KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship prepared for rain or shine

BENTON HARBOR, Mich.—Despite last night's rain, the Pro AM teed off Tuesday, ahead of the practice rounds Wednesday with no problems.

ABC57 spoke to the experts on how weather could impact the rest of the week.

“We took the rain last night pretty well. We definitely probably use a little more even,” said Matt Vollrath the Course Superintendent at Harbor Shores.

Keeping the 540 acre property in pristine condition despite weather is nothing new for Matt Vollrath and his crew at Harbor Shores.

They will have an additional 40 more volunteers on hand to keep the greens clear and the putting surfaces playable for the 6th and Final KitchenAid Senior PG/ Championship at the course.

“One thing you can always put more water down and you can take it back up so we were pretty dry pretty intentionally going into this knowing that there’s a chance for rain all week,” added Vollrath.

They know how to prepare with the help of PGA’s very own meteorologist on site.

“The PGA of America is concerned with the player and the spectator safety, so that’s why they have a meteorologist on site. Lightning is our number one concern,” said Stewart Williams.

For more than 3 decades, Williams has traveled with the PGA.

Not to watch the golfers, but to watch the weather conditions.

Using Doppler Radar, Lightning Detection, and an Electric Field Meter that measures the electric charge in the atmosphere.

“Using all that technology together, we know exactly how fast the storms moving when is gonna get here, and so that help really helps with the planning as storms approach,” said Williams

Williams will be in Benton Harbor all week as they take time to prepare and determine if play will be impacted.

Players and Spectators hoping to stay up to date should listen for horns, watch for warnings on the leader boards, and download the KitchenAid Senior PGA app for alerts.

“Not only paying attention to the leaderboards when they post the weather warning signs spectators, and the fans can download the KitchenAid Senior PGA app and on there there’ll be messages through that saying inclement weather is approaching, and I’ll be another avenue for them to get information,” added Williams

Preparing for the worst, while hoping for the best.

“Fingers crossed you know we dodge around the worst of it and have three or four really good days,” Stewart added.

The app will also provide updates on any impacts on activations and concerts.

For a full schedule of events and tickets, click here.