NAPOLEON — For the second-straight year, Kolton Holloway volunteered to be part of a grounds crew team to help set up the toughest test in golf — the United States Open.
Last year, Holloway, who is a Patrick Henry High School graduate, worked on the grounds at Oakmont Golf Course. Last week, Holloway spent six days helping to get Shinnecock Hills Golf Course in Southampton, New York, ready for the U.S. Open, which begins Thursday.
Holloway, who was promoted to assistant superintendent at the Napoleon Golf Club in January after working at the local nine-hole municipal course part time for nearly two years, said the biggest difference between the two experiences is the courses.
“Oakmont was known for its five-inch rough,” said Holloway, who hand mowed that rough last year. “Shinnecock has a lot of native fescue, which is more penalizing. Sometimes you can’t find the ball.
“The bunkering is similar,” added Holloway. “There are more than 130 bunkers on each course. There are more waste bunkers that are just off in the distance and maybe not necessarily in play, but make a good look (at Shinnecock Hills).”
He also said the greens are fast at both courses, but at Shinnecock the greens are po and bent mix (a combination of Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) and Creeping Bentgrass).
“They hold up well against being cut short, being rolled a lot and they’re pretty good at moisture management,” said Holloway.
This year, Holloway was part of a group of 12 volunteers from around the world, including groundskeepers from Australia, to help Shinnecock Hills Superintendent Jon Jensen set up the course for the U.S. Open. That was a lot less than last year, when there were 50 volunteers at Oakmont.
Holloway worked with two members of the grounds crew at Shinnecock Hills last year at Oakmont, creating a relationship which helped him this summer.
“I pushed (mowed) rough with those guys,” said Holloway. “That was a battle and we formed a pretty good bond. They knew they could trust me to do some other things that some of the new volunteers might not be comfortable with.”
Instead of hand mowing rough or raking bunkers like last year, Holloway was given much larger tasks this summer.
“This year I was actually on a mower — a triplex,” said Holloway. “I was cutting approaches. We also did a ton of hand watering with hoses, hitting all the fairway spots.
“I even had a greens loops, watering the greens and making sure the moisture was just right,” added Holloway. “It was just a cool experience to be able to know the golf course better, get to know the people running the golf course better, and just being trusted with some more important work.”
Holloway said he was able to watch several golfers play practice rounds during his week working on the course, including Jon Rahm of Spain, who is his pick to win the title this year.
“I saw him three of the six days I was there,” said Holloway, who also watched Patrick Reed and Adam Scott play practice rounds. “I got to talk to him a little bit too. He’s a pretty good guy.”
Holloway said he has taken many things away from his experiences at both golf courses, which he has brought back to the Napoleon Golf Club.
“The order and organization of how courses do things is typically the same,” said Holloway. “The amount of stuff that gets done is usually the same, but the little details are different at every course.”
Napoleon Golf Club Superintendent Tom Schwab said the biggest benefit of Holloway volunteering to help set up the U.S. Open the past two seasons is the guy who comes back to Napoleon.
“One of many benefits is when he comes back the dude has a rocket up his butt,” said Schwab. “He is excited to come back to Napoleon with anything he picks up from people there and figure out how to apply it here.”
Schwab said Holloway has been a key figure in the renovations the Napoleon Golf Club has undergone the past two seasons, including new bunkers on the third and fifth holes and extending greens on holes four and five.
“Whenever someone comes up to me to compliment the course, nine times out of 10 I tell them I have good help,” said Schwab. “Kolton is the kid that put us over the top. There is no way the golf course would be in as good condition as it is over the last year and a half without him.
“There are details he does that no one even notices, but you would if he didn’t do them,” added Schwab. “With him here we are doing so much more than we did in the past.”
Along with working full time at Napoleon Golf Club, Holloway is an assistant coach for the Patrick Henry football team and was the lead grounds keeper for PH’s Garrold Parratt Field, which hosted district and regional baseball tournaments this past spring.
“I want him to go to these places and see what it takes to be good in this industry,” said Schwab of Holloway’s volunteer work. “He absolutely has what it takes to be successful in this industry. He’s got the talent.”
Holloway said he has already started looking at opportunities next summer.
“The U.S. Open is at Pebble Beach next year and the LPGA (U.S. Open) is in Toledo (at Inverness Golf Club),” said Holloway. “But the dream is The Open (The British Open) which is at the Old Course at St. Andrews. I would love to go there and help out.”
Schwab said he would help Holloway in any way he could to go to one or two of those events next summer, helping to show that golf is the same sport whether its on a world-renowned course or a nine-hole muni in Henry County, Ohio.
“I hope he keeps doing it,” said Schwab. “I hope he keeps spreading our gospel.”