By Jonah Bronstein
Niagara Gazette
LEWISTON — LEWISTON — Heading into the Fourth of July weekend, Steve Denn was confident that this year’s Porter Cup was going to be a success.
Then the sprinklers at Niagara Falls Country Club started spewing fertilizer on the carefully manicured greens.
A malfunction in the fertigation system, which mixes fertilizer with the irrigation water, caused parts of the course to be flooded with a heavy dose of corrosive liquid.
When told what happened, Denn, the tournament director, couldn’t even bring himself to look at the damage.
While several greens were affected by the accident, two were rendered unplayable.
“There wasn’t a blade of green grass on No. 11,” Denn said.
Temporary greens were installed in front of the 11th hole, and the 13th hole, which is playing as No. 12 for the Porter Cup.
NFCC contracted with Colin Boyd, who runs a turf company based in Grove City, Pa., to re-sod and repair the two greens.
“He is the best in the business,” Denn said. “It’s kind of his specialty to come in and make the best of a bad situation. I’m told that he did a similar thing at Oak Hill back in 2003 when Oak Hill was hosting the PGA.”
Denn also heard that Boyd was installing a green at the White House when contacted by NFCC.
“I’m not sure if he finished making the green for our president, or dropped everything and came up to Niagara Falls,” Denn said. “He came up with his equipment and his own sod, and it was an amazing process to watch.”
The greens were played for the first time Wednesday, less than three weeks after Boyd began his work.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect with the new sod. We practiced on different greens,” said David Chung, who is tied for second after shooting 65 on Wednesday. “It was a bit slower, a little more hairy than the other greens, but it rolled fine.”
A soft, dense surface is a sign of a healthy green, Denn said.
“If you’re putting well, you don’t even notice,” said Nathan Smith, a Porter Cup veteran who shot 64 and sits in fourth.
Denn said the greens were repaired not only for the prestigious amateur tournament but also so that club members didn’t have to play on temporary greens for the rest of the summer.
“We will probably consider doing that with a few other greens, ripping them out and bringing in new sod,” Denn said. “We’ve got some old greens with a lot of stuff in there we’d like to get rid of.”
Remnants of the fertigation accident can be found on seven or eight greens, Denn said, notably on the front of the 18th.
•••
15-year-old up to par
Gavin Hall doesn’t yet have a driver’s license, but he’s quite a driver.
And a putter, and a chipper and an ironer.
Hall, 15, shot par 70 on Wednesday, better than more than 50 of his elders in the field, then lamented that he “didn’t make the putts you need to make to keep the momentum going.”
Last week, Hall shot a course-record 62 at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, Mich., at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
Days earlier, Hall won the Rochester District Golf Association John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial Championship by 18 strokes in his hometown of Pittsford, and was called “a phenomenon” by the RDGA president.
Hall played Wednesday with Emiliano Grillo, a 17-year-old Argentinan who also shot 70, and Curtis Thompson, a 17-year-old from Florida who carded a 74.
“I’m amazed at how good some of these younger players are,” said the 31-year-old Smith, who played with 16-year-old Matteo Manassero at the Masters.
Denn discovered Hall at last summer’s Monroe Invitational.
“On the pairing sheet, they list their name and the college where they play at,” Denn said. “Sometimes you see HS, for high school. Next to his name, it said MS, for middle school.
“At the time he was 14 going on 18, with his maturity level. I didn’t get him in the field last year, but this year I gave him an early invitation. I could see the talent. I wanted to get him in before he really breaks through.”
Hall didn’t even begin focusing on golf until he was 11. His first passion was baseball.
In interviews, he sounds like a seasoned veteran of the sport.
“We’re all playing the same golf course,” he said when asked about the high winds. “You can’t complain about that.”
“I want to act like I should be here,” he said, “and focus on playing a couple good rounds of golf.”
