How Metedeconk National GC beats the August heat during the Magnit Championship

It’s the Monday after St. Patrick’s Day, the opening day at Metedeconk National Golf Course. This is a new trend in recent years considering the lackluster and unseasonable warm winters in Jackson Township, N.J., and the rest of the East Coast.

As a result, the private club’s members are chomping at the bit.

“It’s a warm spring, and everybody’s itching to go,” says Andrew Mallick, superintendent at Metedeconk for the last 11 years. “They were pretty much lined up ready to play this morning.”

Metedeconk National is a challenging 27-hole masterpiece designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones and his associate Roger Rulewich. This golfing gem, situated on 650 acres of rugged New Jersey wilderness, features three distinct nines that offer variety and strategic play. The first and third combine to form the championship course, which hosts the prestigious mid-August Magnit Championship.

With the unseasonable winter and early play, Mallick has taken a more conservative approach to maintaining tournament conditions on the course. His intent has been not to push the turf to its limits and get it to peak during tournament week.

This includes preparing for a worst-case scenario when it comes to the mid- to late-August weather — intense heat and drought or extreme precipitation.

“It’s the weather’s unpredictability that’s a real challenge,” Mallick says. “Last year, the Wednesday before (the Magnit), we got an inch and a half of rain. But in other years, it could be in the 90s during the day and the 70s at night. You just have to learn to adapt and adjust to what you’re doing on the fly.

“We don’t keep (the course) wet. We just ensure there’s moisture in the ground,” he adds. “I make sure our bi-weekly sprays are on schedule too. We want to make sure we have everything covered for the week of the event.”

The 2023 Magnit Championship was the Korn Ferry Tour’s first New Jersey event since the Laurel Creek Classic in 1997. (Photo: Andrew Mallick)

In addition, Mallick and his crew attempt to minimize wear and tear with solid rollers and a less invasive height of cut on their greens mowers, keep tee markers off the tournament tees and manage member expectations in the weeks leading up to this year’s Magnit Championship.

Members maintain high expectations for course conditions at Metedeconk National throughout the playing season, and Mallick believes this benefits the grounds crew.

“A lot of our (tournament strategy) is pretty similar to our day-to-day operation,” Mallick explains. “And our routine is pretty much dialed in by the time tournament week approaches.”

Adaptability is paramount in the high-pressure world of tournament course maintenance. Course conditions will make or break a tournament, whether it’s a prestigious Tour event or a club championship.

As a seasoned superintendent, Mallick understands this pressure all too well. His advice for first-timers is to build a strong support system. Surround yourself with reliable colleagues who appreciate the occasion’s significance and can be counted on to execute the plan and perform under pressure.

“You really need to come up with a Plan A, B and C and keep them in your back pocket and ready to go,” he says. “And you need the support of your peers, friends and membership to succeed. You need a shoulder to lean on when you need help because you’re not going to be able to do it all — even though you want to. So, you need to use all those resources at your disposal.”