If you've been reading this far into the blog you know my drill for arriving at TPC Boston at the crack of dawn for the DBC Pro-Am. This was my eight DBC and my 11th professional tournament. What never changes is my excitement at renewing old friendships with people I only see once a year, although I've now become Facebook friends with several as well. I don't need coffee, breakfast, or much of anything else to arrive wide awake and psyched for another mobile marshal experience. Of course, that quickly changes when I can dig into the Dunkin Donuts catered spread at the volunteer pavilion!
It was a rainy Thursday so we all met inside the MGA museum building rather than outside on the patio, our traditional spot. There were only about 20 of us marshals in attendance for the meeting as a decision has been made to reduce our overall numbers. It was great to see our committee chairs again, David and Karen, and to chat-up fellow marshals Tony, Jack, & Jim. I was assigned to Sergio Garcia, who I'd never marshaled before, Working with me was Steve, a newbie who was a hole marshal at 18 last year. It was going to be a low key day due to the weather, but a great opportunity to work with Steve and give him pointers throughout the day. As I walked to the first tee, I had that feeling that comes over me at every tournament at some point...how lucky I am to have another opportunity to be inside the ropes! I met up with the 1st hole captain, a fellow I've established a relationship with over the years, always checking in with him to see what he needs from us walking marshals. We both acknowledged that there would be very light galleries today, but things would definitely heat up later in the week. When there are close to 400-500 people standing around the first tee box waiting for the big names in golf to tee off, it can get pretty difficult with so few hole marshals there. We're frequently seen as the cavalry arriving with reinforcements.
Sergio turned out to be one of the most gracious pro's I've seen in all my years marshaling. He was available for every autograph, posing for countless pictures, and answering questions from the four amateurs assigned to his group, including the former mayor of NYC Michael Bloomberg. Sergio repeatedly thanked us whenever we helped him or his caddie as we escorted them through 18 holes. The fairly thin gallery never amounted to more than a couple hundred people but were always very respectful. We heard a few chants of "USA, USA" in anticipation of the Ryder Cup coming up in a month, Sergio being one of the recently announced members of the European team. He took it well. In lots of ways Sergio seems like a normal guy. I'm always impressed when able to observe a world-famous pro acting in a way we can all identify with. Sergio answers the call of nature during a break in play, like we all do, at a discreet distance of course!
My time was productively spent giving Steve the benefit of my experience in the nuances of marshaling, including positioning at each tee and green, avoiding walking on the green or teebox surfaces, and helping out the amateurs by locating stray shots in the shrubbery or rough. Steve was nice enough to hold his umbrella over us at times, which was much appreciated. Thankfully the rain never affected play, avoiding a player evacuation. I told Steve how this would work if it came to that, including noting the position of the evac vans strategically placed at every hole. We finished up after 18 holes with Sergio signing autographs for about 15 minutes, then we headed back to the volunteer pavilion for lunch. I chatted with my buddy Tony about an hour, comparing notes about how our rounds went. Since this was his 13th year as a mobile marshal, he has a more in-depth view of how the mobile marshals committee came into being and the process by which it is being operated. He has made some suggestions and recommendations in recent years with the powers that be, which got us off on one of those "if I was in charge'' discussions, as to what changes we might implement. His comments would later turn out to be quite prophetic.
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