Golf Tournament Logistics

Golf Tournament Logistics

A lot of planning and logistics go into running a golf tournament. There are hundreds of jobs that need to be done, from managing parking (including shuttles from parking — usually at local schools — to security to concessions, player transportation, course marshals, sign carriers, sanitation, maintenance, communications, television crews and associated requirements, and countless others I could not begin to list. The media room alone is a logistical nightmare. Two copiers, a couple dozen computers, work stations with power and internet connections, endless supplies of food, hundreds of printed pages of interview transcripts, tee sheets, and lots of cranky reporters (I am NOT cranky. I am grateful to be here).

One small example of the logistics involved is the daily pairings guide book. This 34 page, full color pamphlet needs to be updated every night to reflect the previous day’s scores, the player positions and the new tee times. Between the time when play ends late the previous afternoon or early evening and when the gates open the next morning, the information needs to be compiled and edited, layouts completed and many thousands of copies printed.

The Pairings Guides are a smallish thing, in the grand scheme. but are, I think, indicative of just how much planning and foresight go into running a golf tournament. When I attend a well-run tournament, whether it is the US Open, a PGA Tour event, the LPGA or this Champions tour competition, I am amazed at how well it all goes.