The first groups off the first and 10th tees on the first two days of the U.S. Open usually begin play at 7 a.m.
By then, Darin Bevard already has completed a good deal of work.
As the United States Golf Association’s senior director of championship agronomy, the 55-year-old from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, collaborates intimately with the host course superintendent to ensure that the playing surface for the world’s best golfers is impeccable, testing and fair.
That means a workday that begins as early as 4 to 4:30 a.m. during championship week so that mowing and maintenance of the course as well as hole-location setting occurs in a predetermined sequence ahead of play from both the first and 10th tees.
In his critical behind-the-scenes job, he hands off the template of standards from the USGA’s course setup team to the on-the-ground agronomy staff at U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open sites.
Bevard builds a personal and working relationship with all of those home site pros so that everyone is smiling after 72 holes, just like Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2024.
Even when he knows a U.S. Open course well, as he does Oakmont Country Club, the site of this year’s 125th championship, Bevard always listens more than he talks.
“They know their golf courses way better than I do,” said Bevard, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agronomy with an emphasis on turfgrass science from Penn State. “Each golf course has its own unique character.”
Bevard sees himself as a facilitator with a scientific background but salutes the staff agronomists for their professionalism.
“Those guys are in it every day,” Bevard said. “It’s their turfgrass on their golf course. They are the scientists. A larger part of my job is sequencing and how things have to get done. We have to get the greens prepared. We have to get the practice areas prepared. We have to be ahead of course setup. We have to hand-water behind the course setup and, oh, by the way, we have to stay ahead of play.”
That’s part of the plan for preparing the course – greens, tees, fairways, rough and bunkers – for each championship that is based on immense amounts of data compiled during visits that come as early as three years out from the date of the first ball in the air.
“Darin Bevard is a great person to have working with us for championships,” said Jon Jennings, the superintendent at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, site of the 2026 U.S. Open. “Darin’s attention to detail and constant observation brings knowledge and insight prior to, during and after the event. He is continuously looking for even the most minute detail that will improve the experience for the best players in the world. Darin is a true teammate and integral to the successful outcome of our course preparation.”
The outgoing Bevard is resolute in a crucial part of his job, realizing the need for trust and collaboration with his fellow agronomists.
Bevard and the USGA’s competitions staff also seek input from PGA Tour and LPGA Tour officials to review the formula to make the course championship ready.
In situations where the U.S. Open is returning to a past host venue like Oakmont – which had some changes to the course made by architect Gil Hanse and his partner Jim Wagner since the last U.S. Open there in 2016 – Bevard relies even more heavily on his cohort at the club, this time superintendent Mike McCormick, for data and playability.
“They are not dramatic changes,” Bevard said. “To most people the changes will seem subtle.”
However, any changes to the playing surfaces have a ripple effect on how the course can be set up for play.
The outgoing Bevard is resolute in a crucial part of his job, realizing the need for trust and collaboration with his fellow agronomists.
“I get to build a lot of relationships and work with a lot of good people,” he said. “It’s nice not being a stranger anywhere you go.”
Letting the competition speak for itself is the best possible outcome for Bevard and company.
“Certainly, the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst was special but not just because it was a great championship coming down the wire with Rory (McIlroy) and Bryson battling it out,” he said.
“It is a very satisfying feeling.”
He also cites the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines as a successful memory because of Jon Rahm’s dramatic winning putt on the 18th green on the South Course, but also because the venue gets so much public play.
Of course, there are harsher moments for those charged with course setup.
“You enjoy the stuff that goes well,” Bevard said matter-of-factly. “You really learn from the stuff that doesn’t go well.”
He points to the third round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills when weather conditions threw a curveball at the USGA’s large amount of data.
On that Saturday afternoon, the green speed of the 13th hole was beyond the expected measure and the situation was exacerbated when Phil Mickelson struck his ball as it was moving off the green.
“Definitely, Saturday at Shinnecock in ’18 was a tough afternoon,” said Bevard, who has been on staff at the USGA since 1997.
Reviewing the event, he said: “It wasn’t a mistake. It was relying too much on data and not trusting your gut.”
That experience made Bevard better at his job. In fact, he believes that water management and how greens are going to respond is now one of his best attributes.
“Having prepared USGA national championship host golf courses over three decades, Darin has acquired a depth of knowledge and experience that is second to none,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championship officer. “He keenly understands our golf course setup objectives, embraces the use of technology, and builds trusted relationships with our host golf course superintendents. These and other attributes have enabled him to consistently deliver at a high level. There is no one I trust more in preparing a golf course, especially with the demands of a U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open.”
“I used to pound stakes at my family’s club for lessons or range balls, so I was used to being out on the golf course.” – Darin Bevard
During the course of the golf season, Bevard works at three or four USGA amateur championships, continues his Northeast course consulting role and is the lead agronomist for the Latin America Amateur Championship. He also oversees the championship assignments for the USGA’s regional agronomy team.
An avid fisherman, Bevard plays as much golf as his challenging USGA travel schedule allows at Kennett Square Golf and Country Club with his wife, Tracy, and daughter, Samantha. Bevard was introduced to the game by his father, who ran the family’s sand, gravel and concrete business. The younger Bevard thought he’d join the company after high school graduation, but his father decided to sell it.
Bevard, who handled the sediment and erosion control part of the family business as a teenager, was already committed to attending Penn State. Because of his erosion work with seeding grass and that process, he chose the school’s renowned turfgrass program as his area of study.
“I used to pound stakes at my family’s club for lessons or range balls, so I was used to being out on the golf course,” Bevard said.
His daughter is a turfgrass major at Penn State and his stepson Justin DePippo is the director of agronomy at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles.
A tested USGA “road warrior” with visits to hundreds of clubs where he utilizes the Penn State turfgrass network to full effect, Bevard loves the golf courses of the Philadelphia area.
“Philadelphia is underrated with respect for how many good modern and ‘golden age’ golf courses that are here,” he said.