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CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 22, 2012David KennedyJim McGarveyCOQUITLAM, BRITISH COLUMBIA THE MODERATOR: We have with us David Kennedy, and on behalf of the CGSA, Jim McGarvey. Thank you for joining us. We'll begin first with a presentation. Jim, go ahead. JIM McGARVEY: I'm here representing the Canadian Golf Superintendent's Association which is the organization that represents approximately 1400 golf superintendents across Canada. The CGSA is dedicated to education, environmental commitment and supplying the tools and techniques to superintendents across the country that are required to do a fairly complicated job. The CGSA really wants to emphasize that there is a lot of work that goes into this not only by the superintendent, but also by other people. Maybe Dave will mention his crew. Dave has been the superintendent here at Vancouver Golf Club for ten years, I believe, and superintendent for 16 years overall, something in that neighborhood. DAVID KENNEDY: I haven't done the math lately, but something like that. JIM McGARVEY: And has been in the business for over 30 years. So part of recognizing the superintendent is the national plaque presentation. So I have a plaque here for Dave today that recognizes his contribution to the CN Canadian Women's Open today. So I'd like to present that to him. DAVID KENNEDY: Thanks very much. It means a lot to receive this from you. Jim hired me as his assistant back in the early '90s, and he's really done a lot for me in my career. And I just want to acknowledge that. I'd certainly like to acknowledge all of the work that my staff, my assistants, my equipment technician, my horticulturalists have done into putting on what we hope is going to be a first class event. THE MODERATOR: First and foremost, thank you for having us. Obviously everybody here is very much looking forward to the event. Can you talk about the lengthy preparation process, getting ready to host such a prestigious championship? DAVID KENNEDY: Of course. It started about a year ago when the LPGA events officials came up and looked at the golf course, and fortunately they liked what they saw. The LPGA has been very respectful of our golf course, realizing that it's a member's club, so they didn't try to reinvent the wheel. We didn't narrow up the fairways. They certainly wanted us to grow up the rough, do some preparation on our greens and tees to pretty much all of the playing surfaces to make them firm and fast to test the players. We did a little bit of tweaking around the greens. We narrowed the first cut of rough around the greens from about 6 feet to 40 inches just to put a premium on the second shot, a relatively short golf course, particularly the front nine, so they wanted to toughen it up a little bit that way. Then obviously, they wanted quick greens, fair greens. A lot of advanced work, getting rid of grains, top dressing and things like that, extra rolling. But mostly it was just grow up the rough and try to provide a firm golf course. Q. What are some of the early comments you've heard as far as after playing their practice rounds and Pro‑Ams so far? DAVID KENNEDY: In general, they love being here in the Pacific Northwest, it seems. They love the trees. They love the vistas. A lot of them looked at the card and thought it was going to be fairly easy. Then they found the front nine greens a little more than challenging. In fact, the LPGA has been quite cognizant of the fact that it can get away. They can be a little bit too fast. So the players are starting to figure that out. They seem to enjoy the golf course. It's two different nines, a hilly, tree-lined front nine, forested back nine. They seem to be really enjoying it. The caddies are commenting a lot on the greens and how difficult they're going to be to figure out. Q. What type of player do you think will really showcase their true skills on a course like this and really be able to, not say dominate but showcase a solid performance out there every day? DAVID KENNEDY: I don't think it's going to have to be the longest hitter out there. In watching the girls, I realized that they're amazingly consistent and they hit it very straight. So those who can control their iron shots and keep it below the hole, chipping and putting obviously, that goes without saying. But I think a well‑rounded player, but it's really hard to say. I've had the opportunity to watch a lot of tournaments in person, but to actually work it. So your guess is as good as mine. I hate to say it. Q. Do you have a personal favorite hole out there? Maybe one on the front, one on the back that you deem the signature features of the course? DAVID KENNEDY: Yeah, absolutely. On the front nine, I particularly have the fifth hole. It's the uphill dogleg par‑4, probably the most difficult testing green out there. On the back nine I really like the 10th hole. It's a relatively short dogleg left par‑5. But the back drop is the North Shore mountains, I grew up over there basically at the base of the mountains. It's a beautiful golf hole with a very interesting green. It will be fun to watch. There are going to be some birdies and some opportunities for eagles. Q. For people that don't know that much about golf but want to come out here and watch it on the course. What are some tips for them about how to watch this tournament here this weekend? DAVID KENNEDY: I can offer several. Out on the front nine we've got the 7th hole, par‑3s. You'll be able to watch action on both of those holes there. The third hole, we renovated them both last year. The third hole might be our signature in the future, but they're interesting holes. They'll be hitting different clubs, challenging greens. So that is a very good spot. On the back nine, because it winds through the forest, I think you just want to walk it either forwards or backwards to see the entire place. There are not a lot of places where holes meet up together, so I would just enjoy the whole back nine. Q. Do the greens break toward the downtown or are there any nuances of the greens that I can share with some of the players or share with the audience and make myself look smart? DAVID KENNEDY: We really don't have a predominant direction where they break. Not towards the city or over towards the ocean over that way. The very subtle greens, the members greens, if you will. They're very difficult to read. So each of them is an individual, like I said, very subtle. After I've been here for over ten years, I still can't read some of them. Q. What happens when I meet up with the coyotes on the back nine? Does he like anything in particular, ham sandwiches, popcorn? DAVID KENNEDY: Well, I suppose he probably would, but we obviously discourage anybody from feeding them. They've become a little bit too used to human beings out there. So, just yell at them. That's what I do. Q. In terms of the course and what scoring might occur, lots of low scores. It seems that that won't be the case here? DAVID KENNEDY: It's difficult to say. If we get a little rain and the golf course softens up a bit, they could go fairly low. They could go mid‑double digits, perhaps. If we don't get any rain and the course gets firmer and firmer, then 10 or less might be the number. But it really is up to Mother Nature and what she's going to serve up. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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