[Scan-DC] Shotlink frequencies for next week's AT&T National golf tournament at Congressional

[Andrew Clegg]

The following (oddly formatted) Web page has the frequencies that will be 
used by the Shotlink crew during the AT&T National golf tournament at 
Congressional Country Club (Bethesda) next week. They won't be using all of 
the listed frequencies, but the ones they do use will be chosen from those:

http://tinyurl.com/k3s2euv

The Shotlink committee includes the people who walk with the player groups 
and keep score electronically for the TV and Internet audience, and the 
people who operate fairway and green-side lasers to measure driving 
distances, yardage to the hole, and putting distances. I will be operating a 
fairway laser on #9 next Saturday and Sunday, so keep an ear or eye out for 
me -- I'll be the guy wearing khakis and a purple shirt with a white cap, 
along with the other 1400 volunteers wearing the same thing.

The Shotlink data are relayed electronically through handheld terminals. The 
voice radio traffic for the Shotlink crew mostly consists of the central 
Shotlink trailer asking for clarifications when field data look suspicious, 
volunteers reporting equipment problems, and the occasional calls for rules 
officials and medical emergencies.

Some of the radio frequencies may be used for activities other than 
Shotlink, such as rules officials. That was true at a Web.com (minor league) 
event I volunteered for last year, but I'm not certain that will be the case 
for this tournament. The radios are 16-channel Motorola bricks equipped with 
headsets.

The actual tournament runs Thursday through Sunday. There may be limited 
radio traffic on Tuesday and Wednesday, which are practice and pro-am 
tournament days. If you want to go to the course and get autographs and 
pictures, Tuesday and Wednesday are best, since cameras are allowed and the 
players (and celebrities) usually sign autographs between each hole. No 
cameras are allowed during the actual tournament, and players only sign 
autographs on tournament days once they're done for the day (if at all). 
I've been told that due to the Boston Marathon bombing, the PGA Tour will be 
strictly enforcing the "no bag larger than 6 inches in any dimension" rule, 
and radios (i.e., scanners) are listed as prohibited items on the 
information sheet.

Hopefully there won't be any derechos this year.

Andy