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Contact the Standard Bearers' Tent @ 210-491-1590
Office Phone 210-925-6618
Cell: 210-860-3547
Last Update: 21 Apr 2012 @ 1835
2012 Standard
Bearers Guidelines
Standard Bearers for the weekend are posted
Sunday Tee Times have been posted and are OFFICIAL for the 2012 tournament
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You MUST
check in NO LATER THAN 1-Hour prior to the Tee-time
assigned. If you have not checked-in 20
minutes prior to the posted Tee-time, it will be given to an alternate. You MUST work a minimum of 1
Pro-Am (Mon – Weds) and 1 Tournament round (Thurs – Fri) during the
week to guarantee for at least one day on the weekend. Others will be considered for weekends on
an as needed basis. |
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1. What is a Standard Bearer?
A. From the
spectator's standpoint, golf is a great deal different from other sports, and
hence more difficult to watch. Most
other sports are played in an arena or otherwise well-defined area. All of the action takes place before the
spectator's eyes. In golf, however, the
activity is spread out over one hundred or more acres. It is physically impossible for the spectator
to keep up with all that is going on.
B.
It is the duty, then, of the Standard Bearer, Scoring and Communications
Committees to keep the spectators and members of the media well informed as to
what is taking place on all the various parts of the golf course. Standard Bearer’s are a useful tool in
keeping spectators informed as to how the players are performing. The Standard Bearer walks with the group of
PGA Tour Pros during a tournament and carries a Standard (sign) displaying the
Pro's score in relation to par. The Standard Bearer's sole purpose is to display the score to
the gallery. Therefore, a Standard Bearer
should have some knowledge of golf, should be able to walk 18 holes and present
a professional demeanor.
C.
What is so special about being a Standard Bearer? Being a Standard Bearer gives you the
absolute best seat in the house to watch golf.
True, you only get to see one group, but you get to meet them and walk
inside the ropes with them during their entire round!
2. What is required to be a Standard Bearer
volunteer? (NEW as of April 6, 2012)
As a Volunteer,
you must walk a minimum of one round on Wednesday or Thursday or
then one round Friday of the tournament to be considered for a Saturday and/or
Sunday round. WARNING – do not count Saturday and Sunday as rounds you planned on
working. One Round MUST either be during the Wednesday Pro-Am
or a tournament round on Thursday, and one round MUST occur on Thursday or Friday, to be able to complete your
volunteer obligations. Alternates are
chosen for each day of Tournament Week.
As an Alternate, you are requested to show up at the Operations Tent and
be ready to step in to a tee time if the assigned Standard Bearer doesn’t
show. Your time as an alternate count
toward the hours required for a free round at TPC San Antonio. There is a $50.00 Volunteer fee that covers a
2012 Valero Texas Open golf shirt, a Valero Texas Open hat, 4 visitor passes to
the tournament, and a parking pass. If
you meet the Volunteers minimum requirements, you will receive a free round of
golf at either of the TPC San Antonio courses.
3. Why do it?
The
Valero Texas Open is a PGA Tour sanctioned event, which showcases professional
golf. More importantly, the tournament
raises money for
4. When, where, and how many People are needed?
Volunteers are needed each day of the tournament to carry the
“standards” and to work inside the tent.
The total number of Volunteers needed by the Standard Bearers committee
is between 76 to 105. These numbers are based if each Volunteer
carries 4 rounds (76) or 3 rounds (105).
Day
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Format |
Minimum People |
Alternates |
Inside Tent |
Total
People |
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Wednesday Pro-Am Morning |
07:10AM* 1st Tee Time Start Pro-Am |
26 |
3** |
4 |
33 |
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Wednesday Pro-Am Afternoon |
12:10PM* 1st Tee Time Start Pro-Am |
26 |
3** |
4 |
33 |
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Thursday & Friday |
Off the 1st and 10th at 10 minute intervals |
52 |
3** |
4 |
59 |
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Weekend (Sat-Sun) |
Everyone should be off the 1st tee |
25-40*** |
4** |
4 |
34-48 |
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* Shotgun start times are subject to change
** Alternates reporting time is Order of Precedence
Show time = rank of alternate
(1, 2, 3, etc)
If you are designated as an
alternate and don't get out,
it will be counted as if you
carried a round
*** Number in the field depends on the cut.
*** Number of Volunteers based upon twosomes. If threesomes are used, approximately 28
volunteers will be needed on the weekend.
