An Olympic Experience for an IAA Graduate

Rickie Fowler and Adam Schilpp pose for a photo in a rare moment of downtime.

August 30, 2016

The return of golf to this year's Summer Olympic Games after a 112 year hiatus provided a unique experience for 2010 IAA graduate Adam Schilpp. Adam served on a task force of PGA Tour agronomists charged with preparing the new Olympic Golf Course for tournament play. He spent January-April (their summer season) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and returned for the month of August for the final preparations and competition.

Adam is no stranger to championship golf and international events. He worked for several years at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, VA and was on staff for the 2005 Presidents Cup. He interned at Congressional Country Club and is currently an Assistant Superintendent at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) Potomac; both located in Bethesda, MD. In that role he has worked for several PGA Tour events around the country, including the Players Championship. His Olympic role was to serve as an assistant to England native Neil Cleverly, the Superintendent of the new Olympic Golf Course.

Many obstacles were overcome to make this event possible, some of them very political and sensitive. The largest obstacle, once it was accepted that golf was actually an Olympic sport, was the fact that golf was practically unheard of in the host country of Brazil. There were very few golf courses and none suitable for an Olympic event. An entirely new facility had to be constructed and all of the environmental and land use questions commonly debated in the US were new to Brazil.

In addition, the project needed a fast track - basically conception to completion in four years. No one in Brazil was knowledgeable of golf course construction and maintenance, so there was a huge international effort involved. "Morning assignments were given in four different languages," according to Schillip. "The club staff consisted of 15 Brazilians with no real experience or knowledge in golf. Imagine never seeing a golfer before and the first golfers you see just so happen to be the world's best players."

Another obstacle was the length of the event. Much like the 2014 US Open, men and women played in consecutive weeks, making the tournament two weeks long. Together with 13 hours of travel each way, perhaps Adam and all involved deserve a medal. The event was a tremendous success and preparations are underway in Japan for golf in 2020 at an existing course.