Northwest Arkansas Teen Players Volunteer at LPGA Tournament

ROGERS -- Hundreds of volunteers will be out at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G this week.

They will shuttle golfers, keep cool drinks available for the pros, ferry golfers around on carts, serve as scorekeepers and course marshals. For some young volunteers, being behind the scenes of a professional golf tournament motivates them to pursue a future in the sport.

Maddie Weston, 15, plays a lot of tournaments. The process is much the same each time, said the Bentonville High School player. She checks in, gets a score card, meets the people she'll be playing with and takes some practice shots.

Golf is a great sport because it's an individual sport, Maddie said.

"You see a bunch of different people playing the same game in a bunch of different ways," she said.

This week she will volunteer instead of play.

It's a way for her to give back to those who have helped her, said Maddie, who hopes to play collegiate and, maybe, professional golf one day.

She still remembers the year she got an autographed golf ball from Stacy Lewis. She was probably about 10 and was walking along the ninth hole following Lewis "because she's a Razorback." Lewis walked over and tossed her a golf ball. Maddie followed Lewis the entire round and had her sign the ball when she finished. That moment was what made Lewis one of her favorite golfers, Maddie said.

Other teens volunteering at the tournament this week said they've also been inspired by the tournament and hope to give back to the sport.

Chloe Ellis, 13, has helped out during the tournament since she was 5. Her mother, Kim Ellis, is volunteer chairwoman. Tournament staff and players started to recognize Chloe after the first couple years of seeing her tag along on the golf cart, Kim Ellis said.

Chloe Ellis played tennis, but three years ago she decided to try golf. When she turned 10, the staff of Octagon, the company that runs tournament operations, got Chloe her first set of golf clubs for her birthday.

"Being up close and personal with the players is pretty cool," Chloe Ellis said.

Morgan Pressel once pulled her onto the golf course during a practice round and talked to her about strategy.

Watching golf on television is different than following along on the course.

"You can see them strategize more," Chloe Ellis said.

Helping out at the tournament early in the week gives her a chance to observe and motivates her to practice her game, she said.

Grace Nuttle, 16, served as a standard bearer and played in last year's pro-am. As a junior course reporter last year, she got to see Lewis give an interview. There's a lot that goes into organizing a tournament this large, she said, but her favorite part is watching the golfers.

"I think volunteering is a good way to be there right next to the pros," she said.

Nuttle plays with the Rogers High School team, but is homeschooled. She has played competitively since about 13 or 14. Golf is physically tough, Nuttle said, because a player has to carry her bag for nine to 18 holes and still have enough swing to compete. The game is mentally tough because a player needs to select the right club at the right moment while under pressure, and must understand how obstacles like trees and sand complicate the shot.

You can learn a lot by watching the professionals, Nuttle said.

"They have beautiful swings," she said.

The star power motivates young people to practice more in golf or in other sports, said Elizabeth Prenger, director of outreach for First Tee of Northwest Arkansas, a youth golf organization.

"It just gives them the drive to stay with it," she said.

The women who play the LPGA circuit are often only a few years older than the girls who look up to them, Prenger said. There will be 50 to 75 youth volunteers from the First Tee on the course Friday through Sunday.

Kim Ellis said there were more than 700 volunteers signed up for the tournament on Tuesday.