How St Enodoc served up a major championship course for Rory McIlroy

When Rory McIlroy turns up at a golf course, the greenkeeping team have usually had weeks to produce a layout fit for a Grand Slam winner.

When the Masters champion made an unexpected trip to St Enodoc ahead of The Open in July, along with Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and former Open champion Shane Lowry, Head Greenkeeper William Smith and his staff did not have the luxury of time.

But despite finding out only the night before the exalted trio were set to arrive for an early-afternoon tee time, standards are high at the Top 100 Cornwall venue.

“The only additional thing we did that morning was put out the championship tees and give the greens an extra roll,” William said. “Other than that, we didn’t change our routine whatsoever because we were happy with where we had the course. We weren’t chasing anything.”

 

McIlroy’s visit to St Enodoc energised the club, its members, and the media – with images and video of the six-time major champion playing the Church course going round the world.

William said: “To have the class of golfer that came and played that day was a fantastic moment. It’s the biggest thing this club’s ever seen. But the best thing about it was there was so little notice. It wasn’t like we were building up to it for weeks. We had 12 hours’ notice, and still produced a fantastic golf course, which they really enjoyed.”

The St Enodoc team even had to negotiate a last-minute machinery failure on the morning of the visit.

“We had one of our mowers cutting the surrounds to our front putting green, and it leaked oil all around the green,” William said. “We drove it out onto the path and it lost all its power, steering and brakes, and crashed straight into a wall at the entrance leading up to our clubhouse. Of all the days to have this issue! Can you imagine if you got Rory walking up the path and he slips over and hurts his ankle and then he can’t play in The Open? We used a pressure washer on the oil, rebuilt the wall and, by the time any of the office staff came in, nobody knew anything had happened.”