Once I'd received notification of having been selected to serve as a 19th Hole Marshal for the US Open at Shinnecock, I emailed Hank Thompson and cc'd Mike Davis:
Gentlemen,
It may be too late in the game to inquire further as to your plans for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock in a few months. Nonetheless, I wanted to re-establish contact with you both about the need for and potential benefit of having walking marshals assigned to the highest profile player groups at this year's Championship. This need was further reinforced to me by my experience as a "Roving Marshal" at the President's Cup last October. Despite there being as excessive amount of people inside the ropes with each player group, I believe a crew of 2-4 marshals would have quieted some of the exuberant fan behavior. I accompanied several groups, and did what I could as a single marshal, but repeatedly wished I had 2 or 3 other marshals to help quell the rough comments directed at International team players, as well as WAGs. I am presently assigned to the 19th Hole marshals committee for this years Open, and would welcome the opportunity to expand our responsibilities to including walking marshals.
Best regards,
Wyn
Hi Wyn,
I hope this email finds you well and getting ready for golf season.
We are looking forward to June at Shinnecock Hills. We are also appreciative of your time and energy once again. As you noted, we have you assigned to the 19th Hole Marshal Committee. Within this committee we deploy marshals to different areas on the golf course to assist marshals. We also utilize marshals from this committee to provide support to “marquee” groups during championship rounds. Due to your experience, we have marked your information to be one of those marshals to help out with a certain group. At this time, we do not know what groups at the moment but that will become clearer when starting times are determined prior to the championship.
As we discussed following Oakmont, we continue to review our practices so that we can provide a secure playing fields for the players. We also continue to review who has access to follow groups to attempt to clean up the areas around the players in the field. As you note below, a concern of ours continues to be the number of people inside the ropes.
Thank you again for the email. We look forward to seeing you in June!
Hank
I wasn't sure what to expect in being designated as a walking marshal for one of the marquee groups but I'd soon find out.
I arrived on Long Island on Wednesday June 13th after a 5 hour drive from my hometown on Cape Cod, plenty of time to spare to see the course and test out the commuting logistics to the central parking area arranged by the USGA. The Gabreski airport in Westhampton Beach would serve as the only parking for the Open, for all volunteers and spectators , located about 10 miles from Shinnecock. The actual bus ride took 30 mins, not too bad, this being 5pm. The championship director would subsequently send a email to all volunteers stating that the morning bus ride was taking 1:45 however, due to weekday L.I. rush hour traffic + golf related crowds on the roads. Yikes!
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| Shinnecock's timeless clubhouse |
I walked around the course a bit, taking in the stately old clubhouse, but there was no gaining entrance without a member credential. Checked out the practice range, putting, and chipping areas, and strolled down to the volunteer pavilion, for once conveniently located near the clubhouse. Also checked out the massive merchandise area for potential purchases later in the week. I could feel the buzz in the air from the crowd still on the premises at this late hour on the final practice day. Can't wait to get started tomorrow.
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