Day 3   August 31, 2014    Sunday   DBC

As soon as we arrived at TPC Boston, the mobile marshals co-chair David told me we'd been given the first assignment of the day, Bubba Watson and Ryan Moore, teeing off at 9:15am.  Somewhat disappointed that we weren't given a later assignment to a player in contention, but in a way this was better for Jim to get accustomed to a low key round without the potential craziness of a huge gallery late in the day.  Introduced Jim to several other marshals during our morning meeting then went for breakfast, where we were joined by Eric, also part of our crew today, very personable guy, an accountant in real life. After breakfast, we went to the range for an hour, Jim getting a chance to see all of the players first-hand as they were warming up. When our time came we got a cart ride to the first tee, where our 4th crew member, Ron met us, a chemist from Houston.  Good marshal but tended to be a phantom, self-directed kind of guy, keeping mostly to the cart paths, which was helpful in many congested spots.  Bubba and Moore both tied at +1, leaders at -9, so we attracted a fairly small gallery.  Jim soon got to experience being both inside and outside the ropes, as Moore's wayward drive on the second hole had us holding back the gallery to make an alley for his shot to the green.  Jim caught on quickly, he said later he just imitated me.

After working about 12 holes, I got a call on the headset reassigning us to the afternoon pairing of Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel, the 2nd from the last group.  Evidently, the crew leader wasn't going to be able to make his assignment.  I discussed this with Eric and Ron as it would be just the two of them escorting Bubba and Moore the rest of the way, which was fine with them as the gallery had remained small and quite manageable.  We snagged a marshal support cart ride back to the volunteer pavilion and got ready for our reassignment, teeing off at 1:35pm.  With a little time to kill, I met up with my wife Mary and daughter Jill who were enjoying their seats at the Gosling Dark & Stormy Rum pavilion over-looking the 18th fairway.  The place was packed but they'd gotten seats and were trying to stay cool in the near 90 degree heat and humidity.

At the first tee we were met by 5 other mobile marshals, a rather large crew for Kooch and Billy but we split into two groups of 3 on each side of the tee box and pretty much kept that positioning and spacing throughout the  front 9.  Since our gallery had only reached 100 or so by this point, Jim and I excused ourselves from the remaining holes, (21 holes was enough for us, especially being Jim's first day).  We'd intended to attend the volunteer appreciation buffet scheduled for 6:30pm, but bagged it after seeing the hundreds of volunteers already in line. Instead, we headed out to dinner in Pawtucket near our rental.  Over dinner and a martini, Jim told me he really enjoyed the whole marshal experience but for different reasons than myself.  He said it was great getting completely away from his life in retail for a day, no customers, phone, meetings.  I was hoping tomorrow's assignment would give him a taste of  working with one of the biggest names in golf in front of sizable crowds on the final Labor Day finish.        

Day 2    August 30, 2014   Saturday   DBC

I was assigned as crew leader to Jordon Spieth, Jason Day, and Patrick Reed for a 1:28 tee time.  My four man mobile marshals crew included Larry, Doug, and Orson.  Larry was a true veteran, having volunteered at over 20 tournaments, including multiple US Opens.  With six hours to kill, I spent time hanging out with other marshals at the volunteer tent, getting caught up on everyone's lives over the past year; daughters getting married, medical procedures, work, life in general.  Interesting to compare all of the personalities who are drawn to this same place year-after-year, completely devoted to the tasks at hand.  Some take a full week's vacation on their own dime, working a variety of behind the scenes duties in the Monday to Wednesday pre-championship lead up; such as picking up VIP's at the airports in the courtesy cars provided by DBC.  Had my usual two breakfasts, 7am and 10am, followed by lunch at noon, today catered by Bertucci pizza, a nice perk for the volunteers.  I'd work all of that food off by walking 6-7 miles later on during the round.

