Hotel Fitness Championship Have you ever volunteered at a professional golf tournament? If you ever get the chance, I encourage you to try it just once. In the early 1990's, I had the opportunity three times in Fort Wayne at Ben Hogan Tour events. The Ben Hogan Tour was a precursor to the Nike Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Web.com Tour, all feeder tours to the PGA Tour. I was a marshal at three events held at Brookwood Golf Course once and Orchard Ridge Country Club twice. I worked one tournament in the fairway (keeping people behind the ropes and identifying where the players' drives landed) and two tournaments at greens (keeping people behind the ropes and holding up the "QUIET PLEASE" signs when players were about to chip or putt).
During the past two years, I volunteered to work at Sycamore Hills Golf Club for the Web.com Tour Finals at the Hotel Fitness Championship and I encourage you to do the same, if only once.
This experience is a fantastic opportunity to see how the best players in the world accomplish what you can't seem to do. It's pretty amazing to see these players smash drives and hit amazingly high irons. I remember watching John Daly in the early 90's at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne hit drives. Wow. And I'll never forget watching as players hit two-irons as high as I hit my wedge. Amazing. I still don't understand the physics.
During the past two years, I volunteered to work at Sycamore Hills Golf Club for the Web.com Tour Finals at the Hotel Fitness Championship and I encourage you to do the same, if only once.
This experience is a fantastic opportunity to see how the best players in the world accomplish what you can't seem to do. It's pretty amazing to see these players smash drives and hit amazingly high irons. I remember watching John Daly in the early 90's at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne hit drives. Wow. And I'll never forget watching as players hit two-irons as high as I hit my wedge. Amazing. I still don't understand the physics.
Sycamore Hills Golf Club Sycamore Hills has hosted the first of the four tournaments in each of the first two years of this playoff. The Top 75 Regular Season Money Winners off the Web.com Tour and numbers 126 through 200 from the PGA Tour's FedExCup points list qualify for this first playoff tournament. Each week during the four week championship, the list is whittled down until finally, 50 "cards" are awarded to players providing them the opportunity to play full or part time on the next year's PGA Tour. Trevor Immelman, a former Masters Champion, won the 2013 inaugural event and Bud Cauley won the 2014 event. Both shot a 20 under par 268 and earned $180,000 out of the $1 million dollar purse.
Sycamore Hills endured an eleven inch rain just a few days before tournament week. On Monday of tournament week, the creek that runs through the golf course still had whitewater and as it ran under the bridge to the driving range, it looked like a mini-Niagara Falls. I am amazed the course became as playable as it was in such a short time. This is quite a tribute to the club's maintenance staff and many volunteers.
When a course receives that much rain so close to a tournament, it makes for very low scoring. Despite a "toughening" of the course from 2013 to 2014, the players didn't have to worry about a course that's running "hard and fast." Drives land softly and they can throw darts into the greens. And that's just what they did.
I received only positive comments from the players about the condition of the course and especially the greens. They raved about how pristine they were and how smoothly they rolled.
Sycamore Hills endured an eleven inch rain just a few days before tournament week. On Monday of tournament week, the creek that runs through the golf course still had whitewater and as it ran under the bridge to the driving range, it looked like a mini-Niagara Falls. I am amazed the course became as playable as it was in such a short time. This is quite a tribute to the club's maintenance staff and many volunteers.
When a course receives that much rain so close to a tournament, it makes for very low scoring. Despite a "toughening" of the course from 2013 to 2014, the players didn't have to worry about a course that's running "hard and fast." Drives land softly and they can throw darts into the greens. And that's just what they did.
I received only positive comments from the players about the condition of the course and especially the greens. They raved about how pristine they were and how smoothly they rolled.
Approach to the 9th Green at Sycamore Hills Golf Club
This sounds a bit silly but you actually have to pay to volunteer. Stay with me here. For $50, you receive two golf shirts, a hat or visor, and a week long pass to the tournament. During your assigned shifts, you are well fed and hydrated.
