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188 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 7 (below) Jay Leno, perennial crowd favorite and frequent Concours entrant. (right) Each year features a different marque. This year, Isotta Fraschini is spotlighted, along with Ferrari, American Dream Cars of the 1960s and Castagna Coachwork. But how does all this come about? How does one the most hallowed holes in all golfdom— one duffers wait months for a tee time on— shut down for a weekend to become an elegant automotive affair? "There's a lot going on behind the scenes that no one knows about," says Kay Sorenson, sponsor relations and installations director. That's an understatement. Planning for the next Concours essentially begins the Monday morn- ing following the previous one. It's a big under- taking, involving coordinating multiple vendors, sponsors, employees, volunteers, police and security personnel and countless other details. TIMING IS EVERYTHING The logistical timeline goes something like this: "It all starts at the end of July," Sorenson says. "Kitchen tents go up here and there, and the Gooding and Company auction tent is erected at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center. Our tent is there as well." Two weeks prior to the event, Peter Hay Golf Course is closed and sponsor tents are raised. The display ramp usually goes in Monday or Tuesday and the iconic flowers are put into place. Concession tents, hospitality patios and smaller tents along the fairway go up during the week, being careful not to disrupt play. "The 18th fairway is closed all day Saturday," Sorenson says. "We do roll some cars in on that day, but the majority are brought in Sunday at sunup." Even as the confetti that accompanies the Best of Show announcement is hitting the ground, an army springs into action. "Everything comes out of the tents: tables, chairs, trash, benches, flags, everything. We quit work around eight or nine o'clock out of respect for residents and hotel guests," she adds. Then they have three or four hours Monday morning to finish up. "It takes that long for golfers to get to the 18th." Then, that green becomes a golfer's selfie heaven once again. MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK A lot of that work is performed by volun- teers, overseen by Sandi Pappani. "We have around 1,000, everyone from retirees to scouts," she says. "They touch every single area—packaging credentials, driving par- ticipants around town, helping with hospitality, Photo: Kimball Studios / Courtesy of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance