Monday

Day 4  September 7, 2015  Monday-Labor Day  DBC

Got assigned to the first group of the day, Rory McIlroy and Brendon Todd, teeing off soon at 8:35am, so I hustled our 3-person crew off to breakfast, Tom, Melinda, and myself.  Later at the first tee I spoke with the hole captain who really appreciated our help every day in adding to the few hole marshals he had at his disposal.  Since Tom and Melinda were veteran marshals, I only had to tell them of my game plan to keep the crowds under control and in place until both golfers had taken their shots.  Everyone in our gallery would be there to see Rory, and would bolt before Todd had also played his shot.  I really wanted to avoid this if possible, meaning we'd have to pay special attention to people holding their positions at the ropes and on the cart paths.

The morning started out very comfortably, with a gallery of a hundred people or so, growing to at least 500 later on.  McIlroy played superb golf, going -5 for the day but not enough to catch the leaders.  He'd recently lost his ranking as the world's #1, and wanted to prove a few things for the remainder of the FedEx Cup series to come.  Our round was made even more interesting when Melinda noticed Rory's girlfriend Erica Stoll walking along with us, so we made sure she wasn't bothered by fans as the day went on.  I got to sit next to Rory in the golf carts for the ride from the 7th green to the 8th tee, a real treat. On the 17th fairway we ran into Notah Begay, doing on-course commentary for the Golf Channel and NBC broadcast.  Since it was still morning, I asked if he was already 'live', he kidded me saying they moved up their broadcast time and why wasn't I paying attention. I said I haven't been watching any golf on tv, I've been too busy watching in person.

Our round went blazing fast, we were done in just under 4 hours.  Tom and I broke for lunch and I tried to convince him to stay for the rest of the day to experience the closing moments of play, which are always fantastic.  Tom's back was barking at him so he had to leave, but said he'd sign-up again next year.  I got comfortable at the volunteer tent, knowing that I'd be needed later in the day for added marshaling support.  I monitored the marshals headset channel, listening to how it was going with the leaders Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson out on the course.  Around 2pm I got word that the 9th hole captain was requesting some help, which is right next to the volunteer village.  Steve, the captain was ecstatic when I approached him, saying he had no marshals on the green.  I positioned myself there as the final 5 pairings came through, then offered to help David,  Karen, and Maureen with the final group as they went through to the back 9.  All three of them looked fatigued and they welcomed some relief coming "off the bench".   They were working an enormous gallery, what we've come to call a "Tiger" gallery in the past, but this time for Fowler and Stenson.  It was barely manageable through holes 10 and 11 until something happened, which none of us had ever witnessed in years of marshaling.  On the 12th fairway the gallery ducked under the ropes as we walked behind the golfers, over a thousand spectators crossing to the opposite side to position themselves at the 13th hole.  We did our best to herd this crowd across and then outside the ropes, all the while saying how unbelievable it all was.  The excitement in the crowd continued to build as the golfers made their way to the 16th par-3 signature hole. Stenson proceeded to hit into the water hazard fronting the green, instantly relinquishing the lead to Fowler.  The atmosphere in the gallery went nuclear.  Now all Rickie had to do was hold on through 17 and 18 to win.  We all instantly went to red-alert in anticipation of a playoff, which would present huge logistical difficulties in keeping the crowd under control.  As I was standing alongside the 18th fairway, waiting for the players to hit their approach shots to the green, I glanced back just in time to see about 100 fans again ducking under the ropes to get out onto the fairway.  They were initially unmoved when I confronted them,
so I radioed Maureen, who had an "OMG" moment.  With the help of Rick and Jim who rushed to my assistance, we were able to convince these folks that we needed the fairway cleared in case the players had to come back to replay 18 if we had a playoff.  David radioed all of us stationed along the 18th to maintain our positions and not come down to the green until we were certain that a playoff wasn't needed.  He referred to seeing my green shoes, visible from over 200 yards away where he was standing.  I replied that now he was actually happy I'd worn something so visible under the circumstances.  The crowd noise was deafening when Rickie held on to win the DBC; he played terrific golf and deserved to win.  We all gathered beside the 18th green for the trophy award ceremony, then said our goodbyes, all of us exhausted after a very long but very rewarding golf experience.   I'd walked a total of 90 holes in four days of volunteering and had a wonderful time doing so.  See you next year.                      

