TPC at Scottsdale

During the last week of February I had the chance of experiencing the Waste Management Open, played at the TPC at Scottsdale.  It was an experience I will never forget!  The Waste Management Open formally the FBR Open is famous for the 16th hole which is a stadium hole, and unlike any other hole that you will ever experience in golf.  The gallery is out of control, with chanting, roaring, bets and lots of beer!  I loved every minute of it!  From the second we got there I knew that this would be something to remember.  We sat down just behind the green to get a feel for what to expect.

Right from the get go we witnessed caddy races.  As each group left the tee, and the caddies were approaching the green the gallery began to shout colors and encourage each caddy to race one another to the green.  Each caddy had either a yellow, green or white colored jersey on and each pairing was three.  Also there were three sections of grand stands behind the green which worked out perfectly so each section could cheer for their color and take bets as to which caddy would touch first.  Bets were paid in either beer or hot dogs.  So if you can imagine this scene as the caddies approached the green the crowd started going wild and shouting their colors, jumping and chanting trying to do everything possible to encourage their color to touch the green first.  The crowd favorite and ASU grad Phil Michelson worked the crowd a bit and then saw his  caddy get so into it that he dropped Phil's bag and sprinted to the green, while Phil switched rolls by picked up the bag and bringing it up to the green.

The second thing that we witnessed was the gallery booing the players.  If a player wouldn't work the crowd by giving free swag such as a sweatshirt or their ball the gallery would let them hear it.  Also if you missed the green not only were you upset but the gallery was also, and they booed you so that you could think about that shot all night, to fear standing on the tee tomorrow.

The last thing that was interesting was towards the end of the day the stadium was full and to liven up the experience the wave began to break out, and chants of USA broke out every few minutes whenever the USA hockey team either did something great or made a goal, and it didn't matter if a player was mid swing or not, the pride of America outshined the event!

I loved this experience, and will never forget it.  If you have yet to experience this event I highly suggest getting down to Scottsdale the last week of February.