Police, safety and security teams preparing for PGA Championship at Oak Hill

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – It’s all hands on deck as the PGA Championship at Oak Hill gets underway next week.  Local law enforcers are preparing for hundreds of thousands of people to descend upon Rochester and whether you’re planning to attend the event or not, it’s sure to impact you in some way. 

Local businesses will be busy, air and road traffic will be heavy, and security will be visible around much of our region. 

Those who are planning to attend the event can’t just drive to the neighborhood surrounding the golf course and hope to find a parking spot. The roads surrounding the course will be blocked off starting Monday and only those who live in the neighborhood or who have a parking pass for the neighborhood will be let through. 

The easiest thing to do is take a free shuttle from Monroe Community College or the Rochester Tech Park.

Otherwise, “we understand there’s going to be a very large amount of people coming through rideshare, Uber and Lyft. Maywood is a street in this neighborhood on this side that will be for rideshare drivers,” explains Capt. Rick Bancroft of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

When it comes to safety and security, temporary surveillance cameras have been placed in the immediate vicinity of Oak Hill, and the sheriff’s office, along with New York State Police and the Department of Homeland Security, will patrol miles of the course during the event.

“We have dozens and dozens of assigned posts. We will have both uniformed officers – many, many dozens – and there will be plainclothes officers that are intended not to be seen, so that we can have forward eyes in carefully-selected areas to give the public the best opportunity for us to see danger before it becomes a danger,” Bancroft explains. 

Officers and deputies started planning for the PGA Championship more than a year ago, even running active shooter drills at other local golf courses in order to be ready for any scenario. 

Increased technology will also give them a better view of what is happening both on the course. Outside of that, “We have what’s called an ‘air boss’ and that person is responsible for coordinating all of the drones, media, public safety combined,” Bancroft says.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputies will move to 12-hour shifts starting this weekend to accommodate the needs of both the PGA Championship and their regular patrol duties.