Sunday

Day 3   September 6, 2015   DBC   Sunday

Met up with my good friend and regular Wednesday golf partner Tom who was volunteering for today and tomorrow's rounds.  He'd also been a mobile marshal in 2013 and really enjoyed it.  We were assigned to Matt Jones and Kevin Chappell, playing in the second to last pairing of the day,   close to the lead and bound to draw a sizable gallery.  We would be positioned immediately in front of Rickie Fowler's group, the DBC leader.

I'd decided to wear my fluorescent green Nike Airmax running shoes, making a serious fashion statement, for which I was prepared to take a lot of grief.  The reaction was over-whelmingly positive from my fellow marshals as well as spectators throughout the day.  Our Mobile Marshals Co-leader David kiddingly told me at one point the he'd received word from a few players who said the shoes were a distraction on the golf course; Phil Michelson asked that I remove them.  Way more comfortable than my walking boots.

I introduced Tom to some of my marshal friends over breakfast, then afterwards we headed up to the range to hang out until our teetime.  We ran into our friends Mike and Chris who were there for the day as spectators; Mike was a mobile marshal in 2013.  Back at the volunteer tent for our 2nd breakfast we ran into Jim, a former mobile marshal who now works the DBC as an NBC TV spotter.  Very interesting assignment, inside the ropes, providing info to the broadcast crew throughout the round.

Our round with Chappell and Jones went very well, starting out at the first tee with about 100 fans, building gradually during the afternoon to a couple hundred, very manageable by Tom, Darin, and myself.  It was a fairly hot day, with varying amounts of fatigue as the round wore on.  I've learned I have to keep an eye on Tom to hydrate.  We had a few instances of errant balls going outside of the ropes but we made a good team working with the hole marshals to drop the ropes, move the crowd, and try to keep everyone still while they stood so close to the player.  Thankfully, the fans are always on their best behavior when standing less than 10 feet away.  The 18th hole was packed as usual, people crowding 10-deep along the ropes, as were the hospitality pavilions and grandstand at this time of day.  We smoothly escorted our players through all this, to the scoring area, no autographs, so we were done for the day.

We went directly to the volunteer appreciation dinner held on the grounds of TPC Boston.  It was set-up with a buffet and bar, plenty of seating, which was nice since we'd just walked at least 6 miles.  After dinner, a surprise guest appeared, Brandt Sneaker, who gave a very gracious speech, thanking us volunteers.  Its nice to hear that the players recognize all of our combined efforts in making the DBC come to life each and every year.  He then posed for photos with us all, another nice gesture.


Saturday

Day 2  September 5, 2015   Saturday   DBC

At the assignment meeting, met up with my old friend Pat from Connecticut, as well as Melinda, Queen of the autograph signing area, and Rick who's been doing this forever, at DBC and the Traveler's in CT.  All great people.  I got assigned as the lead marshal for Rickie Fowler's group, including Jason Bohn and Sangmoon Bae, teeing off at 9:30am.  This was ideal as it allowed us a leisurely breakfast and didn't involve lots of waiting around.
At the first tee, I checked with the hole captain to see where he might need some extra help in crowd control.  He directed us toward a group of about six guys standing directly behind the tee and up in the grandstand, all with breakfast beers in hand, loudly calling out to the golfers and their caddies standing at the tee.  Melinda and I took up positions nearby, inside the rope, whereupon one of the guys said, "Uh-oh, here comes the no-talking police", which drew a laugh from everyone.  We gave them our best smiles just so they knew we were there to keep it respectable for the players without getting too serious about it all.  They kept up their give-and-take with Rickie & Co., but quieted down when play began, which was great.  The fans at DBC are almost always aware of the need to allow the golfers to play without interference.
We had a pretty good size morning gallery, around 200 people to start, which grew throughout the round to over 500.   Our round went very smoothly, my crew of 4 veteran mobile marshals working well together, spacing ourselves correctly and always adjusting our positions to where we were needed the most, hole-by-hole.  Thankfully the weather was great, 80 degrees, unlike the pro-am oven.  We did our best to minimize the use of cellphone cameras, in accordance with PGA TOUR regulations, especially Melinda, who engaged lots of fans in a good-natured way.  To be honest, I saw over 50% of the fans holding phones as we walked along inside the ropes, which means we're fighting a losing battle in attempting to enforce the no-picture policy.  We do our best under the circumstances.
We eventually accompanied our players from the 18th green, to the scoring and interview areas beneath the TPC clubhouse, then waited at the autograph area for Rickie to return.  In the meantime, Jim Furyk emerged from the clubhouse to do some signing, so we bracketed him as he made his way down the line, fans standing 5-6 deep, to have him sign hats, flags, programs, balls, etc.  At one point a small boy asked him, "Mr. Furyk, if you could have any super power, what would it be?"  Without missing a beat, he replied, "Invisible", which drew lots of laughs from the crowd.  I told him that was the quote of the day.  Rickie eventually emerged, the crowd reacting as if a rock-star was in their midst.  It was a challenge for Melinda and I to manage this frenzy, thankfully we were reinforced by 2 security staff and well as a Norton police officer.  Melinda is at her absolute best in this environment, I can only take so much of it.  It always reinforces my belief that the pros don't get enough acknowledgement about their work with the fans, to be so gracious under these trying circumstances.
 

