Bethesda resident Judy Bale is retired, but on Thursday, the owner of a handsome four-bedroom brick and stone home across the street from Congressional Country Club was hard at work, earning cash and gratitude.
Bale and her family were some of several Bethesda homeowners who converted their front, back and side lawns into impromptu parkinglots for golf fans going to the AT&T National tournament. For $30 a pop, spectators could stash their cars on Bale’s lawn and stroll a few blocks down to an entrance close to the fifth hole. The drivers of roughly 65 cars parked on Bale’s property.
“Everybody’s in such a festive mood,” Bale said. “They’re paying me money, but they’re thanking me profusely for doing this.”
Owners of affluent estates along River Road and Bradley Boulevard joined Bale in providing parking for the tournament, sparing spectators bus rides from area lots.
“I’d pay $50 for this,” Clive Guest, 58, of Reston, said of the $20 spot he found on a River Road lawn. “I was expecting to pay more.”
People taking free shuttle buses coordinated by the tournament after parking in locations like Gaithersburg, downtown Bethesda and Tysons Corner said they were equally surprised with how smooth things were running Thursday.
“It’s the best deal in town; I got here from Germantown for 60 cents,” Barry Boughton, 68, said of his bus trip from his Germantown apartment building to a Gaithersburg lot and then to the tournament.
County spokeswoman Sue Tucker said most of the shuttle buses were being coordinated by the tournament staff and that she was surprised at how smoothly traffic was flowing in the area. Police and fire officials reported no major incidents.
According to Tucker, only seven homeowners had applied for the $665 county permits required to run parking lots on properties close to the golf course.
Bale said the application process was more complicated and costly than she expected.
“When you factor in the expense of a permit and the potential damage that could happen from allowing this many cars on your lawn, we’re only making peanuts,” she said.
Her plan for the money she earned?
“Landscaping,” Bale said.
