Behind the Scenes With a Wichita Open Volunteer

If you ask Brad Biehler how his decades-long commitment as a volunteer marshal at the Wichita Open golf tournament started, he’ll say it wasn’t completely his idea. 

‘It was basically peer pressure that got me into it,’ Biehler said. 

As a lifelong fan and player of the game, Biehler connected with a co-worker through a golf league in the early 1990s who talked him into — or rather, pressured him into — volunteering at the then Nike Tour at Reflection Ridge as a hole marshal. But that hesitant first year is a far cry from Biehler’s 33-year commitment to the Wichita Open — now part of the Korn Ferry Tour hosted at Crestview Country Club — moving from hole marshal to hole captain, to lieutenant marshal to marshal major and now the head marshal of the tournament. 

“It’s really fun — if you have any kind of interest in golf you can get out there, especially as a volunteer. You can be inside the ropes and watch these guys play,” Biehler said. 

This summer will be Biehler’s third year as the head marshal, a role that requires checking in with and assisting marshals on every hole. Marshals are mainly responsible for crowd control — quieting the crowd and ensuring they are aware of golfers nearby — contacting the PGA rules officials for rulings on the course, and ball spotting, a responsibility Biehler takes special care to remind the marshals of. 

“That’s one of the things I tell my folks, ‘All right, we’re not losing any balls today,’ but sometimes the shot is so errant and bounces off a tree — and there are some tall trees out there, so you can’t see it. It can be a pain,” Biehler said. 

“It’s really fun — if you have any kind of interest in golf you can get out there, especially as a volunteer. You can be inside the ropes and watch these guys play.” — Volunteer Brad Biehler

Biehler takes the job seriously. He’s dedicated to the cornerstone event — after all, it’s one of only a few original stops remaining on the tour. For Biehler, it’s important to keep the tournament in Wichita, recognizing the economic impact as well as the boost for local non-profit organizations.

“A lot of people don’t realize that there’s a big economic impact on the community, it’s like the second largest party that the city hosts,” Biehler said. “The charitable contributions the Wichita Open gives out every year — and the PGA is famous for their charitable contributions — so being able to help that take place is rewarding.”

The Korn Ferry Tour is a developmental tour for the PGA Tour, where professional golfers work to earn their PGA cards. For Biehler, a life-long golfer and fan of the game, watching firsthand the up-and-coming golfers and following their careers adds to the excitement of volunteering for the event. 

“Seeing some of these guys hit the ball and how far they hit — it’s like driving the greens on a couple of the par fours out there,” Biehler said. “I like to see who is new to the tour, and occasionally we’ll have a player from the PGA who is trying to regain their card, so seeing who is here and trying to follow around and watch how good these players are is exciting.”

The Wichita Open depends on volunteers as an interface between the tournament and players, helping with spectators, tournament logistics and more. 

“They’re out in the sun all day every day, and they’re the first people that a lot of these people and a lot of the PGA folks see. So they’re an extension of us, they’re an extension of our community and they’re the reason why people continue to talk about Wichita,” tournament director Dusty Buell said. “Our volunteers are there to make things better for our players and for the tournament as a whole.”

Tournament Updates Coming in 2025

The tournament will have a few changes this year — notably the dates. No longer over Father’s Day weekend, the tournament will run from June 19 through 22. Also new this year, the tournament is shifting away from the double-decker grandstands in favor of an all-single level model that will wrap around the green and fairway. 

“It’s going to look completely different,” Buell said. “The look of this tournament is going to match the look of a first-class tournament.” 

Single-day ticket holders will now have their own entrance and their own bar, but food will not be included — rather it can be purchased just outside of the single-day ticket chalet. “Single-day ticket holders will have their own area this year rather than coming to hole 17 where all of our hospitality is. We’re excited about that change,” Buell said. 

Additionally, the tournament is adding a new Cuffs vs. Axes Charity Golf Classic on Tuesday, June 17, benefiting local police, firefighters and honor guard. 

But Buell says the tournament doesn’t happen without its volunteers. The Wichita Open usually needs about 400 to 500 volunteers every year to make the event successful. Through the years Biehler has seen interest in volunteers fluctuate. 

“I’m seeing that there just doesn’t seem to be as much interest in golf by younger generations — there’s a few that just love it when they try it, but I don’t think a lot of people even consider it as good recreation, and I think it might have something to do with the amount of time involved with just playing a round,” Biehler said. “So there’s been times where we’ve had a hard time getting enough volunteers.”