🏌️♂️☁️🎯 Keep one Eye on da Sky fo’ da Betta Golf Game
Plenny kine professional sports stay checking da weather fo’ecast, but golf stay on top. P.G.A. Championship, held inside da hard kine weather area of western New York, no joke. 🗽🏌️♂️💨
Before da sun wen’ come up on Thursday, Stewart Williams wen’ jump in one serious talk inside small room on top da second floor of Oak Hill Country Club, close to da country’s northern border. Da night wen’ bring cool air, clear skies and small kine wind – and that wen’ make choke problems. ❄️🌬️🌚
Frost wen’ start building up on top da golf course, and less than two hours befo’ da P.G.A. Championship wen’ start, da tournament’s head official needed to know wen’ da frost goin’ pau. Fo’ now, one of da most prestij golf tournaments would be shaped not by da sporting genius of one Rahm, or one Koepka, or one McIlroy, but by da gut feel and data of one weatherman from High Point, N.C., who hardly play da game. 🏌️♂️🔬⏱️
By mid morning, da competition wen’ finally start, Williams was thinking about da next hazard: one front that threatened to soak da course during Saturday’s third round. ☔🌦️⛳
“Nobody,” he wen’ think inside da sunlight, “wen’ focused on da rain until da frost wen’ move.” 🌤️☔💭
But get few sports that focus on da weather like golf, and few that depend plenny on weathermen who travel to venues to make accurate forecasts. Local TV stations and weather apps may offer forecasts fo’ big kine areas; specialists like Williams, who spent most of his life around golf courses, make predictions fo’ areas of just few square miles. 📺📱🎯
At one popular event like da P.G.A. Championship, his predictions might not affect da tournament as much as da rule book, but they goin’ influence course agronomy and pin placements, TV broadcast preparations and emergency planning. One 350-acre property with not too much shelters, organizers often say, take more long time to clear out than most places. 📖📺🏃♂️
“When you see one red line that span about 400 miles north to south, no need be one rocket scientist fo’ see that it’s coming,” said Sellers Shy, da lead golf producer for CBS, who goin’ show weekend rounds and keeps one weather map inside his bank of production monitors. “But their technology and their expertise literally gets it down to how far away it is, as well as wen’ it will arrive and wen’ da horn will blow to within five minutes, probably.” 🚀🎥⏰
Shy use da forecasts fo’ plan for breaks in play — still get airtime to fill, even if no one is trying to escape Oak Hill’s rough — but Kerry Haigh, P.G.A. of America’s head championships officer and da guy who really needed to know da timing of da frost melt, rely on them for course setup, shifting his thinking about tee and hole locations to accommodate conditions over a 72-hole tournament. 📡🏌️♂️🔃
“You almost cannot do without them in running any spectator championship, or really any golf event,” said Haigh, whose desk at Oak Hill is basically one putt away from Williams’s, where da forecaster wen’ switch his laptop screen among maps, models and charts. 💻🗺️📊
Outside, next to one kiddie pool, one battery-powered tower Williams had set up was up in da air, detecting electrical charges that could give just a little bit more warning before lightning, the biggest worry at a sprawling golf tournament, strikes. An anemometer wen’ spin at da top. ⚡🌩️🎡
Golf execs neva yet find one easy spot with a guarantee of always nice conditions, and tournament histories stay choke with disruptions that some experts think will become more often as da climate changes. Last year’s Players Championship wen’ finish one day late because of bumbye weather in Florida, much like this year’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. In Augusta, Ga., in April, da Masters Tournament wen’ miss its first Monday finish since 1983 — but it had to squeeze the end of the third round and the entire fourth round into Sunday. And da 2018 P.G.A. Championship had Friday play wen’ go kapakahi when electrical storms wen’ bang the St. Louis area. Da next year, six people were injured after lightning strikes at a tournament in Atlanta, where fast-developing thunderstorms are one summertime kine thing. ⛈️🌀🏆
Oak Hill Country Club, in one suburb of Rochester, no more one totally predictable forecast, especially in May, when da area’s weather patterns are in transition. The nearby Great Lakes add to da puzzle since they can add moisture and unusual winds. Williams wen’ cover da 2013 P.G.A. Championship at da club, an experience that was only so valuable this time around since that tournament wen’ happen in August. 🌷🌦️🌪️
For this year’s event, he wen’ start studying da area’s weather tendencies about one month ago, noting which forecasting models seemed more accurate than others in the area. He also wen’ check out historical trends. 📅🕵️♂️📈
“You always trying to stay in tune with how do the data sources behave at the site you’re at, so you can understand tendencies and bias that helps alter how you forecast,” said Renny Vandewege, a vice president at DTN, da weather company that employs Williams and works with the PGA Tour, the L.P.G.A. and the P.G.A. of America. (It is not always a private sector endeavor; Britain’s national meteorological service, which is under contract with the R&A, sends forecasters to the British Open.) 🎯💼🇬🇧
The influx of data, Williams and Vandewege said, helps, especially with technology that has rapidly improved in recent decades and models that now yield projections every hour. The human element, they insist, matters, perhaps more than ever in an era of easily accessible weather data. 🧑💻⌛💾
“For us as weathermen, I look at this model, and then maybe I look at a different one — it may have this further east, having everything arrive faster,” Williams said as he sat next to Vandewege and weighed the approaching storm system. “That’s when you start using your instincts.” 🌩️🗺️💭
Tournaments vary in the number of official forecasts they issue on a daily basis, but players and caddies check them out once they hit inboxes and are posted at the first and 10th tees. Some regularly approach Williams asking for even more specific details for the days ahead, and the course superintendent is always looking for projected evapotranspiration rates, or how much moisture leaves the grass and soil. Davis Love III, Williams said, also liked to ask what to expect for his fishing trips. 📧🏌️♂️🎣
NOW IN ENGLISH
