Behind the Scenes of The 100th Birchmont: The Bemidji Town & Country Club Grounds Crew

Whether you’ve seen it in person or during our coverage of The Birchmont, the course at the Bemidji Town & Country Club both looks and plays like some of the best around, but it doesn’t just magically happen. It takes an incredible amount of work and care from the unsung heroes of the tournament.

To be unheard and unseen is their goal. And the only trace of their existence? A pristine golf course worthy of a tournament that has lasted a century, because while the moon is still high over Lake Bemidji, and the golfers are still asleep, the grounds crew at BTCC are getting ready to work.

Led by BTCC Superintendent of Grounds Matson Gravelle, the larger-than-normal crew of 20 is what’s required during The Birchmont to ensure the course is ready before the first group tees off.

“Typically on a normal day, first group of golfers [tee off at] 6:30, but they start off of [hole] one,” Gravelle explained. “Today, they go off of one and ten. So it’s a little hectic in that sense that we just don’t have a lot of time.”

From 4:45 a.m. until 6:30 a.m., the crew must mow the fairways, rake the bunkers, roll the greens, and change the pin placement on all 18 holes, just to name a few things. It’s a massive undertaking that requires Gravelle and company to be constantly moving.

The crew, however, is experienced. Many of them have worked 15 or more Birchmont tournaments. Gravelle describes it as a “fine-tuned machine.”

“It’s just reassuring because I can count on those guys and I know they’re gonna do a good job,” he said. “It just makes my life a lot easier knowing we’ve got some veteran guys that have been around for a long time.”

Once the work is done and the golf begins, Gravelle can relax and enjoy watching the tournament. But what he enjoys even more is doing it all again the next day.

“It’s showing up maybe a half hour before we start and we all just sit around, drink coffee, and just talk,” he said of his comradery with the grounds crew. “It’s a team effort. No one can do this job by themselves, so to have a really good team here is really what I enjoy the most.”

The grounds crew at BTCC will continue to work the early hours until the conclusion of The Birchmont on Saturday.