Volunteering at the Mayakoba PGA

I have just finished my 2nd day as a volunteer Ambassador at the Mayakoba PGA Golf Championship. Mayakoba is the only PGA event held in Mexico, and we are lucky to have it here in Playa del Carmen as it brings lots of tourism and work for the locals, as well as volunteering opportunities for the local community.

I started yesterday on Day 2 of the competition and was assigned the role of Marshal on the 7th hole, about halfway down the fairway. The hole has a dogleg to the right and there is a sandy cave on one side and sand traps on the other. My role involved spotting the balls when they landed, and if they went into the rough, pointing them out to the players and letting down the side ropes so that they could hit them back onto the fairway without obstructions. I also had to stop people talking on phones, using cameras and walking or talking while the players were "addressing the ball". For this purpose I had a large sign saying "Silencio" that I raised when the player was ready to hit. 
I witnessed some great shots, like when a player hit his ball from in front of me, directly into the hole, earning an "albatross" - 3 under par. I also witnessed some pretty abysmal shots and a few times had to get out of the way of mis-hit balls. Sometimes the players were lucky, the ball hit a tree, or the road, and bounced back to the grass. And sometimes not.
There was a large iguana which seems to live in the cave, and liked to pop out whenever a ball arrived, giving the players a bit of a shock. But he scuttled back in when they got close.


Today I spent 1/2 of the time in the same spot and then they moved me to the tee. There we also had a troublesome iguana which wanted to sun himself on the tee and had to be shooed away regularly.

What a gorgeous location!

Golf is not yet a popular sport in Mexico, although there are lots of courses here they are used mainly by visitors. So it wasn't a problem holding back a surging crowd, even for the leaders, and many players had no followers at all.


The hardest part for me was the 4.45am start today to catch a 5.30 bus to the course. I'm not at all at my best at that time of day. Fortunately they gave us a substantial breakfast, and a lunchpack with fruit, chips and muesli bars. There was plenty of chilled water available on the course, and even porta-loos for the results of all that food & drink!


Tomorrow is the final day, another 4.45am start, and hopefully more spectators for an exciting finish. The current leader is 12 under par for the 3 days, and an Australian is currently equal third, so stay posted for more exciting news. (I imagine that on Monday I will laze in bed until late and then lie in my newly raised hammock.)