The Philip B. Petersen Collection Broadcast June 19, 1989

      Almost everyone knows that radio amateurs can be relied upon to provide radio communications in times of disasters.  But do you know that we also provide many types of non-emergency radio communications for public events such as marathons, walks for mankind, automobile rallies and sporting events?  One of these that takes place each year is the Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament.  At these three-day tournaments, over 100 of the top lady golfers from many countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, England, Korea, Sweden and the United States compete at the New Jersey LPGA Golf Classic.
     Radio amateurs volunteer the use of their radio equipment and services, install and operate four master control radio stations and another 24 radio stations around the 18-hole course, leader boards, news and TV media center and at the special emergency service net.  Naturally, such an undertaking must be planned many months in advance.  For several years, Jim Pope, WB2QMP, of Belford, New Jersey worked many days planning and organizing the complete radio communications system used at the Navesink and Bamm Hollow country clubs in Middletown, New Jersey, the location of several LPGA tournaments.
     In the meantime, the call for radio amateurs to volunteer the use of their radio equipment and service goes out on amateur radio.  The response is quickly met with between 60 and 70 radio amateurs who volunteer up to 27 hours each during the three-day LPGA tournaments.
     All radio amateurs around the 18-hole course, the news and TV media center are provided with very distinctive bright color caps, jackets and vests so that they can easily be identified by the golfers and officials in the large gallery of spectators who follow the players around the course.
     With up to 54 golfers on the course, well over 3,000 messages are sent each day.  These messages are sent rapidly and are constantly changing the players' standings every few minutes at the leader boards and the news TV media center.  During the three-day tournament over 10,200 written message scores are dispatched and another 3,500 strategic messages are sent to meet special operational requirements.
     This volunteer work is not without its benefits since it is a great opportunity to see many well-known players of LPGA such as Nancy Lopez, Laura Davies, and Cindy Rarick.  The LPGA officials very much appreciate the well-disciplined and efficient manner in which all messages were sent and received and the radio amateurs were pleased to provide the radio communications as a public service to these LPGA tournaments that have given over $700,000 to local and national charities.

June 19, 1989

** Broadcasts recordings preserved and presented here by Mr. Robert Buss and Mr. Bernie Ricciardi, Phil's friends and fellow Marconi Chapter 138 QCWA members **

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