There’s no doubt the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship will give John’s Island members what they have been seeking – a national showcase for the club’s mainland golf course, which is as spectacular as it is challenging.
There’s no doubt, too, about what this tournament means to the 264 players, all of them amateurs, ages 25 and over, competing for a coveted invitation to play in The Masters.
But what about us? Why should we care about a golf tournament most folks here have never heard of?
“We’ve always looked at the bigger picture,” said Tournament Director Mark Mulvoy, the former Sports Illustrated editor and publisher who has wintered at John’s Island for more than 20 years and embraces every opportunity to serve as Vero Beach’s best ambassador.
“The exposure the Mid-Am will bring to John’s Island – and, in particular, the West Course – is invaluable,” said Mulvoy. “But there’s also going to be a tremendous economic impact that’s going to be felt throughout the Vero Beach community.
“We’re talking about more than just the players,” Mulvoy said. “Most of them will be traveling with their wives, girlfriends or parents, plus their caddies. So we’re looking at somewhere between 800 and 1,000 people coming in, and all of them will be here for at least five nights.
“That doesn’t include the 75 USGA officials coming here to work the tournament, and many of them will bring their spouses or significant others. We’ll also have people from the USGA’s Future Sites Committee.
“A lot of people will be spending money here.”
Then there are the 250-plus John’s Island members who will be returning to Vero Beach from their summer homes earlier than usual to join an army of more than 1,000 tournament volunteers.
Some will help with registration and hospitality. Some will walk the courses – qualifying rounds will be played Saturday and Sunday on both the North and West courses, followed by four days of match-play on the West Course – as spotters or scorers.
Some will drive the shuttles that will take players to and from the two JI courses, as well as to and from the locker-room and practice facilities at nearby Red Stick, where many John’ s Island golfers also are members.
“You can’t do something like this without volunteers, and this tournament is getting tremendous support from the members,” said Bob Gibb, owner of John’s Island Real Estate. “Not only have the members supported it, financially, with individual contributions, but they’re also supporting it through their willingness to serve as volunteers.
“Our members don’t usually come back this early in the fall.”
To get them back in town so soon can only help the local economy, which will benefit from an extra month or more of their spending in supermarkets, shops and restaurants.
“Those people usually find their way to our shops and restaurants,” said Marine Bank’s Georgia Irish, president of the Oceanside Business Association. “So if the golf tournament brings them back early, that helps all of us.”
That’s the immediate impact.
The Mid-Am’s greatest impact, however – on both John’s Island and the Vero Beach community – might not be felt for years.
“The tournament is bringing in golfers who’ve qualified all over the country, and most of them are very successful in their businesses as well,” said Kevin Given, general manager of the Quail Valley Golf & River Club, where the membership includes more than 200 John’s Island members.
“My guess is, they’re going to come here and find Vero Beach to be a very beautiful, engaging and quaint small town,” he added. “And wherever they go, in golf or business, they’re going to take that with them and, when the opportunity presents itself, tell people about us.
“You can’t put a dollar figure on how much benefit you get from that kind of publicity, but you’d expect that to benefit all of us.”
For example …
Three-time Mid-Am winner Jay Sigel, who also won one British Amateur and two U.S. Amateur titles before turning pro and joining the PGA Senior Tour in 1994, might be the most accomplished American amateur since the legendary Bobby Jones.
When Sigel came to John’s Island in February for the first-ever gathering of the Mid-Am’s former champions, he was so enamored with his time here that he said to Mulvoy: “Where has Vero Beach been all our lives?”
“The reaction we got from the past champions last winter was very positive, very favorable,” Mulvoy said, “and I’d expect we’ll get more of that from the players who come here for this tournament.”
He’s not alone.
“The local community, through the impact of the money spent here by the people coming in for the tournament, will see some immediate benefit,” said Gibb, who plans to help as a volunteer. “And the club, as well as the community, should see benefit over time as word of what we have to offer spreads through word of mouth.”