Let It Burn
British Open 2021: Watch this Royal St. George's greenkeeper use a flamethrower to get rid of 'unwanted growth'
On Wednesday afternoon, the talk of Golf Twitter was Paul Larsen, the head greenkeeper at Royal St. George's. No, not because of the golf course or anything like that. It was more about his look, which was what the kids call "a vibe":
Oh, hell yes. The tweets were fast and furious, with many wondering if he was actually a music star masquerading as a golf-course superintendent for the week. While he is a huge fan of music, specifically the band "The Cure" (Larsen calls himself the Robert Smith of the links), he is not a rock and roll legend, though he was in a band once.
Larsen's shoes only added to his instant legend:
Clearly, this is an unconventional dude, so naturally he'd employ some unconventional methods into his greenkeeping, right? Damn straight. In a video he posted to his own Twitter account on May 26, one of Larsen's assistants can be seen taking a flamethrower to the face of a bunker. Yes, a flamethrower, apparently to get rid of "unwanted growth":
Larsen further explained the method in the replies to his tweet, and he also posted a picture of the unconventional tool:
Fascinating stuff. Always cool to see a behind the scenes look at the long, arduous process of preparing a golf course to host a major championship. With all the crazy weather Larsen has to deal with, too, it makes his job that much more challenging. Given how great the course looks and how it's playing so far, whatever Larsen is making ain't enough.