Scott J. Adams, Sports Writer

When Bandon Dunes Director of Operations Matt Allen needed a coordinator to gather and recruit volunteers for the upcoming Curtis Cup, he asked if George Gant, a former resort employee, was interested. For Gant, it was more than your typical job offer. It was a chance to mold his legacy.

Gant, the man who knows everything about Pacific Dunes, will be working on the course this weekend directing spectators.

“I'll be helping in areas that are having problems,” he said. “There are certain places on the course where there might be trouble ... narrow openings might make it hard for people to get through. My plan is to be there to watch the flow of spectators.”

Being able to walk the course on a hop at 77, Gant brings truth to the words of the late Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, who said, “There's nothing stronger that the heart of a volunteer.”

Since taking the job, the Coquille native has helped enlist 200 volunteers to manage the tournament - a group Gant calls a “crack team.”

“I've been lucky to have such an excellent group of people to be working with,” he said.

Gant's career has spanned several occupations, which include being a cranberry farmer, a lawyer of 35 years and, today, a broker for Prudential Seaboard Properties. No matter what the job title has been, Gant has always kept golf in his back pocket.

“I've been involved with golf for many, many years,” he said. “I was on the executive committee for the Oregon Golf Association for 22 years. I've been very active in golf. I was president of the Coos Country Club and was a member of it for 50 years.”

Gant also is regional committeeman for the United States Golf Association. According to Bandon Dunes General Manager Hank Hickox, Gant's close acquaintances with other USGA members and players was one of the reasons Allen went to him for the position.

It was not the only reason, however.

“He has an incredible knowledge for the game and an incredible ability to translate its rules,” Hickox said. “His understanding for the integrity of the game is excellent.”

As a dreamer and connoisseur of the game like Mike Keiser, the resort's creator, Gant labels golf as one of his biggest passions. Gant's love for Bandon Dunes is comparable to Keiser's.

When he speaks of the game and the resort, not a single word is said without a smile that's framed inside a thick goatee as white as a fresh sleeve of Maxflis. His eyes squint like Tiger Woods' gazing at the 18th green at Augusta, and Gant recalls his professional life in the wake of Bandon Dunes.

“I think it's the best thing to happen to Coos County since the Homestead Act of the 1800s,” Gant said with a smile.

He says that he witnessed the resort's conception from the paperwork to the breaking of ground.

“In 1994, I saw an application come in from Mike Keiser and Howard McKee to start the Bandon Dunes resort and golf course,” Gant said. “I watched the development of it because I lived out there. As the thing progressed, my cranberry farm went in the toilet and I took a job out there as a starter and a ranger.”

Although it's been three years since Gant last worked at Bandon Dunes, he says everyone there is quite hospitable toward him when he drops by.

“I still go down there a lot,” he said. “They're very good to me there.”

He added that both Keiser and his resort have made work easy and enjoyable for Gant and his volunteer corps.

“They have done just a fantastic job helping and providing at no cost,” Gant said. “If you volunteer for a USGA event up in Portland or something like that, you pay for your uniform. They charge you for your shirts and your clothes that you wear. Mike Keiser and Bandon Dunes are paying for uniforms for all of the volunteers. They're also providing meals and just everything.”

According to Gant, Bandon Dunes' benevolence has not gone unnoticed by the USGA.

“The USGA is very happy with the cooperation and the contributions that Bandon Dunes is making for this. Kemper Sports Golf Management company has also made contributions.”

Kemper Sports Management runs the resort.

Gant's sharply dressed staffers will have several roles at the Curtis Cup. The volunteers will be divided into groups that specialize in different areas of work. The biggest group comprises course marshals. Gant says there will be 120 marshals at the Curtis Cup.

“There will be 10 to12 marshals with each group of players, whether it's the foursome format or the twosome format,” Gant said.

Members of the second group will be standard bearers.

“There'll be two standard bearers for each standard; one to hold it, the other to make changes as the match progresses,” Gant said.

Other volunteers will make changes to Pacific Dunes' two status boards and two scoreboards. Another group will handle parking at the resort.

“We have a number of volunteers who are going to be in the parking areas to get people in,” Gant said. “There will be three parking areas, and as one closes, we'll move to the next.”

The biggest concern for Gant and his parking staff is attendance numbers.

“We have no idea how many spectators to provide for,” Gant said.

The resort is prepared for a crowd in similar size to the 2002 Curtis Cup held at the Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh. Gant says that almost 1,000 fans were on hand for the tournament, the last Curtis Cup to be held in the U.S.

Gant will also have a complement of television volunteers headed by local chairman Dennis Thomason and Mike Wentworth. Wentworth has done television work for many golf tournaments. Both men will work with NBC officials to present the match on the Golf Channel.

“The television group members are under the supervision of NBC once they've reported in,” Gant said. “NBC will tell them what to do and they'll do it.”

Thomason and Wentworth are two of Gant's several group chairmen who will help supervise group operations. Some of the chairmen are county officials including David Koch, Coos County's attorney, who is chairman of scoring for the Curtis Cup.

Gant said that the recruiting and screening processes for selecting volunteers and chairmen were simple.

The resort placed ads in newspapers and displayed posters asking for volunteer help. These posters ran this slogan: “Be a part of the Curtis Cup. Be a part of history.”

“We just picked people who were active in the community,” he said. “The people we have have done an excellent job. They're wonderful people.”

Hickox says the volunteers have worked efficiently thanks to Gant.

“Everyone respects him. He's just a great person to have around,” Hickox said. “The help he and the volunteers have given has been tremendous.”

Tremendous, but not surprising to Hickox. As the old adage goes, attitude reflects leadership.

The Curtis Cup and the past year spent preparing for it have let Gant do what gives him the greatest joy, giving back to the game he loves.

“It's been a wonderful experience,” he said. “I'm glad I lived long enough to see this come to fruition.”