THOMAS VLACH
Certified Golf Course Superintendent
AGRONOMY: EVENTS
There's nothing quite like hosting a professional event at your club, even just once. For Tom Vlach, it happens each year at TPC Sugarloaf, and he hosted "golf's fifth major", The Players, yearly whie at Sawgrass. Every time Tom gets the opportunity to prepare and host another professional tournament, he gains more insight into how the experience can be further enhanced for that week, and for member events throughout the year. His tally of over 25 tournaments he's been involved with is quite an accomplishment in the industry, but Tom remains humble and still enjoys every aspect of the preparations as if it were his first event. Some key tournaments include:
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CLASSIC -- TPC SUGARLOAF
Champions Tour, 2016-2018
THE PLAYERS -- TPC SAWGRASS STADIUM COURSE
PGA Tour, 1989 - 1992, 2008 - 2015
WEB.COM TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP -- TPC SAWGRASS VALLEY COURSE
Web.com Tour, 2013-2014
BRUNO’S MEMORIAL CLASSIC -- GREYSTONE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Champions Tour, 1999 - 2005
WINN DIXIE JACKSONVILLE OPEN -- TPC SAWGRASS VALLEY COURSE
Web.com Tour, 2010 - 2012
HONDA CLASSIC -- TPC EAGLE TRACE
PGA Tour, 1984-1987, 1999 - 2005
SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP -- TPC SAWGRASS VALLEY COURSE
Champions Tour, 1988
CADILLAC NFL CLASSIC -- TPC SAWGRASS VALLEY & STADIUM COURSES
Champions Tour, 1992
FLORIDA STATE AMATUER -- TPC SAWGRASS STADIUM COURSE
2009
JUNIOR PLAYERS -- TPC SAWGRASS STADIUM COURSE
American Junior Golf Tour (Top 60 junior golfers), 2008-2014
Tom with 2011 Players Champ KJ Choi
and PGA's Tim Finchem
The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is on display every year during The Players. Tom got to showcase his hard work and dedication to his club and the industry. Tom created an international volunteer program for 80 individuals annually to assist during The Players--Superintendents from the US, Spain, Columbia, Great Britain, Canada and South Africa joined his team. The golfers always had rave reviews for course conditions Tom provided during the competition. Included below are some shots taken during his Players events.
Due to the yearly hosting of The Players, Tom constantly tweaked and changed the course to accommodate new features for better coverage of the tournament. A highlighted project is below:
SPECTATOR MOUNDS AROUND THE COURSE
When you host a yearly major event like The Players, you must be able to accomodate a large number of spectators, while at the same time provide for easy set-up. To this end, Tom added many mounds to the course creating natural seating areas around much of the course. This helped to eliminate some bleachers and create a more natural feel to the event.
A great example of this is on the finishing hole. With such a beautiful clubhouse, Sawgrass wanted to showcase the finishing approach look on television. While they do not utilize grandstands, even the mounding behind the green was too elevated to truly highlight the clubhouse. So, Tom worked with staff to lower the mounds, creating an intimate setting for fans behind the 18th, while keeping them cool sitting on grass.
©2012 THOMAS VLACH. WEBSITE BY PLAYBOOKS FOR GOLF. Photo courtesy of Chris Condon, PGA Tour Photography.