Day 4   DTC   Monday - Labor Day   September 3, 2018

When I met up with Brian at the green volunteer lot, he wanted to know who I thought we'd be marshaling today.  He'd looked up the pairings online and we both had pretty similar ideas, four possible scenarios: Justin Thomas or Phil in the morning, or Tiger or the leaders in the afternoon.  I was hoping for Phil as I don't think any rookie marshal is ever able to take on a Tiger crowd with only one day's experience.  It would almost be cruel to be exposed to the madness of his gallery with the expectation of controlling it.  Phil would be a better assignment, shorter wait time for his 9:45am tee-off, plus a smaller though sizable gallery.  We got coffees and went to the assignment meeting, moved up to 6:30am due to the PGA TOUR's decision for earlier teetimes for television and weather concerns.  I was very happy to see that Brian was really comfortable with our marshal group, talking with other marshals while I chatted with Tony, Jack, Jim, and Chris.  Sure enough, we got assigned to Phil Mickelson and Ryan Armour, perfect.  Brian would get to experience the Phil Show while needing to contend with the challenge of the always exuberant crowd interaction with everyone's favorite player.

We had time for a leisurely breakfast, including a discussion of the events of yesterday.  I took this opportunity to tell him how special it was for me to have him get to experience what this marshaling thing was all about, not just hear the talk.  In the past, I'd tried to downplay how much it would mean to me, but also informed him that this might be his last chance, given the plan to change the FedEx cup format and eliminate the DTC.  He admitted he partially agreed to do it since he knew how passionate I was about it, but now having met my buddies and having seen the same drive and enthusiasm in others, he had a new appreciation for it.  He was still learning, confessing to me he wasn't sure of exactly where he was supposed to be at each hole, but I told him he was picking it up fast and that I was proud of him.   We ended breakfast sitting with Maureen, Diane, and David for awhile and I got to learn a few more details of Maureen's life outside of marshaling.  I had no idea she was a runner as am I, logging at least 2 miles every morning. She'd even run the Marine Corps marathon in D.C. back in the day.  She said today was the first time she had taken a day off from running since she'd developed a foot blister from all the walking she'd been doing in the heat and humidity over the past 4 days. Maureen continues to reveal aspects of her inner character every time we see each other, it's one of the great things about developing all these DTC friendships through the years.

As Brian and I headed off to the first tee, we ran into Tony again.  I suggested we plan to work at the Travelers next June in CT.  He could join me and Brian, and make it a buddies road trip and stay at my cousin's house not far from TPC River Highlands.  Tony sounded psyched but also expressed how sorry he was to see the Dell coming to an end.

                                                                         Tony and me

Brian later said that moment really impressed upon him how special all of this was to us volunteers.  We also ran into my buddies Mike and Tom who were being spectators today but had tried marshaling in the past.  As it turned out, we were unable to find them later due the enormous crowds and our being inside the ropes a good bit of time.

We made a quick trip up to the range to see Phil and Ryan warming up, then headed to the first tee where I was able to get a "Hi Guys" from Phil after I said good morning.

There was a pretty light crowd, just over 100 spectators but is was still early.  We moved from the first tee to the adjacent landing area of #2 fairway just as a ball landed outside the rope hit by Tom Hoge.  He thanked us after we organized the crowd into an alley so he could hit back into play.  It was great working with Brian as a 2-man crew, both inside and outside the ropes, meaning lots of cart path action keeping the gallery from sprinting ahead while Armour took his shots after Phil.  The crowd steadily grew to +300 on the front nine, then exploded to well over a thousand as we came off the 9th green to the 10th tee box.  The captain at 10 was having trouble with the cart path the entire length of the hole so I radioed in for a couple of reinforcements to join us.  We got one more by the 11th hole but it was a temporary assignment.  Just as well because by the time we walked all the way to the 12th green our crowd had shrunk back to 300 or so, quite manageable for just the 2 of us.  It was seriously hot and I was drinking a water or powerade at almost every hole, Brian also.

