Day 3 August 31, 2014 Sunday DBC
As soon as we arrived at TPC Boston, the mobile marshals co-chair David told me we'd been given the first assignment of the day, Bubba Watson and Ryan Moore, teeing off at 9:15am. Somewhat disappointed that we weren't given a later assignment to a player in contention, but in a way this was better for Jim to get accustomed to a low key round without the potential craziness of a huge gallery late in the day. Introduced Jim to several other marshals during our morning meeting then went for breakfast, where we were joined by Eric, also part of our crew today, very personable guy, an accountant in real life. After breakfast, we went to the range for an hour, Jim getting a chance to see all of the players first-hand as they were warming up. When our time came we got a cart ride to the first tee, where our 4th crew member, Ron met us, a chemist from Houston. Good marshal but tended to be a phantom, self-directed kind of guy, keeping mostly to the cart paths, which was helpful in many congested spots. Bubba and Moore both tied at +1, leaders at -9, so we attracted a fairly small gallery. Jim soon got to experience being both inside and outside the ropes, as Moore's wayward drive on the second hole had us holding back the gallery to make an alley for his shot to the green. Jim caught on quickly, he said later he just imitated me.
After working about 12 holes, I got a call on the headset reassigning us to the afternoon pairing of Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel, the 2nd from the last group. Evidently, the crew leader wasn't going to be able to make his assignment. I discussed this with Eric and Ron as it would be just the two of them escorting Bubba and Moore the rest of the way, which was fine with them as the gallery had remained small and quite manageable. We snagged a marshal support cart ride back to the volunteer pavilion and got ready for our reassignment, teeing off at 1:35pm. With a little time to kill, I met up with my wife Mary and daughter Jill who were enjoying their seats at the Gosling Dark & Stormy Rum pavilion over-looking the 18th fairway. The place was packed but they'd gotten seats and were trying to stay cool in the near 90 degree heat and humidity.
At the first tee we were met by 5 other mobile marshals, a rather large crew for Kooch and Billy but we split into two groups of 3 on each side of the tee box and pretty much kept that positioning and spacing throughout the front 9. Since our gallery had only reached 100 or so by this point, Jim and I excused ourselves from the remaining holes, (21 holes was enough for us, especially being Jim's first day). We'd intended to attend the volunteer appreciation buffet scheduled for 6:30pm, but bagged it after seeing the hundreds of volunteers already in line. Instead, we headed out to dinner in Pawtucket near our rental. Over dinner and a martini, Jim told me he really enjoyed the whole marshal experience but for different reasons than myself. He said it was great getting completely away from his life in retail for a day, no customers, phone, meetings. I was hoping tomorrow's assignment would give him a taste of working with one of the biggest names in golf in front of sizable crowds on the final Labor Day finish.
Sunday
Saturday
Day 2 August 30, 2014 Saturday DBC
I was assigned as crew leader to Jordon Spieth, Jason Day, and Patrick Reed for a 1:28 tee time. My four man mobile marshals crew included Larry, Doug, and Orson. Larry was a true veteran, having volunteered at over 20 tournaments, including multiple US Opens. With six hours to kill, I spent time hanging out with other marshals at the volunteer tent, getting caught up on everyone's lives over the past year; daughters getting married, medical procedures, work, life in general. Interesting to compare all of the personalities who are drawn to this same place year-after-year, completely devoted to the tasks at hand. Some take a full week's vacation on their own dime, working a variety of behind the scenes duties in the Monday to Wednesday pre-championship lead up; such as picking up VIP's at the airports in the courtesy cars provided by DBC. Had my usual two breakfasts, 7am and 10am, followed by lunch at noon, today catered by Bertucci pizza, a nice perk for the volunteers. I'd work all of that food off by walking 6-7 miles later on during the round.
