The TV towers are up, the course has been roped off, and the PGA are making their final rounds putting the finishing touches to Port Royal Golf Course for the start of the PGA Grand Slam on Monday.

More than a year of planning will come down to three days of competition, when the jewel in Bermuda's golfing crown will be thrust into the open for the world to see.

When the cameras start rolling they'll beam back pictures of immaculate greens, manicured fairways and well-raked bunkers. It's a far cry from the patch of dirt that stood in the same spot a year ago.

"It's fantastic, and final preparations are going well," said PGA director David Charles yesterday. "We had a lot of rain earlier in the week, but it (the course) dried out very fast, so we're excited, and it's really shaping up nicely.

"You plan, and plan, and plan, and we're finally here. Really it was a year ago now that we were standing here at Port Royal on the Friday before the Grand Slam at Mid Ocean and we were watching them trying to grow grass on the 18th. It was just bare dirt, so for exactly one year ago and looking at the bare dirt, to what it is today, is fantastic.

"It's come a long way, the entire staff here, the superintendent Steve Johnson, Andrew Brooks (director of golf) and Bill Pitt (general manager), have done a great job of getting everything ready. The players arrive on Sunday afternoon and we'll be ready for them."

The bad weather that dumped five inches of rain on the course in the sapce of half an hour on Tuesday may well return tomorrow and Monday, but Charles is confident that the course will stand up to almost anything.

"Unless we have a deluge like we did on Tuesday, when we had over five inches of rain, that's the only thing that will cause us problems," he said. "We can't plan for bad weather, so we'll take what we get and move forward.

"You're out here in the middle of the ocean and it's hit or miss, but we'll keep our fingers crossed and hopefully it misses us and hits Mid Ocean Club this year and grows some grass for them."

Whatever happens, the PGA boss is expecting an exciting three days of golf where the players and the course put on a show the crowds will enjoy.

"It's a great spectator friendly golf course, and with the ninth green coming back up to the clubhouse fans can go, but aren't gone for the entire day," he said. "It's great stadium viewing around the majority of the greens, the greens are very visable, but also you can make the turn at nine, stop for a bit, and pick it up again at the 13 green which is just a couple of hundred yards from the clubhouse.

"It's a very fan friendly venue, which is what we're really excited about, it's going to be exciting competition.

"Kerry Haigh (the PGA's managing director of tournaments) will set up the golf course, and maybe he'll move a few tees up to give the players a shot at driving a green or two, but we'll make it exciting golf, because that's what the Grand Slam is all about, and we have the four best golfers of the year playing.

"The fans are in for a great competition, we've got three Grand Slam rookies, all of whom have had a great year and I think the competition is going to be very close and exciting."

Tickets for all three days of this Grand Slam are still available and can be bought on the day at the gate. Bike parking will provided at Death Valley field near the entrance to the course, while car drivers can park at White Hill Field and catch a shuttle bus to the tournament.