SentryWorld hopes to pollinate good golf with “Flower Hole” at the 16th green

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) - With the U.S. Senior Open just four weeks away, the 16th hole is being decorated before the occasion.

Over the next three days, the hole will have 33,000 bright, colorful flowers planted all around it. They call it the flower hole, and in addition to those flowers, an additional 10,000 will be planted throughout the course grounds.

The floral tradition has been a hallmark at SentryWorld for more than 40 years and it’s unlike any other.

“Definitely none in the state. I don’t know of any courses in the U.S. that have a golf hole with this number of flowers on it,” said SentryWorld Golf Director Danny Rainbow. “Quite a bit of maintenance goes into it, obviously weeding is a big part of it, keeping the correct nutrition and water on the flowers.”

They started planting and seeding in greenhouses this past winter in December and January.

“It comes all together here the last week of May and early June,” said Heidi Heath, owner of Heidi Heath Farms.

Heath has been in charge of the task for 10 years. It’ll take three days for their team of 15 to complete the hole.

“Color is a big piece of the decision, in addition, is longevity and performance of the plant,” said Heath.

She tries to put flowers with contrasting colors together to make them pop. Especially for this year, hosting the U.S. Senior Open in just four weeks, it needs to be a showstopper.

“One different thing about this year, we’ve got grandstands and corporate hospitality structures being built around the flowers so it kind of gives it that little bit of a stadium feel,” added Rainbow.

Heath said, “Higher density of plant material, brighter colors, unique designs, we just try to be one step up from the usual because it is an important year it’s a special year here.”

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