Jared Brewster is in back-to-back mode.
Brewster, who is volunteering for superintendent Keith Wood during the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club, says he will look back fondly on this event while he also focuses on the future. A year from now, Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis holds the 100th PGA Championship. Brewster is assistant superintendent there.
“It’s going to be huge for St. Louis,” Brewster says. In fact, he cited what is planned for today at Bellerive. Members will gather at the club to watch the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow on the big screen and get revved up because they are on deck.
“Our members are very challenged. They have high expectations, which they should,” he says.
This won’t be Bellerive’s first major moment. In 1965, Gary Player won the U.S. Open. In 1981, it hosted the inaugural U.S. Mid-Amateur and, 11 years later, welcomed its first PGA Championship.
What is significant about Bellerive in 2018 is that it will host what could be the final PGA Championship played in August for the foreseeable future. The PGA of America recently announced it will be moving to May starting in 2019.
At Quail Hollow, Brewster is collecting ideas that he hopes help him, superintendent Carlos Arraya, CGCS, and their crew as they continue their countdown to a major occasion.
“One thing I have learned here is that this is a team. They are dedicated to the team to make everything as good as possible,” Brewster says.
Howard Richman is GCM’s associate editor.