A summer of so little rain has been the main issue for the Albatros course at Le Golf National over the last several weeks. Hand watering of the greens has been necessary, says course superintendent Alejandro Reyes, while he has been overseeding some of the weaker areas of growth while waiting for the rain to fall.
However, Reyes and his team include the Albatros course superintendent Lucas Pierre are also prepared for the opposite scenario – that is, if there are biblical storms. “We have had a terrible storm in July,” Pierre told one interviewer recently, “and we know what we will do after that kind of situation. It helped us make more plans about what is the priority if this happens.”
Meanwhile, the build for the tournament continues and the cranes have moved to the fan village near the west entrance. Work on many of the hospitality pavilions is continuing apace including near the crucial par 3 second hole and the various grandstands are also taking shape with plenty of heavy machinery being brought in to help settle the scaffolding structures.
With 10 days to go before the course is closed to the public, the pace of the build will speed up shortly. The first signs of the Ryder Cup logo are not far away.
Pictured top: The main fan village near the west entrance