A Tiger on Their Turf
Golf's U.S. Open search committee has selected beautiful Bethpage 'Black' — a public course — as its site for 2002. Tiger Woods is coming to town.
By Susan Ellen Holleran
FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK
It's a mid-summer night. An owl hoots from a tree. The fireflies have settled down into the tall grass. Drivers sleep in the line of cars parked along Round Swamp Road, waiting to get the best tee times at Bethpage Golf Course, when it opens at dawn.
This has been the pattern for more than 60 years, as golfers looking for high quality and affordability have made the pilgrimage here. In its early days, Bethpage drew Broadway stars like Al Jolson and Fannie Brice. Today, Japanese executives fly to Long Island on golf vacations. But this year brings a special distinction.
RECOGNITION. The famed U.S. Open has chosen Bethpage's "Black" course as the site of its June 2002 tournament. It will be the first time that golf's equivalent of the World Series will be played on a public course.
"We have worked for years to bring this course up to its potential," says Bill Gundel, steward for the Civil Service Employ-ees Association (CSEA)/ AFSCME Local 1000 bargaining unit.
"Most of the course was resodded two years ago. It takes that long for it to really take hold."
Workers' faces gleam with pride as they talk about the honor. Superstar Tiger Woods will be competing on their home turf. They are all doing their best to make sure Bethpage lives up to stringent championship standards.
Throughout the course, tees are being raised and reconstructed farther from the hole, to present more of a challenge. Surveyors and grounds crews use sophisticated devices to make sure the tees are solidly developed and carefully leveled.
Irrigation specialists program watering schedules to fit the weather, sun/shade conditions, and the needs of the different types of grass used for greens, fairways and roughs.
BE SHARP. At the machine shop, workers care for more than 50 types of landscaping equipment: sharpening mowers and adjusting blade height within minute tolerances; maintaining sandblowers that help nurture the close-cropped grass on the greens; and serving as "go-to" guys whenever mechanical problems arise.
Everywhere you look, grounds crews are busy with their varied tasks, combining physical labor with ex-pertise. They maintain the bunkers — particularly important after storms — and the wooded areas adjacent to the fairways. One member even tends the lovely rose garden that he designed and planted.
The Open's impending arrival has drawn interns from university golf administration programs. They are enjoying the opportunity of a lifetime: participating in the give-and-take camaraderie of the intense preparations, while adding handsome credentials to their resumes.
COME TO PLAY. The 1,368-acre Bethpage park complex — run by Long Island's State Parks and Recreation — features tennis courts, an active polo field and four other golf courses: Red, Yellow, Green and Blue. Master course architect A. W. Tillinghast designed all but the Yellow. The Black is said to be his finest work. With narrow fairways, high roughs, well-placed bunkers and small greens, it is extremely difficult to play.
CSEA Local 102 has long represented the employees, including seasonal workers. "We never know how long people will stay on the job," says Local 102 Pres. Paul D'Aleo, "so we just sign them all up." That practice has kept the union strong and given workers the opportunity to become partners in course operations.
When AFSCME members — and the millions of other viewers worldwide — watch the U.S. Open in June, they'll see a lot more than Tiger. They will bask in the glory of their brothers and sisters as they salute public service at its most happily visible.
