Scoreboard artistry wiped out in storm
Graphic designer from N.M. took great pains with calligraphy
Haven — Terry Kocon was out of sorts Saturday.
Normally, she’s working on a platform and overseeing the big handwritten scoreboard that serves as a landmark near the clubhouse at the PGA Championship.
But late Friday, a rain and hailstorm blew through Whistling Straits and the scoreboard was wrecked.
Her championship, for all intents and purposes, was done.
All of Kocon’s work — and the work of volunteers — was gone with the wind and the rain.
The beautiful handwritten calligraphy-style display of 156 names on precisely prepared sheets.
The scores on every hole for every golfer.
“I wanted to put a sign up: Sorry for the Inconvenience,” she said. “But there’s almost nowhere left to hang it.”
A separate handwritten scoreboard was still up and running in the media center.
And it’s there where Kocon spent some time, watching another crew do the work that she loves so much.
When it comes to displaying scores, golf is definitely old-school.
In a digital age, scoreboards on the course are often operated by hand.
And from local clubs to big championships, golf tradition often demands a certain handwritten flourish.
At the PGA, the outdoor display is really big — the scoreboard running 44 feet long by 12 feet high.
Done well, it’s scoring as art.
“The style I do is English round hand calligraphy,” said Kocon, a graphic designer from Albuquerque, N.M.
“Nothing real fancy,” she said. “You want it to be very readable so all the spectators can glance up and find their player. And we have to get the scores up quickly.”
She said the trick is organization and keeping the lines straight and true.
“People don’t know why the scoreboard looks good,” she said. “But it’s because everything is symmetrical and straight. We don’t use too many colors. You don’t want it to look like fruit. And don’t use Old English lettering. That’s too hard to read.”
Kocon worked her first tournament in 1994 at a local club in New Mexico. Steadily, she gained work both regionally and nationally.
She does eight tournaments a year from the spring into the fall. Her marker of choice is a Sharpie Magnum. She receives a daily rate plus expenses.
“I love golf,” she said. “I love art. I love lettering. I love to be outside. I love to travel. Bingo!”
It took her about eight hours to put together the score sheets from a list sent to her home by the PGA of America.
On Thursday, there was no trouble at all. She and her crew were at the course at 5:45 a.m. to get ready for the 6:45 a.m. start.
On Friday, it was sweltering during the morning and early afternoon, the sun beating down on the scoreboard and the scoring crew.
When a horn sounded and play was suspended, Kocon quickly got her crew to shelter.
She didn’t know the storm took out the scoreboard until she received a text from a member of the scoring committee.
Kocon saw a photo and her heart sank.
“The scoreboard was all broken and splintered,” she said.
By Saturday morning, it was gone, removed by a work crew.
And Kocon really wanted something to do, volunteering for any task that needed to be filled.
“I love the heat,” she said. “I love the outdoors. This is the job for me.”