Diary of a PGA marshal
Friday
Wyn Morton
The Travelers Championship June 25, 2023 Sunday
Thursday
The Travelers Championship June 24, 2023 Saturday
It was an unusual start to the day as rain forced the PGA to delay and reconfigure the starting times to 10:45am in threesome off the 1st and 10th tees, therefore compressing the day to finish in the allowed TV time slot by 6PM. It meant a blessedly leisure morning, not having to be at TPC until 9:30AM. On arriving, a light rain made me think it wasn't going to be too bad at all, we even held our assignment meeting outside in the usual spot. I was assigned to Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim, and Aaron Rai, with a 2-person crew, both experienced Mobile Marshals, Cecelia (Cece), and David. It started to rain again, so I got breakfast in the Villa, sitting with Ryan and Rick, my crew from yesterday. They were still jazzed by having their first exposure to the Mobiles experience and had lots more questions about my other adventures marshaling at various venues. As my player tee-off time was drawing nearer, and it was still raining, I made the decision to get one of those plastic ponchos they have for us, a big white Hefty bag-style thing with armholes and large red Travelers umbrellas all over it. I tried it on and thought this will really be embarrassing to have to wear this for any length of time. I was closely monitoring my weather app on my phone and was very fortunate that the rain cleared and the sun came out 5 minutes before our teetime. The poncho went into my pocket for rain insurance.
We had a very easy time of it all day since all three players were consistently landing their drives in the fairway, not needing any extra effort from us. Cece was especially sweet and very attentive to my guidance, admitting to being a little rusty with Mobile marshaling protocol, not having worked a Travelers for a few years. She essentially followed along with me beside the players while David worked in a forward position mostly. He and I ended up communicating with hand signals generally, as he was a bit hard of hearing anyway!
I had a surprise on the 13th hole when I ran into my wife's nephew Michael, who I didn't even know followed golf. He was equally surprised to see me, and jokingly said if he'd known I was volunteering, he would have asked me for tickets! I could only chat with him a few minutes as I had to keep pace with the players, who move much faster than the gallery. My wife Mary was shocked when I later told her I'd seen Mike. Good kid.
Our unusual weather day turned out to be mostly dry, overcast, and not very challenging actually. Kind of unusual for Saturday on the PGA TOUR, when the crowds are generally larger and the beverages are copious all day. Still, Cece said she had lots of fun and thanked me for all the direction I was able to give her today.
Wednesday
The Travelers Championship June 23, 2023 Friday
Nice knowing I'm going to be a lead marshal every day of this Championship, as Greg has designated 6-7 of us to serve as leads all week. We get to keep our radios overnight, just swapping out the battery at the end of the round. My good friend Chris Rogers was there today, serving as lead as well; we got to spend some time after our 6AM meeting, sitting in the Volunteer Villa over breakfast, swapping stories about what we've been up to since we last saw each other at the US Open. He's headed over to Scotland in September to play St. Andrews!
My player group (Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffle, & Emiliano Grillo) weren't teeing off until 12:40. My assigned crew of 3 marshals, (Father and son Rick and Ryan, as well as Jim), were all newbies to the Mobile experience, but had previously served as hole marshals here at The Travelers. We had a little training meeting to go over the basics; they were all enthusiastic, asking lots of pertinent questions, getting excited I could tell. They all proved to be excellent Mobiles, quick studies, receptive to direction but not needing a lot. Unfortunately we had a long wait ahead of us before tee off time, as usual. To kill time, I pledged to myself I wasn't going to do two things: walk with another group or drink too much coffee! Serious pacing needed today, so I sat at the 10th tee watching some golf while I had my second breakfast. I was also scouting out a plan for my sister Shirley and her son Adam who would be in attendance today, attempting to arrive in time for my afternoon assignment. I identified for them the grandstands at the 9th green and 10th tee, just inside the main entry gate as the best possible viewpoints, requiring the shortest walks.