At the first tee, I greeted Jason Day as he walked up, wished him luck, gave him a fist bump, to which he replied, "Thanks, Mate".  My crew was excellent, Doug being a rookie with only yesterday's experience under his belt, so I focused on giving him some direction, while Orson and Larry positioned themselves to provide the spacing we needed to maximize our presence inside the ropes.  We're here to be seen yet be unobtrusive, in the background but helping the gallery to enjoy a great golf experience.  Escorting the players throughout the round, allowing the crowd to get in close as we walk through the round, but keeping things under control.  Jason Day was having a terrific DBC, tied for the lead, so we were on TV all afternoon.  Had many close encounters with Notah Begay, the NBC on-course commentator, exchanging a few comments with him now and then.  Also exchanged greetings with Rex Hoggard from Golf Channel, walking along with us.  Got a text from my sister-in-law Marge who captured us on DVR at the 12th hole when Day made a great chip from outside of the ropes.

                                                   That's me in the spiffy red Nikes.

We escorted our group off the 18th green, through the crush of fans, with brief stops at the interview and autograph areas, then into the clubhouse scoring area, and our job was done.  I thanked my crew for doing a great job, another 12 hour day at DBC, see you guys tomorrow.  I then drove to our Airbnb rental in Pawtucket where I met my buddy Jim who was going to marshal along with me for the final two days of DBC.  Jim had been with me at the 2011 & 2013 US Opens, but had never been a mobile marshal and was looking forward to the experience.  Over dinner, he asked me what I enjoy about it all.  I tried to describe the intensity of the experience once we start at the first tee, which only builds as the round goes along.  I really feel I have my own small part in making the whole championship happen. Not sure if I conveyed that feeling adequately to Jim, but I knew he'd find out for himself over the next two days.

The 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship    Thursday Pro-Am   August 28, 2014

The usual routine on arrival at the TPC Boston for our 6:30am mobile marshal's assignment meeting, renewing old friendships, people I only see once a year at the DBC.  I was assigned to Rory McIlroy, the first tee time of the day at 6:50.  In years past, this coveted tee time had been the exclusive property of Tiger Woods, but the torch had been passed to Rory as the new #1 player in the world golf rankings.  Joining me were Tony and Christine, two veteran mobile marshals who knew their stuff. As I hustled over to the 10th tee, I was glad I'd grabbed breakfast earlier on the way in at the volunteer pavilion. Very light gallery of only 30 people at that hour, perfect weather in mid-70's, slightly humid, eventually becoming sunny in the low 80's.  Rory was terrific during his round, lots of interaction between him and his amateur playing partners.  I was able to catch lots of his comments in the give and take going on throughout the round as I was stationed closest to him while Tony and Christine took more forward positions.  I was a bit surprised as Rory deferred all autographs from the gallery until the end of the round.  It turned out to be a very relaxed atmosphere, in contrast to some of the higher intensity rounds I'd marshaled previously, but after all, it was the pro-am.  It got a lot more hectic as we finished at the 9th hole, Rory being true to his word, stopping to sign autographs and take pictures all along the ropes exiting the green.  People were standing 5-6 deep, he must have signed over 100 items, and could have done three times as many. Tony and I bracketed him as he moved along the ropes, finally getting him to a cart where he then made his exit.  We were done and it was only noon, seemed a lot later.  I grabbed lunch at the concession stand and brought it into the volunteer pavilion.  Soon afterwards, a PGA TOUR official arrived, escorting Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, one of the new rookies to the Tour.  Its a nice perk we get as volunteers to have a chance to meet a pro and chat a bit as they hang out in the tent for a half hour or so.  After meeting him, I noticed we were the same height and weight, and I asked him how far his drives generally go, to which he replied "300 yards".   I asked how might I be able to accomplish the same thing.  He said, "my parents took me to my first golf lesson when I was 4 years old."  We both laughed as it was obviously too late for me to emulate his level of skill.  Nice kid, I complimented him on his proficiency in English.  The PGA TOUR official took our picture, which I texted to my friends and family.

