GREENS | It's How They Play, Not How They Look

Much of the work on the grounds is for aesthetic purposes. Greens are about performance.

"If you talk to a golfer, they want to know green speeds," said Kevin Mathias, a turfgrass management professor at the University of Maryland who helps with the greens for local PGA events. "You could have a brown green from a golfer's perspective, but if it's smooth, they're fine."

The greens are mowed to seven-sixty-fourths of an inch -- and never with a riding mower, so as not to damage the green -- and measured for speed.

Mathias lifts a chute 20 degrees and rolls three balls down it. Each should roll 12 1/2 feet. On Friday morning, the balls roll just 11 feet. Moisture from rain showers created increased friction.

That means the crew must "roll the greens," which smooths the grass and increases the speed by as much as a foot.

"Sometimes we won't roll if there are greens that are faster than others," said Lucas Black, 20, the application foreman and a former Mathias student. "We'll skip the roll so we catch the other ones up and keep them consistent."

The location of the cups changes daily on each hole. Andy Stair, 21, an intern from the University of Connecticut, entrenches a cylinder apparatus into the ground, lifting the piece of earth. Roland Weeden, 26, a full-time employee, plants the cup and the flag in its place. For July 4, it is a U.S. flag.

Later in the day, a man such as Marion Toms, 65, collects the flags. Toms collected the flags the night before, driving his golf cart from hole to hole. Whether he is gathering the flags or finding the tees, Toms has arrived to work at Congressional for 46 years without complaint.

"It's something different every day," Toms said. "You never know what's going to happen. Mother Nature rules."