This article originally ap-peared in The Pilot earlier this year.

Facts and figures can be boring. Statistics are for someone who doesn’t have to worry about the angle of his club at the top of the backswing.

But for Reg Jones, numbers-crunching has taken on a new context as the U.S. Open inches nearer to its June 14-20 dates at Pinehurst Resorts. That’s the week that Jones and his co-workers have devoted their lives to for the past few years. Once the 1999 Open is history and all the trailers and hospitality tents have been dismantled and cleared away, Jones hopes to get back to counting strokes instead of port-o-lets.

But that’s tomorrow. Today is for making sure all the doughnuts will be ready.

"It’s the detail work that you worry about now," Jones said. "No matter how carefully you’ve planned, there are always things cropping up that you haven’t prepared for, or things that don’t quite work out."

One thing that Jones’ staff has prepared for is the comfort of the expected 40,000 daily spectators. There will be 24 restroom trailers set up on the premises, as well as 320 portable toilets.

Corporations are taking care of their own and the myriad of guests they’ll host during the week. The hospitality tents cover 300,000 square feet and are outfitted with bars, cable television and telephones. There will be 322 TV sets operating and 204 telephone booths available.

No golf tournament can be successful without volunteers, and the 1999 Open will utilize a group larger than the armies of some countries. A total of 5,400 volunteers, who hail from 47 states and seven countries, will work the event for a total of 86,400 hours.

If those people had to be paid even the minimum wage, the staging of the Open would be impossible. But instead of collecting wages, these volunteers shell out $325 each for the uniforms of khaki pants, a blue and yellow golf shirt, a cap, a belt and a blazer.

They work three of the days between June 13-20 in six-hour shifts. Volunteers must also attend three clinics in May for training as marshals. In return they are granted free daily admission to the tournament and will have the memories of being in close proximity to the players.

Bob Dunbar of Fayetteville will work as a marshal on the third and fourth holes, and he doesn’t mind the hours or the expenses involved.

"It’s worth it to me for the enjoyment of being up close to the pros," he said. "I’ll be there every day."

For those who would like to be there every day but don’t have tickets, it’s television or nothing. More than seven miles of security fencing has been installed to keep the great horde of unticketed off the grounds.

Seeing the tournament should be no great hardship for those who don’t have tickets, though. A combined total of 28 hours of live television is scheduled on ESPN and ABC-TV.

The players, who will be spending the week in luxury hotel accommodations or in rented private homes in the area, will be shuttled back and forth to the course in 200 courtesy cars.

Spectators, who must park in specified areas at some distance from the No. 2 Course, will be transported back and forth in 183 shuttle vehicles that will make the trips to and from the lots often enough to avoid inconveniences.

Once the fans are on the course, they will have the option of following their favorite players or finding a spot and watching the field pass by. For those choosing a favorite spot instead of a player, there will be 16,556 bleacher seats just waiting for a fanny.

For those who may get thirsty or hungry, there will be 13 concession stands scattered among the 18 holes. And don’t worry about the chosen beverage being lukewarm; 40 tons of ice has been ordered.

More than 1,200 media types are expected, and 1,207 phone lines have been installed to allow the laptop computers to spread the news.

And the doughnuts? Oh, yes, Krispy Kreme is preparing to bake them now. All 2,700 dozen of them.

As Reg Jones, says, "It’s the little things that people notice."