Ryo Ishikawa

Day 5     September 2, 2013  Labor Day    DBC

Raining on the drive up to TPC Boston from the Cape, so I wasn't too optimistic about our prospects for avoiding a weather-related delay today, especially given the events of yesterday and the plan for a possible player evacuation due to lightning, (much more serious than a mere rain delay).  Our 7:30am assignment meeting was pushed back to 8:30, in conjunction with a delay in the starting tee times for those players at the bottom of the leader board.  We got a special privilege in being able to hold our meeting indoors at the MGA (Massachusetts Golf Association) building. Normally we held all of our morning meetings outside on the patio of MGA headquarters but today we crowded inside the museum room, devoted to the long history of golf in Massachusetts.  Great exhibits there, including memorabilia going back to the days of Francis Ouimet's U.S.Open victory a hundred years ago.  If you're ever able to visit TPC Boston, make a point of taking in the MGA museum, right on the property.

Got assigned to the threesome of Tiger Woods, Richard Lee, and Ryan Moore, not as crew leader, that job would be taken by our marshal's chair Maureen, assisted by David, Karen, Jack, and John.  I still got a headset to be able to communicate with everyone in our crew of six mobile marshals, as coordinating a Tiger gallery is always a challenge.  Today would be kicked a notch but more on that later.  Tee times were reconfigured, going off both the 1st and 10th tees to make up for lost time.  Tiger's group went off 10 at 10:10am with a fairly small gallery, by TW standards, of around 1,000.  He was at 9 under par, well back in the pack, behind leader Sergio Garcia at -19. John and I were positioned next to the golfers throughout the round, closely escorting them especially when exiting each green to make the walk to the next tee box.  Jack and Dave worked the forward positions, while Maureen, Karen, and David were everywhere it seemed, filling the headset with plans for evacuating if the weather took a turn.  Meanwhile, it felt like John & I were in the center of it all, just trying to take care of business with the players.  We had several instances where Tiger's shots went outside of the ropes, creating a need to get the gallery into position to make an alley for him to hit safely.  Jack and Dave were essential in getting hundreds of spectators to cooperate, everyone wanting to be positioned right on top of the ball if possible.  Every time we arrived at the ball, everything would be under control thanks to these guys.  I was especially impressed when Tiger hit a seemingly impossible recovery shot on the 14th hole, off the cart path, over the trees, almost onto the green.  To be right there to witness it up close was spectacular.  He was still recovering from his back injury at that time, which made it all the more remarkable.   Awesome gallery assembled all along the 16th through 18th hole corporate pavilion area, deafening at times.  We lost some of our traveling gallery as we made the turn onto the front nine holes, but still numbered over 500.  By the fifth hole it began to rain, Maureen giving us all a heads-up that play was likely to be suspended by the PGA.  She was especially concerned that Tiger and company be evacuated without incident.  When the horn blew, I was positioned closest to Richard Lee standing in the 5th fairway.  I said to him and his caddy that they should follow me up to the evacuation van parked beside the green, after he marked his ball.  Tiger and Ryan Moore were right behind us as we proceeded to the green and then to the van. Fortunately, the hole marshals at the 5th and 7th green complex held back the assembled gallery from the 3 vans strategically placed there. I commandeered one of the vans for Tiger's group, then directed all three players, caddies, the volunteer scorer, & sign-carrier inside, closed the doors and off they went through the crowd back to the clubhouse.  It was only then that I heard someone calling to me from literally 20 feet away.  My kids Jill and Brian been standing right beside the 5th green and got to see all this close-up.  My son said he was really impressed with how it looked like I was in control of the whole process, he said, "Dad, you told Tiger Woods where to sit!''  I later heard from Karen that we were already getting positive feedback from the PGA on our first full field evacuation of the DBC.  I remember being thankful that those vans were actually there, as we'd never rehearsed an evacuation, and couldn't be sure until it actually happened.  Whew!

