As Merion GC has prepared for the 2013 U.S. Open, nobody has been more involved than Matt Shaffer, the club’s superintendent and Director of Golf Operations for the past 11 years.

 

On Media Day for the Open, Shaffer was kind enough to invite me back to his office in Merion’s state-of-the-art maintenance complex tucked behind the trees off the 18^th fairway.  Shaffer is part of a short list of distinguished superintendents at Merion over the years, and he knows every inch and every quirk of the East Course.

 

Although Shaffer was on the job for the 2005 U.S. Amateur and the 2009 Walker Cup at Merion, the Open is his first time as the top superintendent for a major championship.  He does not take the responsibility lightly.

 

"I don’t mean to downplay it but working at Merion is pretty special every day," said Shaffer.

 

Here’s a nice backgrounder on Shaffer by Mike Kern of the Daily News.

 

THE MOST influential person at this June's U.S. Open might not be three-time winner Tiger Woods or reigning Masters champion Adam Scott. Or USGA executive director Mike Davis, who is responsible for setting up Merion's East Course for, as the championship's website states, golf's toughest test. Or even NBC's Johnny Miller, whose jab-like observations figure to ruffle some egos.

No, the one holding the keys at America's sixth-ranked course, which is hosting this flagship event for the first time in 32 years, is Matt Shaffer, director of golf course operations at the Ardmore institution.

Which, for 1 week, will once again become the center of the golf universe. It's Shaffer's job to make sure the conditions are nothing short of perfect. Other than that . . .

"Oh, man, this is about the equivalent of winning Powerball," Shaffer said Monday morning during a media walkthrough/photo op. "To be host of a major, what are the chances in your career? Augusta's tied up, and some people do more than one because they go back to certain venues. But nobody else has that privilege. Between the Open and PGA, do the math.

 

 

I edited our conversation into a two-part video, in which Shaffer discusses working at Merion, preparing for the Open, the greens, the rough, the course setup by USGA executive Mike Davis, and recasting Merion’s 12th green.

 

(Merion photos from the Bausch Collection)

 

 

Here’s Part 1

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s Part II