A very large gallery had assembled at the 1st tee, where I chatted with Chris and Greg before they headed out with the 12:30 group. My crew assembled, along with a 5th marshal, Andrew, an experienced mobile, who Greg had added to my crew at the last minute. My guys worked really well together, some forward, some back with the players, quickly recognizing each situation to determine their best positioning. Checking in with me to decide to go right versus left side of the holes for the most efficient coverage, but always observant of where players drives were landing, as indicated by the orange signal paddles at the tee box. If we saw a ball headed outside the rope, I wanted every available crew member to head to that side accordingly to help out the hole marshals. Shirley and Adam caught up with me on the 3rd hole, having been waylaid by the parking lot traffic and sizable crowds at the main gate. They got to see Big Brother in action, taking photos and video. Keegan displayed some erratic ball striking on the 4th and 5th holes, necessitating some crowd control, especially on #5 when Keegan and his caddie, after lengthy discussion decided to play down the 6th fairway in order to achieve the best angle for approaching the 5th green. This of course meant some creative gallery control on our part for basically 200 yards, outside the ropes the entire time. Bradley was playing brilliantly, -8 for the day, literally worshipped by the gallery the entire way, and was tied for the lead by the end of the day at -15. The scene at the 18th green was so heart-warming, with Keegan greeted to a tumultuous gallery support, his family there for him as well. We were having a great time serving as his Mobile Marshal crew, managing a gallery of over 1000 people in places, all part of a marquee cluster of 9 players including Patrick Cantlay playing in front of us, and Homa, Clark, and JT behind. We encountered 3 bouts of warm refreshing rain during the day, but when the sun returned it became a sauna. Shirley said later she doesn't know how I can walk the distances I do in these conditions as she was exhausted by the end of the day, trying to keep up with our group. As we walked off 18, I thanked my crew for the wonderful job they did. They unanimously agreed Mobile Marshaling beat being a hole marshal, even though it was more physically demanding, and that they would never go back!
Tuesday
The Travelers Championship June 22, 2023 Thursday
Competion starts today, met some old acquaintances from DBC/DTC days including Melinda, who I affectionately dubbed the "Cell Phone Queen" from back in the day when we had to actually monitor the gallery for unauthorized picture taking with their phones. It was an unenforceable PGA TOUR mandate, but Melinda tried her best, often getting into prolonged discussions with gallery members, while our primary marshaling duties suffered. Glad those days are behind us! At our 6AM assignment meeting, I was designated lead for four marshals for the 12:30 Rickie Fowler, Colin Morikawa, & Matt Fitzpatrick group. The PGA Tour now clusters its marquee players in back to back groups which results in a huge gallery moving en masse through 18 holes. In this case, we'd be just in front of Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, & John Rahm, with Rory, Victor Hovland, & Tom Kim behind them. If you came to the Travelers today, chances are you were going to be in this gallery to see at least one of these players in this cluster.Now I had 6 hours to kill until we teed off ! I knew I didn't have the legs to walk an additional 9 holes with one of the morning groups, but four holes sounded doable and I wanted to see Max Homa & Wyndham Clark so I joined their group, playing with JT as well. Drawing the largest gallery on this chilly Thursday definitely meant a little extra help was needed for these guys. We'd heard at our meeting that the Travelers system of corporate sponsorship for individual holes had fallen on hard times, resulting in only 9 holes having a sufficient number of marshals, the remaining 9 needing as much marshaling help as they could get from the general volunteer pool. That's where us Mobile's were most effective.
I also tried to use up some of my morning by offering to work at the player practice area, but encountered a rather disappointing reconfiguration of that entire set-up, removing the grandstand for the gallery and physically locating the players further from the crowds, "for security reasons". This was further made plain to me when I was initially denied access by security officials, until the area captain could be summoned so I could offer my help to him directly. He allowed me access down to the practice area, but didn't need my help as he had lots of volunteers from local high school golf teams. Very nice fellow, we stood and chatted for a half hour about all things PGA, so it wasn't time wasted.
At the first tee I was surprised by how large the gallery was for a Thursday, at least 500 people clustered around, all in top voice for Rickie, (Colin and Matt to a lesser extent). I was still getting used to the nuances of TPC River Highlands, determining which side of each hole was the most accessible for walking on this very hilly and steeply sided course. I was still learning how to best get from point A-B-C. Thankfully all four of my guys were experienced mobiles so they knew were they were going and where to best position themselves as we went hole to hole. Having at least two marshals in a forward position was optimal so that we could be on the scene quickly for any ball landing outside the ropes. I stayed back walking with the players most of the round. It was nice having a highly skilled crew today, no newbies to train, not that I mind that, but the opposite is a real pleasure too. Part of my job today was taking care of my boys, tracking down the isolated water sources which had been strategically placed at 4-5 tee boxes, for volunteer use only. New this year, the PGA had decreed that no water was to be taken from the coolers on every tee, reserved for players only. I abided by this rule but there were times when we needed a drink on the back 9 and had to radio in for a volunteer services cart delivery.
