It got some fans kicked out at RBC Heritage, but booze is a very good thing for nonprofits

In preparation for this year’s tournament, organizers shipped in twice as much water as last year, some of which first responders give to dehydrated spectators at Harbour Town Golf Links.

This according to Toby McSwain, Sea Pines’ director of security, who said the warm, sunny weather means bigger crowds and, sometimes, more alcohol-related issues.

Those issues, he said, top of the list of safety concerns he worries about on a day-to-day basis during the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

“We have three miles of golf course,” McSwain said Sunday, when asked where alcohol ranks on the spectrum of issues he and his team encounter. “It’s a challenge.”

Still, based on early numbers from Saturday’s security report, only six fans were booted from the course for being intoxicated and disturbing play, he said. As of 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Michael Mayers said his teams stationed around the course had not addressed any alcohol-related issues. Firefighter and paramedic Kyle Ramsey, who’s worked the Heritage for several years as a bicycle first-responder, said he “couldn’t tell you a story” about having to aid an intoxicated fan — general heat exhaustion and people struck by golf balls are what he usually addresses.

Mayers said this year’s crowd has been more mellow on the whole. But, he said of the day, “it’s early.” So far it’s been a quiet Easter Sunday on the links, and Mayers hopes he and his crew won’t have to respond to fans with “Hilton Head syndrome,” people who drink all day in the sun one day then find themselves dehydrated the next.

It’s something that’s not unique to the Heritage, he said, and something he’s seen the tournament move away from during his 30-plus years working the event.

The Heritage used to be rowdier, Mayers said, but “it’s been a long time” since he’s seen fans “falling out all over the place.”

On a given day, his team might respond to between five and eight calls, a couple of which might be alcohol related, he said. For some context, 130,000 people attended last year’s event, said Derek Paton of the Heritage Classic Foundation. Attendance figures aren’t yet available for this year’s tournament, he said, adding that reports he’d heard said the crowds “feel bigger.”

If that’s true, booze-serving concessions vendors — many of which are staffed by local organizations using the tournament as a fundraiser — stand to benefit.

In addition to being a first responder, Ramsey organizes the Hilton Head Firefighters’ Association’s concessions operations, located between Holes No. 1 and No. 9. This year the association added the “Wine at 9” tent that, according to Ramsey, should help it top the $40,000 it netted last year, all of which was donated to local charities. Much of that money came from alcohol sales. As of Saturday afternoon, the association had already made about $60,000 before expenses; Mayers, also with the organization, said that amount had increased to $100,000 by Sunday. Ramsey hopes this year’s efforts will net between $50,000 and $60,000.

It’s the association’s biggest fundraiser of the year, Ramsey said.

The Lions Clubs of Sun City, Hilton Head and Hardeeville bring in “tens of thousands of dollars” at its Heritage concessions stand near the 13th hole, according to Sun City’s David Cullen. Alcohol sales make up part of that money, all of which goes toward Camp Leo, a camp for visually impaired kids.

A man at Hilton Head Preparatory School’s stand near the 16th hole said alcohol sales comprise the bulk of the money raised, which totals in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Ramsey said his team always asks for identification for “anyone who looks under 40,” and they refuse service to people who are already intoxicated.

“Later in the week, the more you have to watch out,” he said, explaining the drinking increases throughout the tournament. And you have to keep an eye on “the younger crowd,” he said, especially folks who might be hopping from house party to house party before finding their way to the course.

“We’re a unique golf course,” McSwain said of the nearby houses, from which partygoers head to the links.

“We want people to have a good time,” he said, “but we don’t want to be the party tournament either.”

The goal, he said, is to stay ahead of the issues.

Hydrating folks is one way to do that, he said. As is breaking the golf course into patrol zones.

One of the hot spots is the “big loop” from the clubhouse that runs alongside No. 10, then to Nos. 16, 17 and 18 before winding back to the tournament entrance.

In addition to looking for fans who are disturbing play, McSwain and crew look for people who are obviously intoxicated or a danger to themselves.

“It might be a party for the fans,” McSwain said, “but it’s not for the golfers.”

“This is their office.”

This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 4:37 PM with the headline "It got some fans kicked out at RBC Heritage, but booze is a very good thing for nonprofits."