequencies we mow,” he says. “If we were mowing fairways three times a week through the season, that gets moved up to an everyday task. The same thing with the tees and approaches as well.”
The previous stop on the Korn Ferry Tour before Columbus is The Grove in College Grove, Tenn., for the Simmons Bank Open benefitting the Snedeker Foundation. As a result, Bowsher expects more practice rounds than usual — the Nationwide Children’s was previously the No. 2 stop after Boise — which means he’ll have staff on-hand at 5 a.m. mowing greens and tees and prepping bunkers.
“After that, I’ll keep 10 guys around through the day to do the miscellaneous stuff,” he says. “Then we’re relaxing as much as we can during the day, waiting for a radio call to say, ‘Hey, we need to address this,’ or if the weather is getting bad, we could have tournament directors calling us.”
With a later start date, Bowsher hopes his crew, which relies on students, will have a bit more experience under their belt before tournament time. (Photo: HNS Sports Group)
As the day winds to a close, Bowsher and his crew regroup and review what the crew needs to do before the next day.
“Once we’re able to get out there, we’re going at it until ‘dark 30’ or until we’re done,” he says. “Then we go home for what sometimes feels like just a nap, and then we’re back in here well before dawn to start over again.”
A Buckeye at heart
As a 1983 graduate of Ohio State, Bowsher takes extra pride in his work on the Scarlet Course. He also enjoys meeting some Buckeye legends when they come to experience what he and his crew put together.
“The first day or two I was here, I went to the clubhouse to eat lunch, and Archie Griffin was at the table right next to me. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Archie Griffin,’” he says.
Following the tournament, Ohio State’s men’s and women’s golf teams will take their hacks at the Sunday hole locations, followed by members. Bowsher says that’s a short-lived break for his staff, however.
“With where we’re at in September at that point, we have aeration the following week, so my staff gets to rest a bit before that,” he says. “The following week, we have state high school golf tournaments for a weekend and then, another tournament the weekend after.”
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