At the first tee, I greeted Jason Day as he walked up, wished him luck, gave him a fist bump, to which he replied, "Thanks, Mate". My crew was excellent, Doug being a rookie with only yesterday's experience under his belt, so I focused on giving him some direction, while Orson and Larry positioned themselves to provide the spacing we needed to maximize our presence inside the ropes. We're here to be seen yet be unobtrusive, in the background but helping the gallery to enjoy a great golf experience. Escorting the players throughout the round, allowing the crowd to get in close as we walk through the round, but keeping things under control. Jason Day was having a terrific DBC, tied for the lead, so we were on TV all afternoon. Had many close encounters with Notah Begay, the NBC on-course commentator, exchanging a few comments with him now and then. Also exchanged greetings with Rex Hoggard from Golf Channel, walking along with us. Got a text from my sister-in-law Marge who captured us on DVR at the 12th hole when Day made a great chip from outside of the ropes.
That's me in the spiffy red Nikes.
We escorted our group off the 18th green, through the crush of fans, with brief stops at the interview and autograph areas, then into the clubhouse scoring area, and our job was done. I thanked my crew for doing a great job, another 12 hour day at DBC, see you guys tomorrow. I then drove to our Airbnb rental in Pawtucket where I met my buddy Jim who was going to marshal along with me for the final two days of DBC. Jim had been with me at the 2011 & 2013 US Opens, but had never been a mobile marshal and was looking forward to the experience. Over dinner, he asked me what I enjoy about it all. I tried to describe the intensity of the experience once we start at the first tee, which only builds as the round goes along. I really feel I have my own small part in making the whole championship happen. Not sure if I conveyed that feeling adequately to Jim, but I knew he'd find out for himself over the next two days.
I was assigned as crew leader to Jordon Spieth, Jason Day, and Patrick Reed for a 1:28 tee time. My four man mobile marshals crew included Larry, Doug, and Orson. Larry was a true veteran, having volunteered at over 20 tournaments, including multiple US Opens. With six hours to kill, I spent time hanging out with other marshals at the volunteer tent, getting caught up on everyone's lives over the past year; daughters getting married, medical procedures, work, life in general. Interesting to compare all of the personalities who are drawn to this same place year-after-year, completely devoted to the tasks at hand. Some take a full week's vacation on their own dime, working a variety of behind the scenes duties in the Monday to Wednesday pre-championship lead up; such as picking up VIP's at the airports in the courtesy cars provided by DBC. Had my usual two breakfasts, 7am and 10am, followed by lunch at noon, today catered by Bertucci pizza, a nice perk for the volunteers. I'd work all of that food off by walking 6-7 miles later on during the round.
At the first tee, I greeted Jason Day as he walked up, wished him luck, gave him a fist bump, to which he replied, "Thanks, Mate". My crew was excellent, Doug being a rookie with only yesterday's experience under his belt, so I focused on giving him some direction, while Orson and Larry positioned themselves to provide the spacing we needed to maximize our presence inside the ropes. We're here to be seen yet be unobtrusive, in the background but helping the gallery to enjoy a great golf experience. Escorting the players throughout the round, allowing the crowd to get in close as we walk through the round, but keeping things under control. Jason Day was having a terrific DBC, tied for the lead, so we were on TV all afternoon. Had many close encounters with Notah Begay, the NBC on-course commentator, exchanging a few comments with him now and then. Also exchanged greetings with Rex Hoggard from Golf Channel, walking along with us. Got a text from my sister-in-law Marge who captured us on DVR at the 12th hole when Day made a great chip from outside of the ropes.
We escorted our group off the 18th green, through the crush of fans, with brief stops at the interview and autograph areas, then into the clubhouse scoring area, and our job was done. I thanked my crew for doing a great job, another 12 hour day at DBC, see you guys tomorrow. I then drove to our Airbnb rental in Pawtucket where I met my buddy Jim who was going to marshal along with me for the final two days of DBC. Jim had been with me at the 2011 & 2013 US Opens, but had never been a mobile marshal and was looking forward to the experience. Over dinner, he asked me what I enjoy about it all. I tried to describe the intensity of the experience once we start at the first tee, which only builds as the round goes along. I really feel I have my own small part in making the whole championship happen. Not sure if I conveyed that feeling adequately to Jim, but I knew he'd find out for himself over the next two days.
