2025 Tour Guide: ISCO Championship
Looking ahead to the 2025 ISCO Championship, Walter Pritchett, CGCS, is unsure of what to expect. Although he has served as director of golf course operations at Louisville’s Hurstbourne Country Club for 22 years, the club has never hosted a PGA Tour tournament.
The unknowns are plentiful. First, several infrastructure and logistical elements will need to be considered outside the ropes before and after the tournament. Second, Pritchett is unsure how many fans will be attending the tournament. Similarly, he doesn’t know how much foot traffic will impact the club’s course conditions — and how long they’ll actually be influenced.
But he does know this: When it comes to each of his agronomy team members, his confidence is high. Not only that, but the various agronomic programs that his team has implemented in recent years, months and weeks will guarantee that Hurstbourne Country Club is in top condition for each PGA Tour player.
“With the right preparation and teamwork, I know we’ll rise to the occasion and make this a championship to remember,” Pritchett says.
Renovating for the future
Before Hurstbourne Country Club was announced as this year’s ISCO Championship host site, a renovation project had already begun. From 2022 to 2024, course architect Keith Foster oversaw a “course refresh,” as bunkers were rebuilt and sand splash was eliminated from greens. Contours were slightly adjusted on each green, too. In addition, a few tee areas were relocated, and some fairway lines were refined.
Furthermore, while Foster supervised the refresh, a 2.5-acre short game practice facility was built. It has three chipping greens and a 9,000-square-foot putting green. In preparation for the ISCO Championship, a tournament practice area was built on Hurstbourne Country Club’s nine-hole Chapel Course as well.
“PGA Tour representatives have said it’s one of the top three practice areas they’ve seen,” Pritchett says. “Each of these improvements has positioned us well as we prepare for this event.”
Although certain infrastructure and logistical issues give him pause, they simply won’t have a significant, negative influence on Pritchett and his agronomy team. A long-time volunteer at other PGA Tour events over the years, he has witnessed how beneficial teamwork is with regard to a tournament’s success.
Luckily for Pritchett, his agronomy team is comprised of highly trained and well-educated individuals who communicate efficiently with one another and work well together. Their combined efforts will lead to success, period.
“I have full confidence in our team,” he stresses. “They’ll do their best, embrace the challenges and enjoy the ride.”
A shared commitment
While reflecting on his decades of experience as a tournament volunteer, Pritchett has also witnessed the camaraderie that often forms among industry peers. If his past experiences are of any indication, such companionship will be created during the 2025 ISCO Championship, likely between volunteers and Hurstbourne Country Club agronomy staff members alike.
“It never ceases to amaze me how a group of professionals comes together — working long hours with nothing more than a promise of hot coffee and a meal — yet leaves with lifelong friendships,” he says. “This event is about more than just golf anyway. It’s about the shared commitment, teamwork and connections that will last well beyond tournament week.”
These connections will especially occur among the roughly 40 volunteers who will be assisting Pritchett and his agronomy team throughout the 2025 ISCO Championship.
“To attract each of the volunteers we need for the ISCO Championship, we are fortunate to have a strong network and an active local superintendent chapter, the Kentuckiana Chapter,” Pritchett says. “It will provide the majority of our volunteers.”
As for any other volunteers that the chapter doesn’t offer? Pritchett believes some of his long-standing friends and peers in the industry will assist, too — professionals he’s previously worked alongside.
“They’ll give back to help us deliver a successful event,” he adds. Aside from volunteers, Pritchett will also utilize various local vendors’ and suppliers’ skills and assets.
“They’re often unnoticed or underappreciated during tournaments, but their support is essential, from assisting with logistics to helping volunteers and ensuring courses are tournament-ready,” he says. “They play a major role in making any Tour stop possible, and I know I’ll be relying on our vendors and suppliers heavily.”
Related Articles
2025 Tour Guide: Senior U.S. Open
2025 Tour Guide: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Subscribe to Golfdom
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to Golfdom to receive more articles just like it.
