Half an hour before sunrise, with the sky a hazy pink above the treeline, cars start rolling up to the northwest corner of Glen Abbey Golf Course. Younger members of the maintenance crew are dropped off by their parents; others ride bikes across the vacant cart paths, enjoying a few sacred moments alone on the course. The morning meeting starts at 5:30 a.m., sharp, and all 35 staffers are present and accounted for — superintendent Andrew Gyba, 33, runs a tight ship.
Ahead of the tournament, Gryba reminded everyone that things would change when the PGA agronomist took over. “If you guys think we’ve been getting nitpicky over divots, over cleanup cuts, over how we rake the bunkers, over the speed of the greens, just wait until (Harry Schuemann) gets on site,” he says. “The reason we’ve been pushing you so hard is so you’re prepared for when he’s here and for when it comes time for us to do what we need to do in front of the players.”
PHOTO GALLERY: A behind-the-scenes look at Glen Abbey GC
Readying the course for the Canadian Open is a massive undertaking. Glen Abbey has hosted the event 26 times since 1977, but only once in the past five years. Many of Gyba’s staff have never been involved in a PGA event before, and it’s his job to ensure every blade of grass on the 7,273-yard course is perfect before the cameras, crowds and pros show up. “It’s a big deal. A big, big deal,” he says. “I don’t want to be able to see a single clipping. No clumps, no nothing. Otherwise, it’s high-definition, 60-inch TVs, 30 countries, and a pile of clippings sitting there beside (the pros).”
Despite the pressure, everyone — from college kids to semi-retired operators to green-thumbed lifers — seems genuinely happy to be here. Regardless of the crazy hours and the gruelling labour, being on this crew means spending their days on one of Canada’s most beautiful golf courses, the same one where the likes of Bubba Watson, Jason Day and Jim Furyk had been teeing it up at the Canadian Open.