Super Jerry Everett and what he changed on Pinehurst’s No. 6 Course for the 2nd U.S. Adaptive Open

Graphic: Golfdom Staff

The sight was just a little too out-of-the-ordinary for Jerry Everett, superintendent of Course No. 6 at Pinehurst Resort. He spotted a photographer on the course taking all sorts of photos with different cameras.

“I asked him, ‘Why are you taking all these photos?’’’ Everett recalls. “He said, ‘I work for the USGA.’ I asked him why the USGA was so interested in Course 6. He said, ‘I can’t tell you.’”

A couple of days later, Everett found out the reason for the interest: the course would host the USGA’s inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open in 2022.

Do what we do

After a successful first effort, the tournament returns to Course No. 6 with a field of 96 players this July. Golfers compete in one of the following impairment categories: arm, leg, intellectual, neurological, vision, multiple limb amputee, short stature and seated players.

The USGA did not ask for much in terms of maintenance changes for the field, and Everett knows why.

“Let me tell you, these people can play,” Everett says. “So, we just did what we do. The only difference was, the week of the tournament, we had a lot of additional help.”

Everett has worked U.S. Opens, U.S. Women’s Opens and Senior Opens in his 20-year career. He says he didn’t need the sunup- to-sundown nature of those tournaments for the U.S. Adaptive Open, with the players going off on No. 1 and No. 10 tees each morning. Play typically ended by 4 p.m., and additional maintenance, like rolling greens or extra mows, wasn’t necessary.

A George and Tom Fazio design, Pinehurst No. 6 features more hills than the resort’s famous No. 2 course. (Photo: Jerry Everett)

The team adjusted a few bunkers to reduce the steepness of the entrance. No sweat for Everett and his full-time crew of 14 employees. But just because the event went off well, doesn’t mean Everett wasn’t nervous.

“It was exciting but it was also pressure. It’s a USGA national event. We had a lot of people looking at our work,” Everett says. “The players are just so talented and appreciative. But everyone was so happy last year … they’ll expect that again, you know?”

A native of the area, Everett worked in a textile mill before he discovered golf maintenance. He started as a member of the crew, then moved up to foreman. Everett earned a turf degree at Penn State and never looked back.

“You know the saying — find a job you love, and you never have to work,” Everett says.