Getting back to my story about working the golf tournament... not only did I NOT have to do parking, but the boss put me in the corporate hospitality tent or skybox behind the 13th hole... From my vantage point I could see the golfers putt on the 10th green, walk right by me to the 11th tee box and tee off past the other end of the skybox, hit their approach shots to the 13th green and walk by even closer to go to the 14th hole...(needless to say, I was in golf spectator heaven!). All I had to do was make sure the people coming into the stands belonged there and didn't walk out with more than one alcoholic beverage...(Each patron had to check in with the volunteers and receive a wrist band, then they could walk the course and continue to come back and forth all day)... Each section had viewing seats and tables, there was an open bar and food served all day...(breakfast, lunch and snacks from 9am to 5 pm). All of this under a comfortable open air tent that provided needed shade for me to hide from the sun during my 10-12 hour days...
I got to know the catering crew and bartender and by Thursday afternoon they were making me sandwiches and handing me ice cold waters... My partner and I took turns hanging inside the tent to escape the sun...(Cloudless days with temperatures in the mid-80s all week---tough assignment, eh?) I also made friends with one of the Desert Diamond Casino hosts and she gave me her phone # and email and told me if I ever wanted to bring friends down to the Tucson area to play golf, she would try to get me a deal on rooms at the casino...(sweet) Add that to seeing some great golf and you have the greatest "job" I have ever had...
Friday evening rolls around and the boss comes to pick us up and asks me if I'm working Saturday... I tell him I'm on the "will call if we need you" list... In the meantime, after the last call and emptying of the skybox, he says he needs me to help "sweep" the Walter Hagen Club before we leave for the day... (the Hagen Club is a party tent across the 13th green from where I'm stationed and the booze and food are sold, not free). "Sweeping" involves letting the people know it's time to leave, the bar is closed and making sure no one hides out in the tent or is passed out in the porta-potties (YUCK!) There are a few who don't want to leave (talk about some flashback moments) but after seeing about 12 of us coming through the bar, they leave peacefully... We get back to the command center to sign out for the day and Mike asks me if I want to work Saturday again and I say "sure, as long as I can work the same spot" (jokingly) and he tells the woman to schedule me for "skybox 13" for Saturday! (sweet, again)
Saturday was even better because the day was split between two 18 hole matches... It was a long day (6am-6pm) but between watching golf and enjoying the sun and being fed some fantastic food (and getting paid), who had it better than me? The only thing that could have topped this gig would have been the chance to play the course... The Ritz-Carlton is building a huge hotel, resort and spa next to the golf course and will be opening later in the year (October, I think) so there may be a road trip down here then... There's an opening for 3 more golfers... (HINT,HINT)... I have never enjoyed "working" more than I have this week and I am in Mike's (the boss) book for a long time for this. Maybe it's the New Jersey connection (he's also a Jersey transplant), I don't know, but he's a good guy to know for future assignments...
Sunday completed a great week with a round of golf at Ocotillo Resort (which is less than a mile from my front door). Gorgeous course with a lot of water hazards... (reminded me of courses from South Carolina and Florida, lots of grass and not too much desert)...Shot 81, with putting being the problem once again (like always). Happy with the rest of the game though...
I wanted to thank my cousins for including me in the Charlie updates on his condition... My prayers go out to him and the entire family for his recovery... I only wish the best for him and all of you... And a special thanks for all my blog fans out there... Every one seems to enjoy my ramblings about my goings on out here, so I will continue to regale you with new and exciting adventures...
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