Dedicated volunteers keep tournament humming along
In addition to golfers, the Highlands Golf Course was flooded with volunteers during the Adams Golf Pro Tour’s stop in Bella Vista.
Ruth Hatcher, member of the POA board and director of volunteers during the event, said there were a total of 208 people who volunteered. Typically there would be 65 working at any given point during the tournament.
“The tournament doesn’t go off without volunteers,” she said.
They handled a variety of tasks, she said, including helping with hydration, tee management and ball spotting, to name a few. Several volunteers, she said, have worked more than one four-anda-half to five-hour shift. They worked from Tuesday to Saturday, she said, starting as early as 6:30 a.m. and working until the end of the golf day, often around 7 p.m.
This work, she said, is practically free of compensation.
“They get a hat and their lunch,” she said.
Golf director Phillip Wright echoed Hatcher’s sentiments.
“We have over 200 people volunteered in our community,” he said. “We could not have pulled it off without their support.”
Phil Spencer, president of Friends of the Highlands, said that his organization volunteers regularly, raising money and maintaining flowerbeds and helping maintain the course. The friends, he said, installed the rock “Highlands” sign visible from Hole 9.
“Volunteering in Bella Vista is quite popular,” he said.
He worked throughout the tournament, he said, managing golf carts.
“I send out all the volunteers to different holes with a cart and make sure there’s not too many carts on the course,” he said. “I know who’s going to what hole.”
Spencer said that he probably got put in that role because he’s an organized individual.
Because there are two main shifts — one in the morning and one in the afternoon — it can get very hectic when the shifts change. Carts are entering and leaving at the same time, he said, and he has to keep track of all of it.
While there have been some teachable moments, he said, the nice thing is this event will be easier to handle when it returns next year, thanks to everything volunteers learned this time around.
Xyta Lucas, who was tee marshal on Hole 10 on Thursday, was amazed at the distance the pros hit.
“I didn’t even realize there was a tee box back there where they hit from,” she said. “I thought that was just part of the chipping and putting practice area. I struggle to get my ball part way up that hill from the red tees, and some of these guys were going near or over the bunkers, landing not all that far from the green. Incredible!”
Another volunteer, Jake Jacobson, was sitting in a chair between work stints and enjoying the spectacle alongside Hole 18.
When he wasn’t enjoying the show, he said, he was helping with starts and scoring.
“I just want to see the golf tour be successful,” he said.
"We have over 200 people volunteered in our community. We could not have pulled it off without their support." Phillip Wright Highlands Golf Course director