As anyone who lives in the northeast of the United States can attest it was a particularly brutal winter with multiple storms and plenty of snow.
That historically frigid forecast is relevant as the golf world prepares for next week’s PGA Championship, which will be played at Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia.
“The grass is growing,” Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America’s chief championship officer, told Golf Channel. “The course is in outstanding condition. We’re in great shape. Mother Nature is going to happen. [The growing season] is certainly late really getting going. Any of these northern venues are like this. It’s just late, it’s different. In August, you had three months in prime condition and you sort of were just hanging on.”
Aronimink’s condition next week along with the possible overhaul of the PGA Tour schedule under new CEO Brian Rolapp has fueled speculation that the PGA Championship could relocate back to August. The PGA Championship moved from its traditional August date to May in 2019 at least, in part, at the urging of the PGA Tour in order to condense its playoff schedule. But even if the current overhaul of the Tour schedule opens the door to a possible return to August, the potential move appeared to be a nonstarter for Haigh and the PGA of America.
“There were a lot of discussions in 2017 and 2018 when the decision was made to move it to May. One of those decisions was that one of every four years we were going to have to change the date because of the Olympics,” explained Haigh, pointing out that golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016 required a late-summer window with no major events conflicting with the Games.
“With the Tour wanting to play their playoffs before the start of football season, it made a lot of sense for us to move back to being the second of four majors in May,” he added. “It’s the start of golf season for the country and our PGA members, it’s a great start to promote a championship field.”
Haigh added that there haven’t been any discussions internally about moving the association’s championship back to August and he pointed out that depending on the venue an August date for the championship also came with its share of agronomic issues.
“The grass is a lot healthier in May than it was in August. While it was grown and mature [in August] we were dealing with other issues, heat and humidity and more play. Golf courses are actually in better shape in May,” Haigh said.