To conduct a tournament of this size, 500 or so volunteers are required. There are all kind of jobs that need to be staffed including: Access Control, Admissions, Corporate Hospitality, Information Centers, Product Delivery, Volunteer Headquarters, Marshals, Pro-Am Operations, Office Administration, Scorecard Runners, Walking Scorers, Standard Bearers, Shuttles, and many I don't even know about. So you should have no trouble finding a job that fits your skill set.
To conduct a tournament of this size, 500 or so volunteers are required. There are all kind of jobs that need to be staffed including: Access Control, Admissions, Corporate Hospitality, Information Centers, Product Delivery, Volunteer Headquarters, Marshals, Pro-Am Operations, Office Administration, Scorecard Runners, Walking Scorers, Standard Bearers, Shuttles, and many I don't even know about. So you should have no trouble finding a job that fits your skill set.
Early Morning on the Sycamore Hills Driving Range
For both Hotel Fitness Championships, I was on the Shuttles Team. I worked three or four multi-hour shifts of at least four hours. A shuttle driver's basic job is to drive players and caddies from the clubhouse to the driving range and either back to the clubhouse or to the practice green or first/tenth tees. Linda Hughes is the Supreme Commander of the Shuttles Team and I was privileged to share at least one shift with fellow shuttlers Bruce Andres, Joel Feaster, John Gardner, Jeannine Gibble, Dex Hoyer, Mark Lehman, Phil Morey, and Jerry Witte.
This job has afforded the opportunity to speak to professional golfers and caddies from all over the world. Given my extensive golf travels, I can ask a golfer where he grew up and then talk about golf courses in his home city. It's amazing how these nomads open up when given the opportunity to talk about their home.
This job has afforded the opportunity to speak to professional golfers and caddies from all over the world. Given my extensive golf travels, I can ask a golfer where he grew up and then talk about golf courses in his home city. It's amazing how these nomads open up when given the opportunity to talk about their home.
"Green Van" During each year when the players are arriving for practice rounds from Monday through Wednesday before the event starts, there are always a few caddies without a bag. They stand near the clubhouse getting the word out about their availability while spinning tails about life on the tour. Caddies at this level are paid a basic salary of $800 to $1000 for the week and usually, 10% of the player's winnings.
This year, I had the opportunity to spend time with Professional Caddie Mark Hamilton. Mark is better known in the golf community as "Green Van" for the vehicle he essentially lives in during the year. Of course, the other caddies show no mercy and call him by other names (such as "Red Truck").
Mark loitered for the first day and by the end of the day, he was hired by Tag Ridings (who incidentally had an excellent tournament, entering the final round at 12th before finishing tied for 25th, earning $7297.77). I like to think it was because of Mark. Had he maintained 12th place, just 3 strokes better, he would have earned $19600 and "Green Van" would have earned $1230 more. But that's life on the tour.
This year, I had the opportunity to spend time with Professional Caddie Mark Hamilton. Mark is better known in the golf community as "Green Van" for the vehicle he essentially lives in during the year. Of course, the other caddies show no mercy and call him by other names (such as "Red Truck").
Mark loitered for the first day and by the end of the day, he was hired by Tag Ridings (who incidentally had an excellent tournament, entering the final round at 12th before finishing tied for 25th, earning $7297.77). I like to think it was because of Mark. Had he maintained 12th place, just 3 strokes better, he would have earned $19600 and "Green Van" would have earned $1230 more. But that's life on the tour.
Mark "Green Van" Hamilton Watches Tag Ridings on the Range
Because I was leaving for an extended golf trip to the West Coast the day the championship began, I didn't have the opportunity to watch any tournament golf. But my three days of volunteering gave me ample opportunity to watch players practice and to see many old friends from the Fort Wayne golf community.
Working a professional golf tournament is an experience I highly recommend. If you are in the Fort Wayne area and are interested in volunteer opportunities for the 2015 Hotel Fitness Championship, to be held August 25-31, visit http://www.hotelfitnesschampionship.com/volunteers/.
Working a professional golf tournament is an experience I highly recommend. If you are in the Fort Wayne area and are interested in volunteer opportunities for the 2015 Hotel Fitness Championship, to be held August 25-31, visit http://www.hotelfitnesschampionship.com/volunteers/.
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