As the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship gets underway at Harbor Shores, there’s more going on than just golfers hitting the links. It takes an army of volunteers to run the event.
Kelsey Cheyne is the volunteer operations manager for the championship. She tells us they’ve got 1,015 volunteers signed up this year to make sure everything goes without a hitch.
What kinds of things do the volunteers do?
“We have the marshals, who handle quieting in the crowd, and if there’s any lost balls, and helping track which way the ball is going — if it’s straight to the left or to the right,” Cheyne said. “We have a certain number of volunteers that we need on each hole.”
They could also take tickets at the gate, help with parking, or help keep track of scores to report them back to the media.
Cheyne says of the more than 1,000 volunteers out there this week, 300 of them have served every year the championship has been in town, starting in 2012. Why do they do it?
“I think there’s a lot of fans that enjoy the Champions Tour, enjoy watching golf, and so that brings you out. But I think a lot of it has to do with the energy that the championship just alone brings. When those gates open, it’s a whole new level, and there’s just so much excitement and energy and fun.”
Cheyne says the excitement of the event resonates through the volunteers, whose enthusiasm only increases the energy at the event. Those who volunteer also get some cool perks, like free meals, great golf stories, a chance to meet their heroes, and free golf at Harbor Shores as a thank you from the venue.
