US Open June 15, 2022 Wednesday Practice Day

It finally got here after a very long wait of three years since my last marshaling opportunity.   Of course, the pandemic was the primary cause for being unable to work at Winged Foot in '20, but nothing was going to stop the return of the US Open to The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, after 34 years.  You know enough about all the stories of TCC and its previous championships or you wouldn't be reading this blog. The place just has a definite aura about it that is visually stunning in its complexity and history.  In some ways it reminded me of a much larger version of Merion, both courses an integral part of their suburban communities, seemingly having been there forever.  

This being my fifth US Open, I've come to expect a certain level of complexity and delay in just getting to the venue from my accommodations.  I was quite pleased that the USGA was able to provide sufficient parking in a variety of locations, resulting in minimal wait times for parking, getting on the very comfortable shuttle buses, followed by a 20 minute ride to the entrance gate.  There were 10 gates in all surrounding TCC for absolutely no waiting to have my credential scanned. My arrival was a little strange in that a road had been cut through a farm, connecting to a quarter-mile long gravel path leading to the gate, entering the property along the 5th hole.    I then had to find my way to the volunteer village without a map.  The microscopic map on the US Open app was almost no help.  I'd met a very helpful woman on the bus who was driving the carts for disabled spectators access throughout the course, so she knew which direction to point me.  I checked in at the 19th hole desk, located in a lake front rustic log house adjacent to the volunteer tent; I later learned it received lots of use by TCC membership for winter skating and kids parties. I met the 19th hole committee chairs Ralph and Diana Vogel, both TCC members.  They asked me what I might like to do for my assignments and were visibly shocked when I told them briefly of my prior marshaling experience.  They admitted they were new to all this but presented such enthusiasm and confidence that I knew I'd enjoy working with them.  I said I'd hoped to be assigned to walk with a marquee players group, but was told that they did not coordinate this and it would need to be passed on to Lena Campbell, the USGA Tournament Director, who I had had previous contacts with leading up to the US Open.  They said they would alert her that I had checked in and that I'd hear back as soon as possible.  In the meantime, they said they had no assignment for me currently, it being around noon, but would text me if something developed.  This was going to be a first in that all communication was by text, no more headset radios for us on-the-ground marshals, only if you were a hole or area Captain. 

I visited the volunteer village and was impressed by its view of the lake, and amenities including non-stop beverages and snacks.  I then moved on in the general direction of the clubhouse and mechandise tent, having obtained a very useful printed course map, which I ended up using right away when a spectator asked me for directions almost immediately. I was motivated to visit the merchandise tent since I knew several of my friends from previous FedEx Cups venues were assigned there, having been shut out of any marshaling committees. The merchandise on offer at a US Open is a sight to behold, as I've previously referenced from my prior experiences, but it is still such an overwhelming atmosphere inside that it makes your head spin.  It's like the pro-shop at your course, only 100 times bigger and packed with shoppers, and this was only a practice day crowd. The USGA has got this business down cold and its just a remarkable thing to witness.  I wasn't ready to make any purchases today, just scoping out my shopping list.  I couldn't spot any of my friends here, so I decided to move on to the player's practice area, generally a place were additional help is needed.  I found the Captain and offered to help out, and he gladly accepted, pointing out the need to basically patrol the range, picking up empty baskets, unused balls, broken tees, that sort of thing.  I thoroughly enjoyed walking back and forth behind the players, seeing recognizable players such as Rose, Schauffele, Burns, Im, Fleetwood, Kisner, as well as lots of unknowns, basically all the qualifiers who'd made it here. I felt the range was set-up rather oddly, seemingly squeezed into the middle of the course, with minimal grandstand seating to view only one-half of the range.  I've always thought that the practice area at any tournament is the place were spectators have the best chance to see a lot of players in one location,  plus have the best view to see the incredible shots these players are able to make during their warm-ups.  Its definitely a window into the world of professional golf that doesn't get much attention on broadcast television. 

After about 2 hours of range duty I went back to the volunteer village for a Powerade and a granola bar (way too much sugar), and immediately got a text assignment to proceed to the 12th teebox.  There I met the hole Captains, Jimmy and Mike, very pleasant guys, who were primarily tasked with using the double orange signal paddles to alert everyone downrange about the flight of player's drives.  They were happy to hear that I'd done this before, so I was immediately able to step in to help.  They were using 2 marshals at this tee to signal, a practice I found was replicated at almost every hole.  Interestingly, this championship tee box was set-up with a semi-circle of cameras at ground level to provide a panoramic view of each players swing, basically nearly 100 cameras working in sequence.  In talking with Mike, I learned that some players and caddies were very much aware of not positioning themselves in their usual spot on the tee, so as not to block some of the cameras, and other players/caddies/couches could care less.  We had a great conversation with two local fire fighters standing outside the ropes, on-duty to provide on-course fire suppression, getting a tutorial on how that might be accomplished in some tough to reach areas in the course.  Basically they are equipped with a connector that allows them to tap into the irrigation system at any point needed. 

By 5pm it was apparent that the last players were finished with their practice for the day so it was time to pull out my map to find my way back to gate 7, logging 14,392 steps for the day!  I've been training for this but I still felt it and was pretty happy to have a beer once I arrived in Waltham at my son and daughter-in-law's apartment, (Hotel Morton), only 10 miles from TCC.