I Saw the Future of Golf Today
If you have ever been to a professional golf tournament then you know what to expect…long drives, laser beam iron shots and 40 ft putts. And , a lot of other type of shots thrown in from time to time. If you have not gone to one, the Nationwide Championship being held at the TPC at Craig Ranch in Mc Kinney, Texas, would be a great one to get started learning what it is all about.
However, when you work for a golf tournament as a volunteer like I am doing this week you get to see golf from a whole different angle. In my case, standing inside the ropes next to the pros and their caddies on the teebox.
I volunteered to work at the Nationwide Championship for a number of reasons. I wanted to get back out and see the professional tours from the inside, get info on how business is being done by the people attending these events and most of all, take a look first hand at the players who are truly the journeymen of the professional golf tour, the Nationwide Tour players.
This event was special since the players who place in the top 25 of this event not only getting one of the biggest paychecks for the year but a paycheck that has a little Gift Card that goes along with it that gets them in the Big Show of PGA Tour.
Hold’ em Back!
My assignment today was crowd control on the #6 Teebox. Yaw, Yaw, if you been to a First Round of a Nationwide Tour event you know that a crowd could consist of about 10 people, but HEY!..it was work to keep those ten people under control. On the most part, the day was filled with me, the two pros and their caddies standing on the teebox with our arms folded looking down the fairway at the group that just teed off. Every once in a while a lone golf fan would wonder by and I would get to say only line for this play.."Stand, Please!"
Yaw, I got the bottom run low seniority position of manning the ‘Far-a-way’ holes the more senior Salesmanship Volunteers would rather not work since it is several thousand yards from the Volunteer Tent where the food is served…
It was fun for me to get back out inside the ropes again and to meet people on the golf course. I enjoyed talking to the people in the gallery and asking questions on why they were there watching the golf tournament. It was interesting to find that more than 60% of the people today I talked to were there with their boss or a client…OH, I had the old farts from the VFW who were there because they got free tickets from a Craig Ranch member and were killing time until the hall opened to start serving beer. All in all the crowd was small, but great golf fans.
The biggest thing that took place today was not really something I realized until the first round was almost over. After watching some outstanding golf being played it hit me..I was watching the future of golf. Right here within arms length from me where the players you and I are going to be watching on TV starting in January.
WOW…I can’t wait to get back to Craig Ranch tomorrow to see what I get to see and meet who I am going meet at this wonder golf tournament. Tomorrow I get to work somewhere on the back nine..no telling who I will get to meet then. Who knows, I might even meet you there..wouldn’t that be a hoot.
