SILVIS, Ill. (KWQC) – Next time you\u2019re out on the course at the John Deere Classic and you see the orange paddles that volunteers hold up at the tee boxes, take a second look. A long-time JDC volunteer came up with the idea for them after seeing a problem and deciding, he wanted to fix it. <\/p>\n
Darryl Lokenvitz has been volunteering at the JDC for 46 years as of this year and he says he has always loved golf. <\/p>\n
Lokenvitz began volunteering when the tournament moved from Oakwood Country Club to Deere Run. <\/p>\n
At the time, he was Hole Captain on Hole 14, and the next year, they asked him to be on the Marshal Committee. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs I traveled around the different holes, I discovered that the quiet sign paddles that had a white background.. when you\u2019re up against the clouds, you couldn\u2019t see the paddle very well,\u201d Lokenvitz said. <\/p>\n
The paddles serve an important purpose as they\u2019re used to determine the ball\u2019s flight path after it\u2019s hit off the tee box. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I talked to my boss.. and we came up with the idea of painting some old paddles a fluorescent yellow, in hopes of being able to see them better,\u201d Lokenvitz said. <\/p>\n
But the fluorescent yellow didn\u2019t work, so Lokenvitz said he went back to the drawing board. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we changed it to a fluorescent orange,\u201d Lokenvitz said. \u201cAnd that really worked! It really worked, it\u2019s been about 20 years ago, a little over 20 years ago that we did that.\u201d <\/p>\n
Lokenvitz said changing the paddles to a fluorescent orange color worked, so much so, that 90 percent of the major golf tournaments use them today. <\/p>\n
And there\u2019s a process to how volunteers use the orange paddles. <\/p>\n
\u201cBasically.. It starts out as a three-step program. As the player approaches the tee, we cross the paddles and then as he gets ready.. We hold them up straight,\u201d Lokenvitz said. \u201cAnd then once he hits the ball, we determine whether it\u2019s going this way, this way.. Whichever.. And how far, if it\u2019s really bad out of bounds, or whatever, in the lake or something, but basically a majority of them are straight, so that\u2019s how we determine them with the volunteer at the back side of the tee box.\u201d <\/p>\n
This week is also a special week for Lokenvitz. <\/p>\n
\u201c20 years ago this week, I met my wife out here as a volunteer on hole 14, and then 17 years ago, we got married,\u201d Lokenvitz said. \u201cSo, we\u2019ve been out here volunteering ever since.\u201d <\/p>\n
Looking back on all that he\u2019s accomplished, Lokenvitz said he\u2019s proud to have such strong ties to the John Deere Classic. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes me proud that I came up with the idea for the orange paddles,\u201d Lokenvitz said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a big problem for me to do that. I was happy to do it, to help out the tournament and make the job a lot easier.\u201d <\/p>\n
Meet Darryl Lokenvitz, he’s one of the many volunteers who keep coming back to the tournament to volunteer year after year.Married volunteers celebrate 20th anniversary of meeting at John Deere Classic.<\/p>\n
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