🏌️♂️☁️🎯 Keep one Eye on the Sky for a Better Golf Game
Many professional sports pay attention to the weather forecast, but golf takes it to another level. The P.G.A. Championship, held in the unpredictable weather region of western New York, is no laughing matter. 🗽🏌️♂️💨
Before dawn on Thursday, Stewart Williams was engaged in a serious discussion in a small room on the second floor of Oak Hill Country Club, close to the country’s northern border. The night had brought cool air, clear skies, and a light breeze – conditions that were causing significant problems. ❄️🌬️🌚
Frost had started to form on the golf course, and less than two hours before the P.G.A. Championship was due to start, the tournament’s head official needed to know when the frost would dissipate. For now, one of the most prestigious golf tournaments would be shaped not by the sporting genius of a Rahm, a Koepka, or a McIlroy, but by the intuition and data of a weatherman from High Point, N.C., who rarely played the game. 🏌️♂️🔬⏱️
By mid-morning, when the competition had finally begun, Williams was already considering the next hazard: a weather front that threatened to drench the course during Saturday’s third round. ☔🌦️⛳
“No one,” he thought in the morning sunshine, “was focused on the rain until the frost had cleared.” 🌤️☔💭
Few sports focus on the weather as much as golf, and fewer still rely so heavily on weathermen who travel to venues to make accurate forecasts. While local TV stations and weather apps may offer forecasts for large areas, specialists like Williams, who has spent most of his life around golf courses, make predictions for areas of just a few square miles. 📺📱🎯
At a popular event like the P.G.A. Championship, his predictions might not be as influential as the rule book, but they will affect course agronomy and pin placements, TV broadcast preparations, and emergency planning. A 350-acre property with limited shelters, organizers often say, takes longer to evacuate than most places. 📖📺🏃♂️
“When you see a red line that spans about 400 miles north to south, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that it’s coming,” said Sellers Shy, the lead golf producer for CBS, who will be broadcasting the weekend rounds and keeps a weather map on his bank of production monitors. “But their technology and their expertise literally gets it down to how far away it is, as well as when it will arrive and when the horn will blow to within five minutes, probably.” 🚀🎥⏰
Shy uses the forecasts to plan for breaks in play – there’s still airtime to fill, even if no one is playing golf at Oak Hill – but Kerry Haigh, P.G.A. of America’s head championships officer and the man who really needed to know the timing of the frost thaw, relies on them for course setup, adjusting his thinking about tee and hole locations to accommodate conditions over a 72-hole tournament. 📡🏌️♂️🔃
“You almost cannot do without them in running any spectator championship, or really any golf event,” said Haigh, whose desk at Oak Hill is just a putt away from Williams’s, where the forecaster alternated his laptop screen between maps, models, and charts. 💻🗺️📊
Outside, next to a kiddie pool, a battery-powered tower Williams had set up was collecting data, detecting electrical charges that could provide just a bit more warning before lightning, the biggest concern at a sprawling golf tournament, strikes. An anemometer was spinning at the top. ⚡🌩️🎡
Golf executives have not yet found a location with guaranteed perfect conditions, and tournament histories are littered with disruptions that some experts believe will become more frequent as the climate changes. Last year’s Players Championship ended a day late due to inclement weather in Florida, much like this year’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. In Augusta, Ga., in April, the Masters Tournament missed its first Monday finish since 1983 – but it had to squeeze the end of the third round and the entire fourth round into Sunday. And the 2018 P.G.A. Championship saw Friday play disrupted when electrical storms hit the St. Louis area. The next year, six people were injured after lightning strikes at a tournament in Atlanta, where fast-developing thunderstorms are a common summertime occurrence. ⛈️🌀🏆
Oak Hill Country Club, in a suburb of Rochester, does not have a wholly predictable forecast, especially in May, when the area’s weather patterns are in transition. The nearby Great Lakes add to the puzzle as they can introduce moisture and unusual winds. Williams covered the 2013 P.G.A. Championship at the club, an experience that was only somewhat valuable this time around since that tournament was held in August. 🌷🌦️🌪️
For this year’s event, he began studying the area’s weather tendencies about a month ago, noting which forecasting models seemed more accurate than others in the area. He also looked at historical trends. 📅🕵️♂️📈
“You always try to stay in tune with how the data sources behave at the site you’re at, so you can understand tendencies and bias that helps alter how you forecast,” said Renny Vandewege, a vice president at DTN, the weather company that employs Williams and works with the PGA Tour, the L.P.G.A., and the P.G.A. of America. (It’s not always a private sector endeavor; Britain’s national meteorological service, which is under contract with the R&A, sends forecasters to the British Open.) 🎯💼🇬🇧
The influx of data, Williams and Vandewege said, helps, especially with technology that has rapidly improved in recent decades and models that now provide projections every hour. The human element, they insist, matters, perhaps more than ever in an era of easily accessible weather data. 🧑💻⌛💾
“For us as weathermen, I look at this model, and then maybe I look at a different one – it may have this further east, having everything arrive faster,” Williams said as he sat next to Vandewege and considered the approaching storm system. “That’s when you start using your instincts.” 🌩️🗺️💭
Tournaments vary in the number of official forecasts they issue on a daily basis, but players and caddies check them as soon as they hit inboxes and are posted at the first and 10th tees. Some regularly approach Williams asking for even more specific details for the days ahead, and the course superintendent is always looking for projected evapotranspiration rates, or how much moisture leaves the grass and soil. Davis Love III, Williams said, also liked to ask what to expect for his fishing trips. 📧🏌️♂️🎣