Play resumed after an hour delay, I'd been passing that time standing with Jill, Brian, & Lauren, telling them about events of the day as the round proceeded.  They especially enjoyed hearing that from my vantage point up close to Tiger all day I could hear various comments between him and his fellow players and caddies.  My impression was that he sounded and acted like just one of the guys, interacting with everyone just like we would when we're out playing golf.  There was one instance when TW emerged from a port-a-potty along the 7th fairway and someone in the gallery shouted, "he's human after all!" As play got back underway, I got word from the Norton police officer accompanying our group that they would have to be especially vigilant after the delay. The beer venderss had remained open, after all.  Some in the galleries were trying to go out of their way to shout the strangest comments, such as ''mashed potatoes'' in hopes it would be captured on TV for rebroadcast on YouTube, or so I was told.  Had to point out a few repeat offenders to the cop occasionally.  "Get in the hole" is bad enough, but ''Bababoey''?

As we finished the round at the 9th hole, I said goodbye to the kids, who said they'd had a great time, one of the best ever at DBC, despite the weather.  Karen complimented us all on how well we'd handled the unique events of the day.  One of my favorites in my Deutsche Bank experience.      

Day 4   September 1, 2013   DBC

Mike and I checked out of our rental after sleeping in to 6:30am, arriving for our 7:30 assignment meeting with plenty of time to spare.  Got assigned as crew leader for Matt Kuchar and Henrick Stenson, amongst the leaders and scheduled to tee off in the second to last group.  Mike and I hung out in the volunteer tent having breakfast, reading the Globe sports section, and watching Golf Channel coverage of the morning rounds. I arranged for two admission passes for tomorrow to be sent over to the will call booth at the Comcast parking center; my good friend Pat was nice enough to give me his passes so my kids could see the Labor Day final round.  As Mike and I hung out, it started to pour rain like I'd never seen at TPC Norton.  It was coming sideways into the pavilion so much so that we had to scramble to close the huge canvas panels across the front of the tent. Unfortunately, volunteers began scrambling in to get out of the downpour, instantly turning the place into a standing room only sauna.  Next thing I knew, I was informed over the headset that the PGA was making the unprecedented move of scratching the morning scores of all the players who had already gone out on the course, and reshuffling the pairings, now grouping players into threesomes.  As a result, we were reassigned to Brendon DeJonge, Harris English, and Jordan Spieth, all relative no-names in their early pro golfing careers, not likely to draw much of a gallery.

The weather finally cleared by noon and we went to the practice range to kill time until our 1:30 start.  All of the leaders were there including Tiger, Phil, Rory, Stricker, Poulter, etc., all in line going through their routines.  Great to have my buddy Mike there to see them all grouped together, he was in golf heaven.  Once at the first tee we met up with our two other mobile marshals, Michelle, a veteran of 6 DBC's and Rich, a newbie but had previously volunteered as a hole marshal, cart driver, something new every year.  Since Mike was now a veteran mobile marshal, I could focus primarily on Rich, who caught on quickly and was a great addition to our crew.  We had no rain during our round but the threat of lightning persisted and I was hearing lots of headset chatter to plan potential evacuation procedures.  Got to ride in the cart seated next to Jordan Spieth between 7 and 8.  He was not having a good day and I wanted to give him a word of encouragement but I held off.  He has an intense demeanor  but couldn't have been nicer as I walked with him through the round.   We finished at dusk, a very unusual day due to the logistics of weather, but Mike told me he had a wonderful time as a marshal and thanked me for the experience.  

Day 3    August 31, 2013   Saturday  DBC

Got assigned to the Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson, and Harris English threesome for a 12:58 tee time, with me as crew leader along with Tom and Mike. Should be a smooth day as these three players were likely to draw a moderately sized Saturday gallery.  Sent texts out to several people who like to watch the tournament on TV and look for me if they know who I'm assigned to.  Otherwise all of us volunteers look the same in our identical Blue Crew golf shirts and hats. We had a nice warm morning for our breakfast, seated outside of the volunteer pavilion at the picnic tables, two other marshals from hole 10 joining us.  They were especially interested to hear what is was like to be a  mobile marshal; they'd seen us coming by their hole each day but didn't know if we had something to do with monitoring ''mobile'' phone use by spectators.  After breakfast the three of us went to the player practice range and sat in the bleachers to watch various players warm-up, while we performed some group swing analysis. Saw Sean Foley, Tiger's swing coach walking about.  After the morning wave of players dwindled, we went to the grandstand at the 16th green, the signature hole at DBC, a beautiful par-3 over water, in a semi-stadium atmosphere with corporate pavilions from tee to green.  Its a nice vantage point from which to observe tee shots as they come at you before landing on the green. The crowd was definitely into it for well struck shots, with lots of catcalls thrown at the players as they made their walk to the green.

