The golf world had Arnie’s Army. This week’s U.S. Open has the Shinnecock Squadron.

More than 3,400 volunteers will help run the championship at Shinnecock Hills, including 1,900 from Long Island, according to the USGA. They’ll scan tickets, staff merchandise tents, marshal fairways and manage crowds — standing for hours so one of golf’s biggest stages can move from shot to shot without most spectators seeing the machinery behind it.

At the 12th hole, that work has an East End connection.

About 65 North Fork Country Club members have signed up as marshals for the championship, according to Peter Sabat, 61, of Cutchogue, one of the club’s three marshal captains. The club is assigned to help manage the 12th hole, from holding “Quiet Please” flags to managing crosswalks, grandstands and player movement around the tee box and fairway.

“Each kind of position on the hole has a different responsibility,” Mr. Sabat explained.

Don Wilcenski of Southold, another North Fork Country Club captain, said the work began long before the first tee shot. He, Mr. Sabat and fellow captain John Stype started planning last fall, working through meetings, online updates, credentials, packet distribution and the basic challenge of making sure enough marshals are in the right place at the right time.

Mr. Wilcenski, 65, volunteered at the last U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 2018, but not in this role.

“The last time, I just showed up and they told me where to go,” he said.

This time is different.

“It’s a lot of work, a lot more work than we had projected,” said Mr. Wilcenski, who has known his fellow captains nearly all his life.

The jobs aren’t glamorous. There’s a $225 registration fee, uniforms, shifts, training videos and long days on your feet. But for many volunteers, that’s the point — they’re not just watching the U.S. Open come to Shinnecock, they’re helping it happen.

“Our championships simply couldn’t run without the help of volunteers,” said Colleen Fink, assistant manager for the 2026 U.S. Open Championship. “The USGA organizes the championship, but it’s the volunteers who help make it all come together each day.”

The volunteer operation is spread across 14 committees, but two groups carry much of the load: on-course marshals and merchandise workers. Together, they make up about two-thirds of the program, according to the USGA. Others will work admissions gates, hospitality areas, fan zones and scoring — often serving as the first faces fans see when they arrive.

About 500 volunteers are from what the USGA described as the Hamptons area. New Yorkers make up about 80% of the volunteer corps, which includes people from 42 states and eight countries.

Mr. Stype, 70, said the local-club model makes sense because members already understand the game’s rhythms.

“The USGA likes to have volunteers from local clubs because they’re golfers,” he said. “They’re people who know the etiquette.”

For the North Fork Country Club captains, the assignment comes with unique challenges. The 12th hole has two crosswalks and sits near a major flow of spectators entering from Tuckahoe Road, where buses are expected to drop off patrons. That means the marshal crew could see heavy foot traffic even before the golf itself creates its own pressure points.

“There’s a lot of logistics involved with making sure we have enough people, and the timeliness, and then all the other questions that come with it — traffic, getting people over there, getting to the buses in time,” Mr. Wilcenski said.

During the practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 12th hole needs 15 to 20 marshals per shift. Once tournament play begins Thursday, that rises to 20 to 25. Marshals rotate through positions, and most will work four or five shifts during the week.

“It’s a big commitment,” Mr. Sabat said. “It’s a lot of work, let me tell you. You’re out there on your feet for, on the practice rounds, probably 10, 12 hours, standing the whole time.”

The payoff is one of the best views in golf, a front-row place inside the ropes as stars like reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy try to solve Shinnecock.

“It’s kind of neat to be inside the ropes, so to speak,” Mr. Sabat said. “You can get a closer perspective of how the pros approach things, their swings. You can hear them chatting with their caddies, the strategy.”

But the job also requires constant attention.

Mr. Wilcenski said marshals have to keep clear of television cameras and tracking technology, manage rope lines, watch crosswalks and help create space for players and caddies moving from the green to the next tee. At its simplest, he said, the job comes down to two things.

“It’s crowd control and protecting the players,” Mr. Wilcenski said. “That’s really the job of the marshals.”

That can sound simple until thousands of spectators are moving around the same few holes.

“When you put 8,000 people or 6,000 people around three different holes, it tends to be a little stressful,” he said. “You’ve got to keep your eyes open.”

Mr. Sabat has deep ties to North Fork Country Club — his parents and grandparents were members, and he’s volunteered at previous U.S. Opens at Shinnecock.

He’s also played Shinnecock and knows what the pros are up against: wind, length, fescue, fast greens. At the 12th, he said, the landing area for tee shots narrows, which may push some players to club down and approach with a wedge. The rough and fescue make spotting errant shots critical, though marshals will get help this year from a separate spotting group and tracking technology.

“That was the challenge” in past years, he said. “Always nervous. Oh my, I can’t find the ball.”

“It’s impossible to walk the grounds during championship week without noticing volunteers helping at every turn,” Ms. Fink said. “Their support is what allows the USGA to create a first-class experience for everyone on site, from the players to the fans.”

The commitment starts well before championship week. Volunteers from East End clubs, including Island’s End Golf & Country Club in Greenport and Indian Island Golf Course in Riverhead, typically sign up 12 to 18 months in advance and complete virtual training covering general championship information and committee-specific details. Some roles, including walking scorers, require additional in-person training during the week itself.

The $225 registration fee — standard for major golf championships, the USGA said — comes with a personalized credential that doubles as a weeklong ticket, Peter Millar championship-logo apparel, a Stanley water bottle, a clear backpack, a lapel pin, meal vouchers, parking passes and access to the Volunteer Village and hospitality tent.

For some, that’s the price of admission to a rare East End sports moment.

Joe Ferraro, 80, lives in New York City and spends time in Quogue. Semi-retired from the printing business, he’d rather be golfing — something he took up at 70. When the weather cooperates, he plays two or three times a week at Indian Island, Rock Hill, Pine Hills, Spring Lake or wherever the group decides to go. He shoots in the high 90s and has one reliable strength.

“One of the things I can do is always hit the ball straight,” he said.

Friends encouraged Ferraro to volunteer, so he signed up online, paid the fee and picked up his package — an experience he described as a “well-oiled machine.” He’s assigned to merchandise, with shifts Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Shinnecock Squadron won’t hit a shot that counts and won’t lift the trophy come Father’s Day on Sunday. Most of its work, if done well, will disappear into the rhythm of the championship.

Mr. Wilcenski may have summed up the volunteer bargain best. He is helping captain the 12th hole for part of the week. But when the final groups come through, he has a different plan.

“On Sunday, I’m going to be sitting in my chair at home in air conditioning watching,” he said.

Mr. Ferraro’s reward is even simpler.

“I can always say it was a terrific event and I was part of it,” he said.

The post Shinnecock Squadron: North Fork golfers volunteer to help run U.S. Open appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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