                                                              Phil at 13 green after hitting his famous flopshot

Late in the round, with Phil playing exceptionally well and on his way to shooting a 63, Brian and I were inside the ropes at the 13th green, Phil about 10 feet in the rough and another 20 feet from the flag. He proceeded to hit a patented Phil flop shot 30 feet straight up to travel to within 2 feet of the hole.  I said to Brian later, what a thrill to be right there to witness that in person.  Something he'll be able to tell his grandkids about!   

When we finished we waited at the autograph area for 10 minutes, thinking Phil would come out after signing his score card.  I'd prepped Brian beforehand stating he always signs everything, for at least 20 minutes, sometimes longer, with us marshals nearby to help keep things semi-controlled.  Ryan Armour to his credit came out, pouring sweat, looking exhausted, but signing for a good 10 minutes, but no Phil.

                                                                        Ryan Armour

We needed to get something to eat, put our feet up and take a well earned rest so off we went to my new favorite concession stand at the 17th tee for the Calabrese chicken sandwich and a cold green tea, plus scoring adirondack seats in the shade.  Wonderful!   I'd been monitoring my headset all the while for calls to come help with the Tiger-Koepka pairing, who by now were on the 7th hole.  The chatter I was hearing indicated that our mobile marshals were battling not only the intense crowds but also the heat.  Brian and I went back to the volunteer tent and continued our rest break.  We were both pretty beat and he eventually said that he didn't have any reserve left.  I wasn't sure if I did either, so we called it a day and began to leave. I'd even removed my headset.  Just then, David came up to the tent looking pretty done in and took a seat while Ailish, one of our marshal support crew, applied an ice bag to his neck to help him cool down.  Tiger was by this time on his way to 10th tee.  I checked in with David and he confirmed with lead marshal Tony that reinforcements would be welcomed.  Brian later said at that moment he could see my second wind literally kick-in right before his eyes, and I put my headset back on and was ready to go.  We said our good-byes and I thanked him again for such a special opportunity it was to have him with me inside the ropes.  Ailish drove me in her cart out to join our crew of 6 marshals, taking the back road cart paths to the 12th tee, Tiger and Brooks just walking up the chute from 11.  I immediately saw Tony, Maureen, Kim, and Karen, they all looked pretty fried.  Only Chris and Jack looked like they still had some juice left in their walk. I actually felt the day had cooled off a bit from this morning and felt pretty good walking the final holes from 12 on in.

                                                                    Tiger and Brooks putting on 16

Chris, Jack, and I worked inside the ropes, varying our positions from next to the players to somewhat ahead, not worrying about the cart paths as the crowd was so deep, the players weren't distracted by the river of people constantly moving along.  Both were playing really well but too far back to seriously contend.  Tiger was dripping sweat, toweling off after every shot, the temperature 91 degrees with a 101 real feel.  I was hearing David, (who'd come back from the dead) on the headset talking with Maureen about the dreaded P-word (a playoff) potential between DeChambeau, Rose, and others.  I wasn't worried because I knew I'd be way too worn out to stick around for that.  We had a bit of a scare along 18 when an unfortunate spectator collapsed at the rope from the heat but  the Norton police officer accompanying us was immediately on the scene, radioing for assistance.  Jack and I were right there too, but quickly moved on once we assessed the situation.  The scene at the 18th green with its grandstands providing a stadium like scene was unreal.  Tiger and Brooks finished up to immense cheering from the huge crowd, then we escorted them down the chute and over to the clubhouse and scoring area.  They subsequently were gracious enough to come out to the autograph area to a very receptive group of kids.

Tiger making everyone's day by signing everything in sight

I took some pictures of my fellow marshals Jack esq. and Jim "the mayor" then also got a picture of our leaders David and Maureen.  As I later posted on Facebook, "is it the end of an era? I hope not."

Tiger signing, with me and Maureen keeping the crowd behaved

Jack and The Mayor

Maureen and David

It's been a terrific experience with all of these guys!

