Just as he does every May, Phillip Lafferty will head to the Regions Tradition and hope no one notices.
“We want to be as invisible as possible,” said Lafferty, a sales rep with the Power Systems Rental team at Thompson Tractor.
A native of nearby Chelsea, Alabama, and a graduate of the University of Alabama, Lafferty and his team provide the power that keeps the PGA TOUR Champions major event humming.
It takes months of planning, decades of experience and fast teamwork to prep the Greystone Golf and Country Course for its week under the sun.
“We provide all the temporary power, all the temporary HVAC and most of the equipment used – like forklifts, heavy equipment,” Lafferty said. “As far as the power goes, we’re talking generators. But it’s a distribution grid that spreads out across the course in a way no one notices.”
For Thompson’s Power Rental group, their connection to the Tradition stretches across three notable golf courses over the past 15 years. The tournament has been at Greystone since 2016.
Thompson Tractor’s connections to Birmingham go back to 1957, when founder Hall Thompson relocated the business from Nashville. After a frightening first month in business, which resulted in just one sale, Thompson began flourishing and expanding. In addition to bulldozers, scrapers and graders used to help build interstate highways, Thompson Tractors now has equipment and technologies across the spectrum, from land to sea.
Lafferty entered the equipment business shortly after graduating college in 2005. He joined Thompson in 2012 and took on his current role in 2014. He initially viewed his role with power systems-rental equipment as a steppingstone.
“But I quickly came to love what I do,” he said. “It’s fun to be a part of an event that sheds a light on our community.”
Preparing for the Regions Tradition can only begin after doing similar work at Barber Motorsports Park for the Alabama Indy Grand Prix, an event that annually precedes the golf action. From there, the Thompson Rents division, which carries all lines of equipment, not just simply CAT products, will do site prep in nearby Hoover for the SEC Baseball Tournament by sending out equipment like boom lifts and reach lifts.
Lafferty’s team needs 400 personnel hours to prep the Founders Course for electrification and cooling.
“We’ve already been out there setting up in stages,” Lafferty said. “Then we’re full-blown, boots on the ground, a week before tournament play begins. We usually start our days around 7 (a.m.), and often don’t leave until well after dark. Of course, weather’s a major factor, but it’s almost sunup and sundown a week prior to the tournament.”
In addition to power generators, the power grid and HVAC equipment, Thompson is also responsible for heavy lifting needed on the course. But, if all goes right, it’s as if his team’s work has been completed in stealth mode.
It’s exciting to have a tournament in our backyard for the social aspect and the charitable aspect (Children’s of Alabama). It’s a good time and a good cause.Phillip Lafferty, sales rep with the Power Systems Rental team at Thompson Tractor
“It’s gotten easier over the years, having done it so many times,” he said. “We know the layout pretty well, even though there are tweaks every year. Personally, this has become part of my life. I was just talking to someone recently and said, ‘This is my baby. I care about it.’ I want to know the attendance, what the golfers think, even how the caddies are doing.”
Vendors like Thompson Tractor not only help bring the Regions Tradition to life, but they also help defray costs.
“Thompson Tractor cares about the community,” Lafferty said. “We want to see it thrive. It’s exciting to have a tournament in our backyard for the social aspect and the charitable aspect (Children’s of Alabama). It’s a good time and a good cause.”
