Getting up at 5am and finishing sometimes more than 16 hours later has been the price a group of hard-working volunteers at The Hills have had to pay for the past week, to ensure the championship golf course is in pristine condition.
About 10 of Otago Polytechnic's turf management students, based at the Cromwell campus, have been assisting The Hills greenkeepers to prepare the golf course for the 2010 Michael Hill New Zealand Open which finished yesterday.
Bob Steel, of Otago Polytechnic, said the first-year students had been raking bunkers and filling divets every morning and night in addition to clearing weeds from the course.
It was course-related experience.
"The polytech has done this every year it's been here.
"It's experience for [the students]. They're all volunteering to do it again next time they get a chance," Mr Steel said.
Previous graduates of the two-year course had been given full-time positions at The Hills, and with 14 students for 2010 it was hoped more would get the opportunity, he said.