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‘Those were the days’ in Sun City

Posted 1/9/20

Need 100 caddies at the last minute? No problem! How about 750 petition carriers for a weekend? Covered! Needed: An army of volunteer helpers at the hospital! Eleven hundred stepped up!

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‘Those were the days’ in Sun City

Posted

Need 100 caddies at the last minute? No problem! How about 750 petition carriers for a weekend? Covered! Needed: An army of volunteer helpers at the hospital! Eleven hundred stepped up!

The result? For decades visitors were greeted on entering Sun City with signs proclaiming Sun City as  “The City of Volunteers.” The title was earned

Zooming in on the caddy example sharpens the focus on how volunteerism worked on a large-scale. That example started with a last minute invitation that was more of a demand. The Phoenix Open Golf Tournament was to be played at the Phoenix Country Club in early January 1973. Del Webb Development Corp. officials arranged to conduct a satellite golf tournament early in that same week as the Phoenix Open for touring professional golfers who did not qualify for the major tournament. DEVCO officials offered a large “purse” as an incentive, and more than 90 professionals entered the tournament to be played at Sun City South Golf Course, 11000 N. 103rd Ave.

Three days before the tournament began, a Professional Golf Association tour director arrived and inquired who would be running the tournament. That had not been determined. Sun City’s Men’s Golf Association got drafted for the job — one the group handled for all four years the tournament was played in Sun City.

The PGA official learned immediately that certain golf protocols for tournaments had to be abandoned in Sun City. There were no caddies available, and only a few of the professionals entered traveled with caddies of their own. The call went out for a minimum of 100 “electric” golf cars with drivers to haul the heavy golf bags for participants. Gas powered golf cars would violate the sanctity of quiet demanded by golf professionals. Cart caddy drivers were given strict instructions not to converse with their assigned golfer or with other players. Drivers were exempted from expectations of holding the flag, raking traps, repairing divots and cleaning equipment.

In the four years DEVCO funded the “Sun City Open,” the two-day tournament was hosted twice at South and twice at Riverview Golf Course, 16401 N. Del Webb Blvd. Besides the driver escorts, scores of volunteers from the Men’s Golf Association registered golfers, retrieved golfers from the airport, manned the scoring tables and scoreboards, and helped with spectator control.

The efforts of the Men’s Golf Association did not go unnoticed. In the third year of hosting the “Sun City Open,” association members were invited to fill 60 slots as marshals at the Phoenix Open. Each year that number increased until eventually The Thunderbirds — hosts of the Annual Phoenix Open — asked Sun City volunteers to fill all 600 marshal slots.  By itself that is a great volunteer story, but for another day.

Those who enjoy stories from the history of the Sun Cities can become a museum member. Call the museum at 623-974-2568 or visit the website at delwebbsuncitiesmuseum.org and fill out an application. Members can choose from free local history classes and will receive history newsletters and emails with tidbits from the history of the Sun Cities.