With an event the size of the Buick Open, there is a mass amount of planning, paperwork and people needed so everything comes off without a hitch.
Members of the Clarkston Athletic Boosters will be at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc from July 25-31 helping out, but everyone associated with the tour is probably hoping they do not work very hard.
The Clarkston Boosters will provide 25 drivers a day to staff 20 evacuation vans used to whisk the PGA golfers and their caddies off the course in case of inclement weather or any other dangerous situation.
‘We’re there if they need us. If (the Buick Open organizers) blow the horn, that’s our signal to go to work. (The drivers) job is to pick up the players and caddies on the hole they are stationed by. The trouble is getting the spectators off the course,? said Gary Hanna, vice-president of the Clarkston Athletic Boosters and coordinator of the group’s involvement with the Buick Open.
In total, the Boosters will fill 162 evacuation driving slots over the week long event. The boosters will also be staffing a concession stand at Warwick Hills.
This is the second year the Boosters have provided support to the Buick Open. Originally, the group was set to take over the lucrative duty of parking from the Grand Blanc Athletic Department, but at the last moment, the Buick Open and Grand Blanc came to terms. According to Hanna, the organizers of the tournament then offered the Clarkston Boosters the evacuation van detail.
Being an evacuation driver grants an opportunity to see the stars of the PGA tour in action.
‘When Tiger comes, there is a big entourage of people around him,? said Walt Wyniemko, who volunteered last year. ‘Personally, my favorite was when the golfers and their caddies had a walk through before the rounds began. It’s fun to see how they measure things out.?
But the role of the evacuation driver is an important one and the Clarkston Boosters are not taking their job lightly.
‘We have (the drivers) go through an entire routine first thing in the morning. They make sure the van starts and make sure everything is working. There is a map in the vehicle with routes off the course on it,? said Hanna.
Knowing their way off the course is not the only thing the evacuation drivers worry about though. Under PGA rules, the vans are movable objects. If a player’s ball comes to rest under a wheel, the tour officials will instruct the driver as to where and how the van will be moved.
‘If for some reason the van keys are unavailable, the player gets a drop away from the van and the van becomes an immovable object,? said Hanna.
If a ball were to roll under an unattended van, the vehicle, newly classified as an immovable object, would be required to stay in place for the rest of the day’s action. To ensure all the vans remain fully mobile, Hanna said there will be two people assigned to each van.
Last year, the Buick Open paid the Clarkston boosters $10,000 for their work. Hanna felt they were given such a generous cut because of their professionalism and organization. The money paid to the charity groups who staff the Buick Open, like the Boosters, depends on gate receipts.
As a perk for the individual Boosters volunteering for duty, anyone who works two consecutive days can keep their pass and come back to watch the tournament recreationally.