   
 
         

Day 3   DTC    Sunday     September 2, 2018

An extra special day as I was going to be joined by my son Brian for his first ever marshaling experience.  To make it even more special, I had my wife Mary with me for the day, including driving up to TPC Boston, leaving our house at 4:45am. On the way, we talked about the potential assignment times and players we might have, hoping to avoid a dreaded late teetime and having to find something to do for 5-6 hours. Everything worked out fine from the start, meeting Brian at the green lot and taking the shuttle over to the volunteer tent and our MGA meeting spot.  I got a coffee for Mary, then Brian and I went to the assignment meeting.  I made introductions all around to all the other mobile marshals, and Brian was instantly greeted by all my buddies and welcomed into the fold, everyone asking him questions and making comments.  Brian later told Mary, "Dad knows everyone".  We got assigned to Justin Thomas and Whee Kim for an 8:35am teetime, which was perfect, anticipating a relatively manageable gallery plus no need to find some diversionary activity to kill the waiting time.  I introduced Brian to David and thanked him for the opportunity to have Brian join me in marshaling, as he had no experience.  David said I would do a good job training him as I had done so many other times with various rookies.

Me and Brian

Brian and Mary

Don't mess with this marshal!

We then strolled to the first tee and met up with our third crew member, Frank, who I'd trained at the Pro-Am.  He's such a personable guy, immediately took to chatting up Brian, including complementing me on my ability to give him a wonderful training experience on his first day as a mobile marshal.  He even commented on how much better it was than volunteering as a hole marshal, which he had done on 2 prior occasions.  I spoke with Karen our MM co-chair, who was again stretching her resume, serving as first tee announcer and doing a grand job.  I also chatted up Rich, the first tee captain, who complemented all of us MM's and our ability as specialists to quickly identify problem areas on the course.  We're the cavalry! 

As planned, it turned out to be a very easy marshaling assignment for our crew, working with Justin Thomas and Whee Kim.  Basically a hot walk in the park with 50-100 friends along to watch the golf. Brian and Frank responded perfectly to my subtle directions for positioning on each hole, techniques for quieting the gallery, avoiding blocking anyone's view by taking a knee, and having a good time working the crowd.   Every time you're standing at the rope close to the spectators, they generally want to engage you with a question or comment, and you've got to be ready to have that knowledgeable response.  To some extent, being inside the ropes means you are a part of the action, and the crowd is looking for a bit of give and take with us in a friendly bantering manner. As it turned out, I was especially proud of my wife Mary, as she was able to speak with our accompanying Norton police officer, as well as Justin's father, mother, and girlfriend Jillian Wisniewski walking along with us.  Somehow Mary had learned that JT was a huge RedSox fan, despite being from Kentucky, and that he and Jordan Spieth had been to last night's game at Fenway, including getting the opportunity to throw out the first pitch.  Mary later said what nice people they were, so approachable, Jillian wishing her to "Have a great day".  

We accompanied the players off the 18th green and over to the clubhouse scoring and autograph area, Whee coming out to sign for about 5 minutes.  There we met up with Brian's new wife Lauren and her parents Frank and Patti, and it was time for them to find some adult beverages, and for me and Brian to get some lunch and wait to see if we would be needed as reinforcements on the back-nine for Tiger's group.  We got lunch and the necessary fluids at the 17th tee concession stands and found one of the few shady spots in order to beat the serious heat.  Mary, Lauren, Patti, and Frank shifted into party mode while Brian and I devoured 2 sandwiches apiece and rested our legs.  After awhile, the headset chatter seemed pretty calm and it didn't look like our further services would be needed.  I got a beer and became a spectator for the first time at DTC.  We then joined the hoards trying to get a glimpse of TW, finally doing so as he came of the 10th tee.  What a difference it is trying to watch from outside the ropes!  In the end, Brian and I were both pretty beat and I was sort of glad that we didn't get the word to walk another 9 holes with the afternoon groups.  I told him I was very happy with having him along to experience life as a Mobile Marshal, something I'd talking about for 10 years.  Both he and Mary said lots of nice things about the wonderful time they'd had, despite feeling hot and tired.    