I want to go into a little extra detail here in describing what happened at the 15th hole when Rickie Fowler hit his shot way right on this drivable par-4. The 15th presents an odd configuration in that spectators can't walk from the 15th green to the 16th tee due to the presence of the lake which borders 15, 16, and 17. I decided that we wouldn't all go down 15, just sending one of our crew, David, ahead just in case. The rest of us headed over to the 16th. From here, I observed Rickie's drive go way offline right up into the trees, behind a portable scoreboard. David had his hands full trying to organize a chute for Rickie to exit the wooded hillside, which was covered with spectators. Meanwhile, I could see a single hole marshal was trying in vain to persuade a solid line of fans sitting along the rope the entire length of the fairway to create a gap for Rickie's shot. No one was moving. Even though we are advised not to cross a fairway, that is exactly what I did in order to come to the aid of the hole marshal, reinforcing him in having the fans pick up their chairs and create a sufficiently wide enough gap. Some folks grumbled a bit but it had to be done. Smile on my face but firm tone in my voice, "Sorry folks, we need to clear some space here". Rickie successfully hit onto the green and came down through, caddie in tow. They ducked under the rope I was holding up for them and said "Thank you". The hole marshal and I released the crowd, who quickly moved all of their seats back in place on this tight hillside cart path. He then came up to me and thanked me as well, "they just wouldn't move for me!'' I said to David that he really saved the day by being right there for a quick response to Rickie's wayward drive. All in a day's work.
Today's stats: 12 hours on siteMonday
The Travelers Championship June 21, 2023 Pro-Am
One might ask why continue this marshaling habit I've persisted with since after all it involves such very long days, very long walks over seriously hilly terrain in often brutal weather (searing sun, heat, cold, rain, wind), volunteering for no pay, day upon day of nothing but concession stand food, having to reapply sunscreen 3 or 4 times, wearing one of those ridiculous hefty bag-style ponchos to ward off the rain at times. Yet, I've found not much compares with the thrill of standing on the first tee of a Championship, assigned as lead for my crew of Mobile Marshals, ("Mobile Ambassadors" at Travelers), hearing the roar of the gallery as the players are formally introduced, then heading off with them inside the ropes to walk 18 holes and help them have the best possible chance to succeed. That feeling gets repeated over and over throughout the round as my crew and I respond to each challenge of managing the gallery in the most polite yet effective way in whatever circumstance we're presented with, ball outside the ropes, crowd up against the ball, everyone wanting to be within arms length of an actual PGA TOUR player! Where else in professional sports can you get to be in this position? This is especially rewarding for the spectators during the more relaxed atmosphere of the Pro-Am when the player might actually exchange a few words with you, make a self-deprecating remark, or even pose for a selfie or sign an autograph on request.
Inside the ropes.
This Travelers Championship was going to be a lot different than my previous single exposure to this tournament in 2019, partly due to the elevated status conferred upon it by the reconfigured PGA TOUR schedule, partly by having the opportunity to have wonderful accommodations and hospitality provided by my sister Shirley and her husband Jim in Farmington, a mere 18 miles from TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT, and partly since I was planning to volunteer for the entire Championship plus the Pro-Am, 5 days. I was optimistic I could last that long at my age! It still meant having to get up at 5AM in order to arrive at the course by 6 for the Mobile Ambassadors meeting. On arrival, I immediately ran into some old acquaintances, Diane, Karen, and Maureen, who enthusiastically welcomed me back. News of my return had preceded me as Diane said, "I heard you were going to be here!" We shared news about each other since our last meeting in 2019, including my US Open experiences last year. Met Greg Hammond our committee chair and heard my assignment for the day, a split Pro-Am format with Justin Thomas on the front 9, Rory McIlroy on the back. Joining me would be Sharon, a former marshal and also a day surgical nurse, who would need a refresher course in marshaling along the way. JT drew a rather sparse crowd for our 8:40AM tee time, which was a nice casual start to the week for us. Sharon picked up my pointers quickly and was great to have along for 9 holes, then expressed eagerness for 9 more this afternoon with what would likely be a larger gallery for Rory.