Also 4-5 Volunteers are needed to work
inside the tent each day for each shift.
I would like to be able to schedule people for a 4-6 hours shift
inside. These Volunteers will be responsible
for checking in and out the signs (standards), tearing-down or building new
standards, double-checking pouches, running Volunteers out to the tee-box, and
various other duties required to make the tournament run smoothly.
5. How do we assign who goes out when?
A. I assign
people in an arbitrary method for the Pro-Am, and for Thursday's and Friday's
rounds. Before any of the pairings are
published, I assign an approximate tee time.
I try to accommodate people who have scheduling conflicts but I cannot
guarantee you a certain tee time because you found out it is one of the big
name players.
B.
What is so special about working a Pro-Am tournament? The Pro-Am tournaments bring in a lot of
money from corporate sponsors. And in
exchange, the corporations get a foursome to play a round of golf with a
professional golfer. The amateur golfers
ride in carts whereas either the Pro or his caddie must walk. In most cases, the Pro will walk so it is
usually just the Pro, the scorer and the Standard Bearer walking. This gives you a lot of face time with the
Pro. And since there is no money on the
line during the Pro-Am, the Pro is usually more relaxed and friendly.
6. How do we assign the Weekend Tee times?
A. As all of
you golfers know, the PGA Tour has a cut after Fridays round to 70 players plus
ties. Since there will be fewer groups
going out, we need fewer Standard Bearers.
If you worked as requested above (paragraph 2), I will make every effort
that you get a round on the weekend. There
are no guarantees you will work on the weekend. With approximately 50 to 80 slots available
for the weekend you might not receive a tee time. The PGA Tour can change the weekend pairings
to threesomes on Saturday then twosomes on Sunday and it will cut the number of
Standard Bearers. This has upset many
Volunteers because they thought they were going to work the weekend. If there is a 2nd cut on Sunday,
those that were scheduled for tee times but were not used because of the cut,
their time will count as if they carried that day. (Must show up to count)
B.
There is a seniority based assignment for Volunteers to work tee times
on the weekend. For the weekend,
consideration is given 1st to those who have worked the tournament in the
past. It is on a three year running
basis. If you have volunteered for the last
three years, your name goes higher on the list.
Miss a year and the clock starts over.
You’ll lose 1/2 of your seniority!
You MUST
work a minimum of the Pro-Am on Wednesday or 1 Tournament round on Thursday and
then one tournament round on Thursday and/or Friday during the week to receive
a weekend tee-time. Those that worked
less will be considered on an “as needed” basis. We need 25 to 40 Standard Bearers for the weekend. Meeting the above, those that have seniority
and qualified from past tournaments are listed first, and then others are added
based on work this year.
C. I will also be drawing
alternates. Every year I've worked, I’ve
needed alternates to fill in. Check-in
time is 1-Hour prior to your tee time. If
someone has not checked in 20 minutes prior to his or her assigned tee time,
I will take the first alternate and assign him or her to the group. I don't care if you have Tiger Woods and you were
late because you saved the President's life, I’m going to give the time to the
first alternate if you have not checked in before 20 minutes prior to your tee time. I will not be moving
everyone up a tee time to cover for someone not checked in. It is unfair to the Volunteers who have the
late tee times.
7. Where to park and where do we check-in?
Everyone will
be parking in LOT A this year. You will walk from the parking lot to the
Operations Tent, located next to the Food Tent.
We will shuttle you to Hole #1 and #10 for your
tee time and will pick you up on #9 or #18 after your round. Please allow 10 minutes to
walk from the parking lot to the tent.
8. What to wear:
A. You must wear the 2012 Valero
Texas Open Volunteer shirt, hat and badge.
You must wear Khaki slacks or shorts for the men and slacks, shorts, or skorts for the women.
If you wear the shorts, they will be hemmed "Dockers" style
shorts. It is best to wear very
comfortable tennis shoes. You are not allowed to wear golf shoes. This includes golf shoes with soft spikes.
B. When you check in and get your tee time, you
will need to verify your number pouch.
The pouch has the letter "E" for even par and the numbers zero
through nine. On one side the numbers
are black (for above par) and the
other side they are red (below par). You must check and
ensure all of the numbers are in the pouch.
The number six and nine is on the same card depending on which end is
up.
C.
If you get to the first tee box and find you have problems with the name
on the standard being wrong, have the tee box marshal call the Standard Bearer
tent and let us know. They will be able
to call us on the radio (channel 2). If
you are out on the course and have a problem with a broken standard, missing
numbers or anything else, have a marshal call us on the radio or on the phone.