Thursday

The 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship   Thursday Pro-Am    September 3, 2015

Up and on my way at 4:15am to arrive at TPC Boston by 6:00am, in the dark, an ungodly time of day, but filled with the excitement of starting our annual get-together with people from all walks of life who serve as mobile marshals at the DBC.  Began the process of getting caught up with old acquaintances who I'd met over the last 7 years of volunteering.  Great seeing David, Karen, Maureen, Tony, Jack, Jim, & Diane again.  Got assigned to Rory McIlroy for his 12:20pm teetime.  There was an instant buzz in the air as DBC had decided to group the three biggest names in the game, with Jason Day and Jordan Spieth teeing off at noon and 12:10pm respectively, right in front of our group.   To pass the time, I volunteered to marshal for Rickie Fowler's group, going off at 7:30am.  Had a blast working with the lead marshal Jim, who is an Eddie Murphy-type guy, the unofficial ambassador of DBC.  We had a group of 4 mobile marshals, including James and Joe who all worked well together and needed minimal direction.  Ricky Fowler was excellent with the gallery, signing autographs and posing for pictures, but a tad less exuberant than in 2011 when I'd last worked with him during the pro-am.  Then he was brand new to the PGA Tour and the hot young stud.  He's still that, judging by how many hundreds of fans I saw dressed in regulation Rickie traffic-cone orange.  If anything, he has a bigger presence than back then.  His amateur partners were in awe as well, resulting in less than spectacular golf shots occasionally, but having a great time nonetheless.  It means a bit of extra work for us marshals, finding duffed balls outside the ropes or in the rough. The ams are always so appreciative of our help, with profuse thanks.  At times I collected 1 or 2 of Rickie's broken tees, and handed them to little kids at the rope for a souvenir.  Our group was joined for a short while by Jacques Brand, CEO of Deutsche Bank. Seemed like a nice fellow, walking along with his sons while chatting with Rickie.  I left after completing the back 9 with this group, having to save my legs for my primary assignment later on.  It was 84 degrees by 10am, going to be a scorcher.

Back at the volunteer tent I put my feet up and texted all my friends about my assignments for the day while having my second breakfast.  I was eventually joined by Tony, Steve, & Diane for lunch, having a lively discussion about the Tom Brady-Roger Goodell controversy.  We all then headed to the first tee for the arrival of Jason Day. He has such a gracious way about him, attentive to everyone who greets him, seemingly interested in it all. Just coming off his fantastic win at Whistling Straits.  After he teed off, Jordan Spieth arrived, along with Jacques Brand, one of his amateur partners for the day, as well as former N.Y. City Mayor Michael Bloomburg.   A small entourage was also gathered, including Mr. Brand's 91 year-old mother, a spry grand-dame who got to ride in a cart. After they got under way, Rory McIlroy arrived and was met with cheering and applause.  I remember standing nearby as all this was going on, as the temperature reached 90 degrees, thinking this is going to be one interesting day! So we were off, our 3-man mobile marshal crew consisting of Steve, Tom, and myself.  Seems like I was all over the place during the round, at times right next to Rory, other times looking for wayward amateur shots, on the cart path holding back crowd movements while everyone finished putting.  Had to get a bottle of water at every 3rd teebox to stay hydrated.  The back 9 was a long hot walk, my legs feeling it in the heat, but so was everyone else including the players.  Rory held up really well, signing for fans at every hole, unlike last year when he waited until after the round.  At one point, I had a very interesting chat with an English woman standing at the rope, accompanying Spieth.  Turns out she works on Mr. Brand's staff at Deutsche Bank, and was very interested in details of volunteering and marshaling.  I told her I have to train all year to be able to walk 27 holes / 7+ miles in this heat as a volunteer.  We finished our round at 5:20pm.  The tremendous galleries we'd anticipated never materialized, probably due to the heat and it being only Thursday of Labor Day weekend.  All I know is I was drained.