After lunch, catered by Bertucci's pizza, went to the 10th tee to join up with our assigned group of players.  There were about 200 people in the gallery to start, very manageable for our 3-man mobile marshal crew, plus the hole marshals stationed along the way.  I spied Bubba's wife Angie and offered her any assistance she might require throughout the round, which she appreciated.  Tom and Mike made for a good team as we escorted Bubba, Zach, and Harris through the course.  A hot and humid day but we got water from the coolers positioned at every tee.  Bubba and Zach played well, but Harris was exceptional at -8, (Garcia the leader at -13).  Got to ride in the cart seated next to Zach as we were transported from the 7th green to the 8th tee, didn't talk, he was working.  After finishing at the 9th hole we were relieved of duty, no need to escort players to the scoring-interview-autograph area as they were being transported by cart over to the clubhouse.  That's generally the way it is when they start players off both the 1st and 10th tees due to possible weather concerns.  Mike and I said goodbye to Tom who headed back to the Cape, while we were off to our AirBNB rental in Pawtucket, dinner at a questionable Chinese place, followed by a lengthy debate about whether Tiger would win any more majors.    

Day 2  August 30, 2013

The first day of competition after the pro-am, Mike's first day as well. We were assigned to the threesome of Poulter, Leishman, and Flores as a 4-man crew with me as leader, along with Mike, Tom, and Steve, a marshal I'd never worked with before but a veteran volunteer on other committees.  We weren't teeing off until 1:22pm so after breakfast we went to the player practice area where Mike got the full newbie experience up close and personal with all the players, caddies, media, equipment reps, all sorts of interesting people.  We helped out a bit with the volunteers at the ball tent but mostly stayed out of the way while watching all that was going on.  Mike and Tom were really enjoying it.  After awhile we went over to the tenth tee just in time to see Tiger, Phil, and Adam Scott tee off, leading a huge gallery even at that morning hour.  (Phil would end up leading the tournament by the end of the day at -8).  We adjourned to the volunteer tent for a second breakfast, which we took over to the 9th grandstand to watch 6 or 7 threesomes come through.  I spied Bubba Watson's wife Angie sitting a few rows away, waiting for Bubba to come along.  At lunch we sat down at the only available table with a cart marshal, a good-old boy from Mississippi by way of Stoughton who was a really fun guy, talking a blue streak about every subject under the sun.  I later said to Mike and Tom that the past 7 hours were typical of how I spent my time at past DBC's, meeting some pretty interesting people.

On the 1st tee, Steve didn't show, so it was just us three for the Poulter group, which was fine as we didn't anticipate a huge gallery.  I focused on showing Mike and Tom the ropes of being a mobile marshal; how to assess what was needed in a constantly changing situation from hole-to-hole.  Both were catching on quickly, loving it being inside the ropes generally as we escorted the players through their 18-hole round.  Mike had an unbelievable experience at the 7th green when we all climbed into the carts that transport us 200 yards to the 8th tee, sitting next to Poulter.  Mike told us afterwards that  the volunteer cart driver noticed Poulter's caddie unwrapping a piece of candy, and asked if he was going to offer any to Mr. Poulter.  The caddie evidently said jokingly, "I ain't giving him none of me bleeding candy", to which Poulter reportedly replied, "Well, I wouldn't give him the steam off me piss!"  (I guess this is an Old English put-down).  Tom and I were in hysterics after hearing this little player-caddie interaction, maybe a carryover from yesterday's golfball throwing contest.  Poulter was playing quite well, finishing the day at 5 under par.  We finished around 6:30, another 12 hour day at DBC, all of us in agreement that it had been a great experience.