Day 2   DTC  Saturday   September 1, 2018

Much more relaxed start as 7:30am meeting allowed for an extra hour's sleep.  Got assigned to the Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, & Patrick Cantlay group for a 9:15am tee off.  Diane would be lead marshal but I was on headset as well to help coordinate communication in our crew of four, including Chris and Scott, both great guys.  Chatted a bit with David about the our Pro-Am group, asking if  there had been any repercussions from having so many non-players inside the ropes.  He hadn't heard anything but appreciated the feedback.

I was shocked at the volunteer tent when I went for my pre-round breakfast, there was absolutely no food!  Evidently us volunteers had been eating more than our estimated allotment and catering was in the process of restocking.  I used one of my meal vouchers to get a breakfast burrito at the concession stand next door, pretty tasty but not my usual thing, I'm more of a bagel and cream cheese guy.  Hoped I wouldn't be paying a price later on.

Phil Michelson

10th tee

Phil

At the 10th tee, saw Diane and Chris and got going with Phil's group, drawing the largest crowd of the morning, Tiger's group not teeing off until 1:16pm. Had 2,000 walking along in the gallery, enjoying the Phil Show immensely, all smiles, thumbs-up, constantly tipping his cap every time a fan called his name, which was about every 10 seconds.  New this year were comments related to his dance moves as seen on a recent commercial, lots of requests shouted out for an on-course demonstration or two. He just smiled.  We spent an equal amount of time inside and outside the ropes, attempting to keep the crowd stationary while all three players completed their shots.   Most of the time the gallery was cooperative and respectful in this.  We'd been briefed at our meeting that Patrick Reed might be the recipient of some heckling as he'd posted a complaint on Twitter about his less than spectacular seats at the RedSox game last night.  Not a discouraging word was heard all day, other than some pointedly sarcastic shouts of "Go Sox" thrown his way.

The gallery size varied at the usual spots, down to roughly 1,000 at the distant holes 12-15, then growing again to +2,000 at the stadium-like 16th and through 18, then reduced again at 1 due the distance from the clubhouse.  It always grows as you get closer to the 9th hole, in this case the finishing hole of the round.  I however didn't get this far in the round as we began hearing about the gallery gathering for Tiger's group, and this was before he'd even teed off.  Several of us were being asked to leave our groups if possible to join in the TW adventure.  I arranged with Diane to take a break as we reached the 5th &7th greens complex so I could grab lunch while she, Chris, and Scott continued on through 6 and 7 which are always lightly attended.  When they got back to the 7th green I rejoined them to assist with the infamous 7-to-8 cart path bridges, which are always a tricky mix of spectators and carts transporting the players and caddies.  Once Phil & co. made it through to the 8th tee, I continued walking in and was joined by Tony, also heading in to join us reinforcements.  We quickly stopped at the volunteer tent for a bathroom break and an iced coffee, then battled the sea of humanity.  We cut over to the 4th tee and walked up to find Karen, Maureen, and others facing a wall-to-wall crowd.  I got to walk close to Tiger as he exited the tee walking down 4, his face wearing a wry smile, he was really enjoying this.  Tony, Maureen, and I stayed back to catch him and his playing partners Marc Leishman, and Chez Reavie as they made their way back on 5.  Maureen was already thinking way ahead, to the 7-to-8 bridges and working out the logistics for handling what must have been +5,000 spectators.  We walked on ahead to this area and eventually had 6 or 7 people all waying in on strategic planning.  Finally, as the crowds started to build, those trying to keep ahead of Tiger in other words, we sprang into action. I and others spent the next 30 minutes acting as traffic cops, diverting the flow of spectators so as to keep the cart path/bridges clear. There must have been 10 marshals involved altogether in this plan, and we were later told that the 7th green captain said he'd never seen the carts return so quickly. Mission accomplished!  It wore me out however, and by this time, there was no catching up to Tiger's group on the 10th tee.  When I saw Diane and Karen, I told them I was wiped out and done for the day.  They thanked me for my efforts in manning the trouble spots and going where help was most needed.