After a lunch break, I noticed that the Bill Murray, Geno Auriemma, Michael Eaves "celebrity group", playing along with Kevin Kisner had just teed off so I decided to help marshal them for seven holes just to see what this experience might be like. Of course I'd seen some of Murray's antics on TV at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, not sure what I'd see over the course of multiple holes. I was pleasantly surprised at how funny Murray could be, on a sustained level, constantly talking to everyone, members of the gallery, volunteers, the Cromwell police officer accompanying our group, even me at one point, "How are you doing today?" Turns out Bill Murray is a pretty decent golfer as well, hitting some great shots, with a few shanks thrown in for laughs. He was completely appropriate the entire time, no pranks, no one got tossed into a bunker or had an adult beverage swiped out of their hands. And a complete hoot. Random sample: Standing on the tee, Murray points at an elderly gentleman and says, "Shouldn't you be in school?" The gallery ate it up. Seeing Geno Aurriemma was a real treat as well. I couldn't wait to tell my mother of this experience; she worships Geno. Poor guy was struggling to play golf in PGA height rough but kept on smiling and responding to shout outs from the large gallery. Michael Eaves was the best amateur player in this group, pounding the ball consistently. We also encountered Amanda Balionis Renner on an adjacent fairway, lighting up the fans with her electric smile, if not her golf!
Saturday
I checked out of the "Hotel Morton" in Waltham, home of my son Brian and his lovely wife Lauren, who had been allowing me to stay over these past four nights. Without a doubt the best accommodations I ever had in thirteen years of volunteering at professional golf tournaments, especially being located only 10 miles from the volunteer parking. I arrived at TCC at 10:15 and went directly to 19th hole HQ but Ralph and Diana weren't there; other committee chair staff suggested I check-in by text under the circumstances. I received only a thumbs-up in response to my check-in, so I proceeded to the practice range to again offer any assistance but found it fairly deserted with only 4 players warming up and plenty of volunteers handy. I knew my buddies Tom and Mike were in attendance again today so I tracked them down to the 8th green where we were able to observe some golf, including fantastic approach shots to this deceptively difficult par 5, where trying to reach the green in 2 often resulted in balls rolling 30 yards back down this diabolical false front. From our vantage point we were also able to view the 9th tee immediately off to our right, which made for some excellent golf as well.
After about an hour and a half, I was beginning to feel the urge to further explore potential 19th hole marshal duties, so I got lunch nearby the 8th green and then made my way back to the log cabin, where Ralph and Diana had returned as well. I was informed that the USGA wasn't sending out any walking marshals today, and that they had no other assignments for me. I mentioned that at previous US Opens I had gone up to various hole captains to check if they could use any additional help, which was generally well received. They said "go for it" and thanked me profusely for my help this week. I headed over to the 18th green and introduced myself to the Captain and his assistant, Liz, both of whom welcomed my services and directed me to a spot marshaling the crowd alongside the green. I chatted with Liz for awhile, learning that she was a member at TCC and this was her first marshaling experience, which was quite something considering this challenging location at the 18th green on Sunday at the US Open. The crowd surrounding us here at midday was huge, but had not yet achieved that spectacular buzz I had witnessed at other Sunday finishes since it was still early. It became apparent to me after awhile that they didn't really need me here at 18 quite yet, but that the need for extra marshaling would grow throughout the afternoon. I proposed that I would walk along with the final four groups as they played, then ending up at 18 for that final phase when things would achieve a fever pitch, as they always do. They both thought this was a good strategy, so off I went to the first tee. Before leaving, I asked if the USGA was going to be issuing a special 18th hole access lanyard for the end of play today, as I experienced at Oakmont in 2016, but they had no knowledge of this possiblity. Of course, over-riding this idea was the fact that I did not have a green inside the ropes lanyard, so I was fully prepared to be politely directed to remain outside the ropes, however, this never happened along my entire journey through 18 holes. At each point along the way, tee to green, I filled a definite need for extra marshaling, and certainly didn't draw any undue attention to myself, in fact receiving multiple thank-you's from various hole captains at many locations.
At the first tee, I joined the second from last pairing of Keegan Bradley and John Rahm, who received a resounding ovation after they hit their tee shots and walked down the fairway. I walked the first 3 holes with these guys, then noticed on the leader board that Scotty Scheffler and Adam Hadwin's group immediately in front of us was on fire, drawing major roars as Scotty went to -6 and gained the tournament lead. The crowds were surging toward these two, unfortunately leaving Bradley and Rahm behind, so I moved up to walk alongside them, occasionally getting as far ahead as the landing area for their drives, depending on where I was most needed. Scheffler had definitely become a favorite of the Boston sports world, I heard some interesting shout-outs, ("Hey Scotty, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome!" and "Marry Me, Scotty")! I was indebted to my Boston brethren for keeping it relatively respectable, no knucklehead comments yet this afternoon. I remained with these two for about 7 holes, then advanced forward to the group fourth from last, Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns, who I planned to accompany all the way to 18 so I could then finish with the last four pairings, ending up with Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick.
