I was stationed at the 9th hole access - a gateway from the street to the ninth hole so that foursomes could be transported either from the clubhouse or from the driving range to the course where they would begin their round.
It was a great location for a golf fan. It was fairly quiet in terms of crowds, you could see the players tee off for a par 5 (lots of drivers out), watch the players come in from hole 8 (a par 3) and great access to players for photos!
I started my shift at 6:00 am (which meant a 4:00 am wake up - ugh!). The morning went by pretty quick - as soon as we got all of our groups started, the groups beginning on hole 1 started to come through.
The drawback of the hole and of being on security is having the fans wanting the rules bent "just for me"... so many would come to the gate and want to be given entry when they knew they didn't have the passes that allowed them entry. I get that everyone wants to see golf but arguing for 1/2 an hour to get something I can't give is truly annoying ... had this issue yesterday too... I only wish people would remember we are just volunteers - we don't make the rules and if we don't honour the rules, we are no longer volunteers and lose our own passes to see golf... but enough of my pet peeve...
The photos below are a sampling of the ones I took today....
John Daly - it's amazing how much energy and excitement that his presence generates (and it's not just the clothes)... many of the pro-am teams showed up early or hung around knowing that his tee time was coming up just so they could see him hit... and wow can he hit a golf ball... I'm glad he's still coming to Canada - here's hoping his golf game comes along
Fred Couples - sorry Colin but he's Mr. Cool... his easy swagger and confident gaze bring a hush to the crowd... he used his 3 iron on the par 5 and outhit many of the pros using their drivers... I finally got his autograph on my hat :-)
Ricky Fowler - he's one of the taller guys on the tour (it's amazing how small so many of the golfers are) but from the photo you can see just how agile he is ... kind of like a spinning top...
Luke Donald - "Little Luke" - one of the nicer players on tour - signs autographs until no one is left asking for more... - nice to the kids too
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