Behind the Scenes

Dale Sollars is another familiar volunteer face at the Championship. Generally, you will find him assisting with the school children at the E.D.G.E. pavilion. Here, Dale lends a hand getting the pro shop set up on Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody says, you know it’s time for the Championship when volunteers Rock and Pat Searle arrive. Fixtures of the USDGC for years, they take pride annually in preparing the player packs and spotting along hole 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always one to make things more appealing, Innova’s ‘Miss Karen’ loads up some flowers on Tuesday to be arranged at the banquet. Miss Karen makes some banana pudding that rivals even the banquet’s version.

 

 

 

 

 

See that human-like figure near the bottom of the tree? That’s Course Superintendent Michael Shugart. He’ll do anything to get the course ready including climbing this tree to erect a 40-foot bamboo pole on hole 11. Atop the pole is a flag to judge wind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to come volunteer, Paul Bergey is the man to see every year. Here, Bergey, the staff coordinator, readies the troops during a meeting prior to Tuesday’s banquet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former Golden Rake award winnner Lisa MacDaniel takes special care with the tee pad’s arrangements each year. Here she is preparing for the week on Tuesday. Along with that, MacDaniel sees that each volunteer gets feed during the week.

 

 

 

 

 

Free food for players is one of the nice perks to the USDGC. Here Innova’s Zeb Campbell grills up some burgers on Wednesday in the Player’s Hospitality Area for hungry competitors soon to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staffer Leila Hand has been assisting with scoring for the last eight years. Here, she updates a card’s score on Thursday at hole 13.
She said her USDGC claim to fame happened the first year when Hand, who at the time was not familiar with the game’s players, almost did not let Ken Climo in the gate. Hand, who had been told not to let anyone in unless they had a player’s badge, didn’t see his and it took a little convincing by the Champ before she let him enter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team Zenger of North Carolina, made up of John and his daughter Courtney, 10, have been volunteering for spotting duties on various holes for the past two years. Someday they hope to raise their flags on hole 17, John said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every year you can count on volunteer Brandon Mace of Kansas to serve the Winthrop Shack Pro Shop well. Just as dedicated as his brother Brian, Brandon is another great USDGC resource.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Live on set. Here, staffer Henry Childres and Brian Mace prepare their thoughts for the discgolfplanet.tv’s round recap on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

Longtime volunteer James Nichols of Asheville, N.C., makes his USDGC pilgrimage annually just like many other volunteers. Here Nichols takes a break from spotting on hole 16. Last year, Nichols was the first to red flag the Ford Explorer splashing into the lake near hole 5.

 

 

 

 

Charlotte course designer extraordinaire Stan McDaniel is another annual volunteer. This year the former masters World Champion’s duties included being a course marshal.

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteer John Nichols makes his trek to the USDGC every year from Rochester, N.Y. Generally teaming up with his brother, James, to spot holes, Nichols is a good example of how much volunteers sacrifice to get here year after year.