9. What to do when you are working:
A. To emphasis this again, You
MUST check in 60 minutes prior to the Tee-time assigned.
B.
If you have not checked-in twenty
(20) minutes prior to the Tee-time your tee-time will be given to the first
alternate. If you arrive after the 30-minute dead line,
you will be place after the last alternate on the list for the day.
C.
Prior to leaving the Standard Bearer tent, you will have to ensure you
have the correct names and you have a complete pouch. Approximately 20 minutes prior to you
tee-time, you will need to check with the Standard Bearer assistant and then
head out to the tee-box.
D. Once there, unless your group is on the tee
box ready to go, stand off to the side of the tee box. Please be aware of the spectators and try not
to block anyone's view of the players on the tee box. Once your group appears and enters the tee
box, you then can stand on the tee box.
Most of the time, the tee box marshal will introduce you and the scorer
to each of the pros. They will announce
the player and he will tee off. Your
best bet is to stay over to the side where the caddies stand. During the round, you should always try to
stand where the caddies stand since they know where their pro wants them to
stand. This is usually in front or back
of the pro.
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E. The golf course is the Pro's office. Remember, this is what they do for a living
so do not go out of your way to talk to the Pros. You can give them a polite "Good
Morning" or "Good Afternoon" but do not try and engage them in a
conversation. Sometime during play, the
Pro may walk up to you and start a conversation, then by all means talk to
him. This is the same with the caddies;
if they start the conversation, go for it.
But let them start it first.
F. After the pro(s) have hit their tee shot and
are walking down the fairway, carry the standard upright, with the pro's name
and score over your head facing the gallery.
As you are walking down the fairway and the gallery is to the right and
the left, have the standard turned so they can read the sign. Walk behind the pros and let them set the
pace of how fast they want to walk.
Unless told by the pro or his caddie, never walk ahead of the group.
G.
When walking up to the green, until everyone is on the green, stay in
the fairway with the standard held up.
Once everyone is on the green, you can move to where the hole scorekeeper is located (sitting) and stand next to
them. When the pros are putting, you may
drop the sign down from above your head.
Never lay the standard down flat on the grass or ever leave
it unattended. Many of the signs have excess glue from the
lettering. When you lay the sign down,
dirt and grass will stick to the sign.
H.
Your duty as a Standard Bearer is to display to the gallery what the
pro's score is. Keep in contact with the
walking scorer to ensure that what you have on the standard is correct. If at any time the pro or his caddie tells
you that the score is wrong, change it.
If the walking scorer tells you that they are wrong, do not change. Go with what the pro or his caddie said and
tell the scorer why you are not changing it.
True, the pro or caddie may be wrong, but it is not our place to tell
them so.
I.
At each of the tee boxes, there will be things to drink and to eat
(fruit, granola bars, etc.). When you
are working as a Standard Bearer, you are allowed to eat and drink the
offerings at the tee-boxes. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS! Don’t wait until you fill thirsty, keep
drinking fluids throughout the round.
J. While working as a Standard Bearer, you are allowed to use the “Pros Only”
restrooms. These restrooms are
for the pro’s entourage, which includes the scorer’s and the standard bearers.
K. At the end of the round, the pro or the
caddie might give you something (ball or glove) in the way of saying
thanks. The proper time to ask for an
autograph is after they have finished with their round and the scoring. Please do not ask for autographs when you are
working. Do not hang around after the
end of your round and try and get autographs from other groups. Return to the standard bearer tent.
L.
Once you have completed your round, bring the standard back to the tent
and check in with the Standard Bearer assistant working there. Follow the instructions of the person checking
you in. Each day there will be different
ways to check out after your round.
PLEASE follow the instructions.
This will allow for quicker turn-around times.
10. Other things:
A. Remember that you are a volunteer
and that at no time are you to be mistreated by any member of the GSA, PGA
Tour, TPC San Antonio, or any other staff member. If you feel that you are being mistreated,
bring this to my attention and I will deal with it.
B.
If at anytime, you have an idea to make the Standard Bearers work, let
me know. I’m a volunteer just like the
rest of you, and open to any ideas that may make the job easier. Please have fun while working and when you
are not working, enjoy all of the festivities.
Proper ways to carry or hold
the “standard”.
P L E A S E DON’T let anyone catch you carrying the
standard like the below!
