I knew Brian had been fully bitten by the marshaling bug when he and Chris met at our 7am mobile marshals meeting and discussed all the specifics of the previous day's events, including the varying number of marshals hole-by hole and the challenges of the course layout from a gallery movement perspective. I had requested as early an assignment as possible for today so that we could finish in a reasonable time to then make the three hour drive home. As a result, we were assigned to Bubba Watson and Sam Burns for a 9:15am tee off, perfect. I was designated as lead marshal for a 3-man crew, with Brian of course, and a third fellow, Ray. Thank you David for advocating for me to get this assignment. Our morning marshals meeting was extended a bit for Maureen to verbally acknowledge the selection of one to the hole marshal captains as Volunteer of the Year, evidently the first time a marshal had been so selected. We eventually joined Mary and Lauren at the first tee grandstand to watch Koepka and the early pairings tee off until it was our time to go. I noticed a familiar face down at the starter's tent, Marty Hackel (Mr. Style of Golf Digest) so I went down there to renew an old acquaintance. He's a well known character at TPC Boston, and I learned he's a native New Englander, living in New Canaan, having attended Tabor Academy, and playing various courses near me on Cape Cod. As our teetime neared, our third marshal arrived, Ray, who was a pretty unique fellow, a very loquacious chap, who we eventually pegged as a doppelgänger for Joe Pesci in hyperactive mannerisms, speaking style, and even accent. A real nice guy but talked way too much! Thank goodness he was an experienced MM and didn't need any coaching from me. He did a great job marshaling, especially staying ahead of the players as a fore-marshal for any wayward shots. Neither Bubba Watson or Sam Burns was in contention but both didn't give up in their efforts today, especially Bubba who at times is known for checking out under similar circumstances. He is such a crowd favorite here at the Travelers as a previous three-time winner and received applause at nearly every green as he walked up. His wife Angie and her guests were walking along with him so I fetched some water bottles for them at the fourth hole. They were very appreciative, always good to take care of anyone associated with the PGA TOUR. I also got some waters for Mary and Lauren, walking along with us again today. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable midday round on this sunny summer day, a bit hotter and humid than yesterday. Now that we knew the course a bit better, our marshaling duties seemed easier in that we knew where the crowds would tend to gather so that we could position ourselves accordingly. As usual, we had to be mindful of limiting gallery movement when there was a name player alongside a lesser known player. The fans were very respectful and responded well to our directions to limit moving about, especially on the cart paths. There was a rather sizable gallery all along the way, with lots of shoutouts of "We love you, Bubba". I had a typical marshal event happen when Burns hit outside of the ropes with his drive. When we arrived on the scene, a woman was standing there holding the gallery rope, which had been repositioned by the hole marshal to make room for Burns to get back into play. She looked nervous having been given this responsibility, especially when Burns was standing nearby making his shot. Afterwards I thanked her and gave her one of my marker tees, which I identified as the "PGA TOUR Golden Tee Award" for her contribution for being such a big help. She was thrilled!
As we finished up at the 18th hole, the crowd was in full voice supporting Bubba, their favorite. The stadium was rocking as he acknowledged the crowd, including posing for a few pictures with some fans as he exited the green. Brian, Ray, and I followed him up to the scoring area adjacent to the clubhouse and our job was completed. We met up with Mary and Lauren, who'd been watching the action there at 18. It was a good ending to our two day adventure at the Travelers. Lauren's pedometer registered 10 miles for the weekend, which she characterized as a billygoat walk due the hilly terrain. We wound things up with a quick lunch at the concession stand, seated in the shade for a well deserved rest, then we were on our way home. Definitely a different experience than previous tournaments, glad we made the trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment