Logo: John Deere

The crew at TPC Deere Run relies on each other to stay motivated, on John Deere to help them get the job done

It wasn’t what anyone at TPC Deere Run hoped for, but it was the hand they were dealt. After the John Deere Classic was canceled in late-May, due to the state of Illinois’ limiting of gatherings to 50 people, it was time to refocus.

Alex Stuedemann

Alex Stuedemann

“The initial reaction was disappointment. You look forward to it every year and that’s your goal, to host a PGA Tour event and put on a great community spectacle that everyone puts their hands around,” says Alex J. Stuedemann, CGCS, director of golf course maintenance operations at TPC Deere Run in East Moline, Ill. “But it was a situation we couldn’t control. I stood up in front of our team and said OK, our goal has changed. But it’s imperative amongst all of us to find that new goal that motivates us. In every challenge there’s an opportunity.”

The pandemic lead to the cancellation of the tournament, and it also changed the way the team at Deere Run works. Not only do they have to remain diligent in maintaining social distance, but there are also six less people on the crew, a commonality in the industry.

“With the pandemic, you would think there would be a lot of changes (at the course). But turfgrass and viruses, they don’t seem to be a good mix. The grass hasn’t stopped growing,” Stuedemann says. “We have a plan in place. It’s a matter of picking our priorities. We have a good team here at Deere Run, that knows what the goal is, but also cares about one another and wants to be safe during this pandemic.”

Superintendent Alex Stuedemann discusses how his team is staying positive after the cancellation of this year’s John Deere Classic. See how they plan to “up their game” for next year’s tournament and the equipment that will help them get there. (Video: Golfdom Staff)

Stuedemann says his team is empowered with the latest in equipment to get the job done. First and foremost is their ProGator GPS PrecisionSprayer. He says it allows them to have maximum control over their agronomics.

“We’re taking out the human error of overlap, especially around green surfaces where we want to be precise in what we do,” Stuedemann says. “It gives us the ability to capitalize on what John Deere has done in the agricultural field, to give us that precision to put down what we need where we need it, down to the sub-inch. For us, with 30 acres of bentgrass fairways, and another five acres in tees and greens, every little saved square foot adds up.”

The ProGator GPS PrecisionSprayer (Photo: John Deere)

Photo: John Deere

John Deere 2700 Triplex Mower (Photo: John Deere)

Stuedemann says another tool will soon be part of the fleet at TPC Deere Run: Deere’s 2700 Triplex mowers. The course currently has 2500s, but after a recent demo, they decided to upgrade to the newest and best in Deere’s triplex mower offerings.

“It’s a machine that can be used across multiple surfaces on the golf course,” Stuedemann says. “We’re very, very undulated at Deere Run, a lot of steep hills, a lot of fall-off areas… we needed something that can continue to give us a very clean cut, but also deal with Mother Nature’s extremes that we see, whether that be very soft conditions or very dry conditions.”

“We really put the 2700 through its paces, and that machine didn’t even blink,” he adds. “The quality of cut was second to none. It’s evolving from its predecessor the 2500 and adding on its new Tech Control platform … we could modify anything from transport speed to mow speed to clean-up speed … it allows us to micromanage how that mower is doing its job.”

Despite the cancellation of the John Deere Classic, Stuedemann says the show at TPC Deere Run goes on.

“We are a TPC course — we’re a Tournament Players Club — and we want to provide that tournament condition year-round for our members and guests. Despite the tournament not joining us this year, our agronomic plan and our maintenance practices haven’t changed one bit,” Stuedemann says, before smiling and adding, “We’re just seeing a different level of golfer for a week in July that maybe isn’t getting as many birdies … But they’re going to get the same conditions that the Tour players were going to get for a week.”

To see what John Deere can do for your course, go to JohnDeere.com/Golf.


Commitment to community continues

Despite the tournament cancellation, the John Deere Classic will continue its Birdies for Charity fundraiser for 2020.

Graphic: Birdies for Charity

Graphic: Birdies for Charity

“I have to give a hat’s off to (tournament director) Clair Peterson and his team with the John Deere Classic,” says Alex J. Stuedemann, CGCS, at TPC Deere Run.

“They have moved this to a virtual environment that still allows people, through various other activities, leading through to the end of the year, to donate to Birdies for Charity,” he adds. “And they’ve set a very lofty goal of $8 million, regardless of the tournament not taking place.”

In 2019, the fundraiser generated $13.8 million in support of 543 local and regional charity organizations, bringing the tournament’s all-time total to $120 million since the first playing in 1971. Ninety-nine percent of that has come since John Deere assumed title sponsorship in 1998.

To learn more or make a donation, visit birdiesforcharity.com.


This page was produced by North Coast Media’s content marketing staff in collaboration with John Deere. NCM Content Marketing connects marketers to audiences and delivers industry trends, business tips and product information. The Golfdom editorial staff did not create this content.

Header photo: TPC Deere Run