Volunteers help golf tournament run

ROGERS -- Nearly 800 volunteers pitched in at the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship during the week.

Today's 18th green ceremony will honor 78 workers who volunteered each of the tournament's 10 years.

"It's really cool how the whole community comes together to support the tournament through the volunteer program," said Rachel Reece, tournament volunteer coordinator. "They come from all over Northwest Arkansas and the state, from Little Rock and Searcy, Fort Smith and Bella Vista."

Reece said she sees many of the same groups of friends who come to volunteer their time together.

"Volunteers just enjoy being part of a big event like this," said Jay Allen, event chairman for the tournament. "Some just enjoy golf, but the main reason is they just enjoy it, and they are a big part of it."

Volunteers do a little bit of everything, including covering the driving range, being hole marshals, standard bearers and hole captains. Others hold quiet signs on the fairway or drive folks from the parking lot to Pinnacle Country Club.

"There are a lot of things you need for a professional golf tournament," Allen said. "You can't do it without volunteers; they're absolutely critical."

"There's so much to get done," Reece said. "There's a lot of moving pieces."

While the tasks of keeping golf course holes manned and crowds monitored take precedence, there's a lot of supply distribution and keeping everyone hydrated through scorching summer days.

Volunteers sign up for the duty by filling out a form on the tournament's website and some are recruited from golfing groups and associations. But most learn of the opportunity by word of mouth.

Of the 782 tournament volunteers this year, more than 500 have been here before. Reece loves to see those returning volunteers because it signals they're enjoying themselves, she said. They're also more likely to anticipate and resolve conflicts before they have a chance to make it back to staff members.

"They're great problem-solvers," Reece said. "They really take pride in what they're doing and are excited to make the event the best it can be, to make sure everyone through the gates has a positive experience."

Drew Collom has served the tournament since the start. A former president of the Boys & Girls Club of Benton County and former president of the Cancer Challenge, Collom wanted to return the favor.

"We have a lot of dedicated volunteers year after year for the events we hold," Collom said. "I just wanted to try to do the same thing for them that they have for us for years."

As a walking scorer, Collom enjoys the chance to be inside the ropes with pros like Juli Inkster, Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen and Lexi Thompson.

"Every year is a lot of fun," Collom said. "I can't wait for my time to go out there. It's fun to see the same people there every year and fun to participate without playing."

Dave Phillips, another 10-year volunteer walking scorer, said he loves watching and playing the sport. He looks forward to seeing the professionals work on their game in person.

"The opportunity to watch them play and have the experience is great," Phillips said. "Just to walk along with the players and see what their strategy is for different holes."

Being there for a decade means Phillips has seen the tournament go through many changes. The early years required walking scorers to keep tabs on paper. They now use PDA devices. The golf course was reworked. Even the layout is more efficient.

In general "the organization has gotten much better with the way everything flows," Phillips said. "It's centralized a lot more for getting volunteers to the locations on the golf course."

For volunteer Gayle Machetta, the tournament is an opportunity to influence young girls aspiring to be golfers. Each year she brings a group of high school golfers from her hometown of Henryetta, Okla., to volunteer. The first year she did it, all five girls earned full scholarships to play college golf at Kansas Wesleyan University, Seminole State College, Rogers State University and St. Gregory's University. Another went on to study sports medicine therapy -- a decision influenced by stopping in the physical therapy tent.

"They got so interested and excited that they decided that's what they were going to pursue," Machetta said. "Most haven't had a chance to see a professional golf tournament, other than on TV, except to bring them here."

Machetta said organizers allow the girls to stick near her -- just a hole ahead or behind -- while being standard bearers. It makes it logistically easier for her to keep up with her young charges and to see firsthand how it changes their perspective.

"This is an opportunity they've not had, even as a spectator," Machetta said. "It's an entirely different experience to see the interaction of caddy and professional, and to be out there while they're playing shots and to react with them when they have a good shot and be bummed when it's a bad hole.

"They feel it right along with the players."

NW News on 06/26/2016