I was walking along toward a forward position along the 8th fairway I came up alongside Notah Bigay, who turned and said "Hi". I mentioned I'd met him over at TPC Boston a few years back and he said he'd miss that tournament, lamenting that Boston was such a strong market for professional golf. I said I fully agreed, and that wouldn't it be great if TCC could become a regular tournament stop. He said that would be fantastic. Later at 15, Sam Burns hooked his drive into the trees, an area void of spectators. I hustled down the cart path to this area, by happenstance walking almost in step with Smiley Kaufmann doing on-course reporting for NBC. A group of marshals had located a ball about 10 feet into the trees, identifying it as a ''Callaway 4 with a black dot''. I repeated this to Rory when he arrived on scene about 15 seconds later, to which he replied, "Yes, that's it". I repeated this again to Sam when he arrived about another 10 seconds later, and he acknowledged that it was his ball. He had to carefully remove several branches on the ground that impeded him, a process closely overseen by a USGA rule official walking with us. He then hit a very respectable 75 yard shot to get back into play, but I don't think he was too happy with having gotten himself into that position in the first place. He thanked us marshals anyway for our help. I also ran into my new buddy Ben who was assigned to marshal at the 9th tee; he was surprised and happy to see me and gave me a fist bump.
As Rory's group approached the 18th fairway I observed police officers were now stationed approximately every 30 feet inside the ropes on both sides of the fairway from the landing area up to 100 yards from the green. There were also two USGA staff carrying yellow ropes which I figured were intended to be stretched across the fairway for crowd control. I applaud the USGA for their foresight in executing this plan, allowing the spectators to fill the fairway once the last group passed by but avoiding the chaotic mass of humanity which had occurred at several championships recently and needed to be literally reined in. As Rory walked up the 18th fairway the crowd roar got seriously loud. I came up the right side of the fairway and noted there were about 10 marshals at the green, where previously there had been only four. The spot I'd vacated earlier was vacant so I walked around the entire backside of the green and positioned myself there, receiving nods from the hole marshals and captain along the way. The excitement was phenomenal for all four groups as they finished on 18. Again I took a knee repeatedly to avoid blocking the view of the spectators packed in behind me along the barrier, and noted that several photographers followed my example, which drew appreciative comments from the crowd.
The excitement continued to build as each pairing putted out, with Scheffler missing an opportunity to tie for the lead. The final group of Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick arrived at 18, with Fitzpatrick hitting into the fairway bunker, resulting in the distinct possibility of a playoff. This would have been unthinkably exciting, but logistically beyond my imagination, wondering how the players would get through this crowd over to the first tee, then back over to play 18 again. Thankfully this didn't happen as Fitzpatrick hit a career shot out of the bunker to the green, followed by Zalatoris missing the tying putt. I had no favorite between this players, so I was happy for Fitzpatrick, and thought at the time that Will Zalatoris has come so close repeatedly that it is only a matter of time for his major victory. The crowd was going wild, family and media were swarming the green, us marshals were high-fiving each other. The USGA immediately began setting up for the trophy award ceremony, surprisingly down on the fairway, away from the clubhouse, which would be much closer to the crowd which had assembled at 150 yards from the green. It was kind of funny at this point because a red-shirted security official kindly said to us marshals that anyone without a trophy ceremony lanyard would need to move beyond the ropes. I was more than fine with that, especially in light of what had happened at Oakmont back in 2016.
There is a tendency after every championship to feel an immediate let-down, finally feeling the cumulative exhaustion of the past five days, in combination with the knowledge that another magnificent US Open has been achieved. This one was especially meaningful being relatively closer to my home and logistically much less challenging. In addition, I was left with the overall feeling of the history of The Country Club and its position in American golf, almost our version of St. Andrews. I was honored to be a very small part of it.
As a final post-script, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Lena Campbell, Championship Coordinator, 2022 U.S. Open. Lena was very accessible via email, text, and phone calls to all my inquiries about gaining an assignment as a walking marshal at Brookline. After my initial frustration on April 12, 2021 at 9AM when the USGA website first posted volunteer registration, to when it crashed within 5 minutes due to the overwhelming response, Lena graciously responded to my emailed concerns. I respectfully mentioned that my prior experiences as a volunteer at the professional golfers level would be helpful, especially since the vast majority of volunteers at any U.S. Open are rookies, albeit very enthusiastic ones! I was subsequently placed on a waiting list, followed by assignment to the 19th hole marshal committee. I want to thank Lena for the time she took to respond to me personally and for making this U.S. Open the best in my experience.