Thursday
The 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship Thursday Pro-Am August 28, 2014
The usual routine on arrival at the TPC Boston for our 6:30am mobile marshal's assignment meeting, renewing old friendships, people I only see once a year at the DBC. I was assigned to Rory McIlroy, the first tee time of the day at 6:50. In years past, this coveted tee time had been the exclusive property of Tiger Woods, but the torch had been passed to Rory as the new #1 player in the world golf rankings. Joining me were Tony and Christine, two veteran mobile marshals who knew their stuff. As I hustled over to the 10th tee, I was glad I'd grabbed breakfast earlier on the way in at the volunteer pavilion. Very light gallery of only 30 people at that hour, perfect weather in mid-70's, slightly humid, eventually becoming sunny in the low 80's. Rory was terrific during his round, lots of interaction between him and his amateur playing partners. I was able to catch lots of his comments in the give and take going on throughout the round as I was stationed closest to him while Tony and Christine took more forward positions. I was a bit surprised as Rory deferred all autographs from the gallery until the end of the round. It turned out to be a very relaxed atmosphere, in contrast to some of the higher intensity rounds I'd marshaled previously, but after all, it was the pro-am. It got a lot more hectic as we finished at the 9th hole, Rory being true to his word, stopping to sign autographs and take pictures all along the ropes exiting the green. People were standing 5-6 deep, he must have signed over 100 items, and could have done three times as many. Tony and I bracketed him as he moved along the ropes, finally getting him to a cart where he then made his exit. We were done and it was only noon, seemed a lot later. I grabbed lunch at the concession stand and brought it into the volunteer pavilion. Soon afterwards, a PGA TOUR official arrived, escorting Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, one of the new rookies to the Tour. Its a nice perk we get as volunteers to have a chance to meet a pro and chat a bit as they hang out in the tent for a half hour or so. After meeting him, I noticed we were the same height and weight, and I asked him how far his drives generally go, to which he replied "300 yards". I asked how might I be able to accomplish the same thing. He said, "my parents took me to my first golf lesson when I was 4 years old." We both laughed as it was obviously too late for me to emulate his level of skill. Nice kid, I complimented him on his proficiency in English. The PGA TOUR official took our picture, which I texted to my friends and family.
The usual routine on arrival at the TPC Boston for our 6:30am mobile marshal's assignment meeting, renewing old friendships, people I only see once a year at the DBC. I was assigned to Rory McIlroy, the first tee time of the day at 6:50. In years past, this coveted tee time had been the exclusive property of Tiger Woods, but the torch had been passed to Rory as the new #1 player in the world golf rankings. Joining me were Tony and Christine, two veteran mobile marshals who knew their stuff. As I hustled over to the 10th tee, I was glad I'd grabbed breakfast earlier on the way in at the volunteer pavilion. Very light gallery of only 30 people at that hour, perfect weather in mid-70's, slightly humid, eventually becoming sunny in the low 80's. Rory was terrific during his round, lots of interaction between him and his amateur playing partners. I was able to catch lots of his comments in the give and take going on throughout the round as I was stationed closest to him while Tony and Christine took more forward positions. I was a bit surprised as Rory deferred all autographs from the gallery until the end of the round. It turned out to be a very relaxed atmosphere, in contrast to some of the higher intensity rounds I'd marshaled previously, but after all, it was the pro-am. It got a lot more hectic as we finished at the 9th hole, Rory being true to his word, stopping to sign autographs and take pictures all along the ropes exiting the green. People were standing 5-6 deep, he must have signed over 100 items, and could have done three times as many. Tony and I bracketed him as he moved along the ropes, finally getting him to a cart where he then made his exit. We were done and it was only noon, seemed a lot later. I grabbed lunch at the concession stand and brought it into the volunteer pavilion. Soon afterwards, a PGA TOUR official arrived, escorting Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, one of the new rookies to the Tour. Its a nice perk we get as volunteers to have a chance to meet a pro and chat a bit as they hang out in the tent for a half hour or so. After meeting him, I noticed we were the same height and weight, and I asked him how far his drives generally go, to which he replied "300 yards". I asked how might I be able to accomplish the same thing. He said, "my parents took me to my first golf lesson when I was 4 years old." We both laughed as it was obviously too late for me to emulate his level of skill. Nice kid, I complimented him on his proficiency in English. The PGA TOUR official took our picture, which I texted to my friends and family.
Ryo Ishikawa
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