The Unsung Stars at the U.S. Open? Thousands of Golf-Loving Volunteers

By Hannah Mack, Sports@CJC

PINEHURST, N.C. – The top golfers in the world make the U.S. Open one of the country’s most unique and exciting sporting events year after year. However, the thousands of volunteers and excited fans make the experience one to remember.

“The volunteers are the backbone of this championship,” Eric Steimer, senior director of U.S. Open Championships, told Golf.com.

More than 4,200 volunteers assisted in the 2024 Open at Pinehurst No. 2, while hundreds more remained on the waiting list. This coveted position draws an influx of applicants every year.

To be an Open volunteer, each person must work at least four shifts of five to six hours. The volunteers must also pay $240 to purchase a ‘volunteer package’, however that includes U.S. Open attire (including polo shirts, a jacket and a water bottle), a week-long tournament credential, meal vouchers and other necessities.

The application process is first come, first served with an online form that must be completed.

Many of the volunteers are local, either Pinehurst residents or from surrounding areas and other local country clubs. While some attend alone, others make the event a family affair.

“I got invited by my mother-in-law,” volunteer Mike Poulton. said “This is my first time and we have four other family members here attending.”

Poulton and Betty Bahler were grandstand marshals on the sixth-hole tee box. His wife and brother-in-law were set up on another grandstand, while their nephews watched in the stands.

The family appreciates the time they get to spend together and plans to continue adding relatives as their family grows.

The experience of Bernard Ennis was much different. In his first year of volunteering at the Open, his main goal was to encounter as many big stars as possible.

“I just got excited watching the U.S. Open last year and thought well let me see if I can become a volunteer now that I’m retired,” said Ennis.

The travel process for some of the volunteers can be exhausting if the course isn’t right in their backyard.

Ennis traveled from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the start of the tournament and drove to and from Sanford — which is a 40-minute drive from Pinehurst — after each of his shifts on-site due to the lack of available rooms in the area.

Unlike many natives of the golf town, Ennis has only recently become a big-time golf fan.

“I’ve tried to get into this game, take lessons but I don’t have the body mechanics for it but admire those who do,” said Ennis.

As Rory McIlroy passed by, Ennis commented on the “herd” of people crowding the eventual runner-up of the tournament who all were “chasing him to the next hole.”

Another fan favorite of the tournament was winner Bryson DeChambeau. Volunteer Zach Harp experienced crazed fans racing after the now two-time Open winner on his shift.

During the third round of the tournament, Harp was stationed on hole No. 8 operating the crosswalk across the fairway when he had to run after fans gone wild.

“I had just closed the crosswalk on eight, and as soon as he [DeChambeau] walked past people just took off,” said Harp. “The same thing happened on No. 12 today.”

There are many fans to contain on a day-to-day basis. More than 200,000 fans attended the Open over the course of the week, as tournament organizers tried to limit the crowd to no more than 45,000 per day.

The fans in Pinehurst clung to DeChambeau more and more as the tournament continued and he became even more of a household name for golf families worldwide.

DeChambeau’s reputation with fans has blossomed over the past year, and this tournament showed him in an entirely different light.

“My mission is to continue to expand and grow the game globally, internationally and domestically,” DeChambeau said. “YouTube has really helped me accomplish that and consequently people have seen who I am which is fantastic because I get to play off of it.”

DeChambeau certainly played off of his social platform fame and had lasting interactions with fans. From letting the sea of fans on the fairway of hole No.18 touch his trophy after the victory to staying hours after he was announced the winner to sign autographs and take pictures with everyone.

He attributes his stellar finish to the fans and highlights how much they helped by saying, “Those fans really helped push me out there even when stuff wasn’t going well. Even though I landed in the bunker [on the final hole] the fans were still chanting my name and inspired me to get it up and down.”

Bryson along with other generational golfers influence followers every day, but the fans and volunteers bring essential energy and positivity to every golf event and are the true inspiration.

Posted: June 19, 2024
Category: Covering the U.S. Open
Tagged as: 2024 U.S. Open, Covering the U.S. Open