It was a crisp, cloudless April morning at Hilton Head Island, SC, the first day of professional competition at the Verizon Heritage golf tournament, and Larry Crouch was sitting in a golf cart marked SECURITY, reminiscing. It was his 34th consecutive year of involvement with the PGA tournament played at Harbour Town Golf Links, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.
“It started out as a small event in 1969—not many pros and fewer than 5,000 spectators,” recalls Crouch. “But from the beginning, it attracted some of the biggest names in golf.”
Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye, co-designers of the course, played in the early tournament years, along with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. By 1975, the first year the tournament was televised, spectator interest had grown to the point that security support was needed. The tournament director contacted a Securitas USA predecessor company, and Crouch, then a security supervisor and management trainee in the Columbia, SC office, was given the assignment.
“That first year we provided about 40 security officers, mostly to help with parking,” says Crouch, “but as the years passed and crowds grew, we steadily assumed a lot more security responsibilities.”
This year, more than 130 golf professionals played in the invitational tournament, which attracted more than 135,000 spectators during the week-long schedule of events that included Junior and Pro-Am tournaments. A Securitas USA security force of nearly 150 officers performed duties ranging from player security and greens protection to credentials checking and parking lot security. During tournament play, officers posted at greens and along the fairways helped spectators remain safely within designated areas and refrained from using cameras and cell phones. Officers also patrolled the course and provided security at the media center, media transmission towers, sky boxes, hospitality and merchandise tents and the clubhouse around the clock.
“A core group of 40 to 50 people on our team are special events officers, and many of them have worked at this and other golf tournaments for many years,” says Scott Tubbs, a Securitas USA branch manager in Savannah, GA, who marked his seventh year at the tournament. The security team is augmented with officers from local Securitas USA offices, as well as with students attending a nearby academy who are interested in law enforcement and security careers.
“Our outstanding relationship with Securitas USA management and their years of experience with this tournament are invaluable,” says Steve Wilmot, tournament director for the past 12 years. “They know what needs to be done and are very responsive when our needs change—as they frequently do.”
At least three months before the tournament begins, Edward Leitgeb, Securitas USA area vice president, and Securitas USA branch managers Timothy Darby, Jr. and Tubbs begin coordinating with tournament officials and various law enforcement agencies, including Sea Pines Security, South Carolina Highway Patrol, as well as the local Sheriff’s Department. Each year’s security arrangements and planning build on the previous year’s experiences.
“Access control and parking are always big issues, because the 10,000+ residents of Sea Pines need access to their homes,” says George Breed, Jr., director of security and community affairs at Sea Pines. “Plus, you have the increased activity at the three commercial centers and two harbors located on resort property.” The South Carolina Highway Patrol assists Breed’s regular security force of 50 officers, who are primarily responsible for traffic control in addition to their security duties.
“There are a lot of moving parts,” adds Wilmot, who notes that approximately 1,200 volunteers also help with the tournament. “We choose Securitas USA as our security contractor because they understand what it takes to organize and handle security at a tournament like the Verizon Heritage, and also for the quality of their service.”
“Verizon Heritage is the premiere event of Hilton Head Island’s season, and we get tremendous support from the community,” says Wilmot, a year-around employee of the Heritage Foundation, general sponsor of the golf tournament. The Heritage Foundation supports a variety of state and local charities with revenue gained from the tournament, which in 2007 totaled $1.8 million.