I have played golf courses all across the country. Some of them are top 10 courses in the country or even the world, Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Torrey Pines and Oakland Hills in MI. to name a few. There is one that I have visited many times, yet not played -- Pebble Beach. I had the pleasure of going to Pebble again, this time as a volunteer at the US Open.
I decided about a year ago that I wanted to go to the US Open at one of the greatest golf courses in the world, Pebble Beach Golf Links. Pebble has held the US Open five times (’72, ’82, ’92, 2000 and now 2010). The storied history of Pebble includes Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer (who owns part of it), Tom Watson and Tiger Woods. It is the host course for the annual AT&T tournament so the likes of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Bill Murray and now George Lopez have been faithful supporters.

I was watching last year’s Open from Bethpage Black in NY and they said there were still spots available to volunteer for the US Open to be held at Pebble Beach. I thought, “What a great opportunity to see the US Open live and get some behind the scenes experience.” I applied and lo and behold I was accepted. I was given the task of working in corporate hospitality at the 2010 US Open. Now, you might just ask, what is corporate hospitality? Well, all the big white tents you saw along the course were corporate hospitality. Major corporations sponsor tents for employees and key customers. These tents allow the invited guest to watch the Open in a comfortable environment with food and drink at their leisure.

My job was to allow only those who were invited to the tent. It was actually quite easy and very fun. I only had two people try to squeeze non- invited guests into the tents. The people were friendly and the co-volunteers were great! I met people from all over. One group of ladies came from South Carolina and had volunteered at US Opens for seven years. Another couple came all the way from Pennsylvania and this is their fourth Open. They enjoy working together and getting to the great venues. These are just a few of the great people I was able to meet. I was thoroughly excited by the way they take care of their volunteers, all 7960 of them! There were massage therapists and chiropractors available to all volunteers each day. Volunteers came from all 50 states and 16 countries. The men and women who worked the grounds were there after all the golf had been played and were there well before the next round of golf was to be played. All to make the course and its surroundings look great for the players and the fans alike. The volunteers worked everything from concessions to retail, corporate hospitality to caddie hospitality. The volunteers were part of the player courtesy cars to on course marshals. I met one gentleman who worked as a marshal and he said it was great. This was the only time he could hold his hands up and people he had never met would be quiet. He couldn’t do this at home. There is something for everyone at the Open.

I would like to volunteer when the US Open comes back to California in 2012 at the Olympic Club. I had a great time giving my time and seeing what it takes to put on a national event. I would like to thank the rest of the volunteers for their efforts since the Open would not have gone off the way it did without them. It feels great to know you put a lot of effort into something and that helps make it a rousing success. Did you see how the course beat back the greatest golfers in the world?!