Locals Get Inside The Ropes View of U.S. Open

In a sea of striped golf shirts, the marshals at the U.S. Open stand out with their thick green and white. Dotted over the course at Merion Golf Club, they open the ropes for the crowd to cross, keep their eyes on the balls when in play and help the spectators, among other duties. Sometimes they even get embroiled in player squabbles.

I found Mary Ann Walter holding a rope to allow people to cross over the 15th fairway. Walter, of Villanova, is a member of Overbrook Golf Club. Each hole is marshaled by volunteers from a club; in some cases the holes are shared by multiple organizations.

"This is a big golf area. We should be having majors here," said Walter, who also marshaled for two years at the AT&T tournament at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square.

What's different about this experience? "The massive planning, an amazing task they undertook," she said. And it's working smoothly, so far.

Over on the 14th hole, Suzanne Betts of Wayne and Christine Dolan of Bryn Mawr are enjoying a breather from their work. For those outside the world of golf, one might wonder how marshaling a hole could get crazy, Betts said that the par 4 hole has a crosswalk and a practice tee on it. "There's a lot going on on this hole," Dolan said.

"There's a little nervousness becaue of the rain," Dolan said Wednesday afternoon. Storms are expected Thursday for the first day of play.

"I hope the weather is not so bad that the players' scores are low," said Walter, back on the 15th. She said she thinks players should be happy to play Merion, with its rich history and traditional-style course.

"They owe the game of golf to come back to courses like this."

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