Anyone been to the Phoenix Open?

[craigstardis1976]

As I play my golf in PHX it has practically no discernible effect on the game. We literally have hundreds of courses in the area but I would guess less than 5% of the golfers I see on the course are under the age of fifty. We have a huge senior population, most of who play in golf carts and the courses tend to coddle them...the result is rounds taking up to five hours!

For golf to grow in PHX the playing of the game needs to lose its old geezer image. The Phoenix Open to young people by and large is a party event with golf as a backdrop.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

As a one off event, I can bear to put up with the antics around the 16th. I don't think it makes great TV viewing but it may be ideal to the American way of watching. I would hate to see PGA allow more of these holes in as that really would become detracting to golf.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Different strokes for different folks I guess. If getting off your face with a load of 21 year old college blokes is your thing, then go nuts. 15 years ago it might have been a laugh to me. Not these days though. Just my opinion.

I guess my point was to those who think it has been done to help grow the game, I don’t think it will. I think its been done to make a wedge of cash and has worked, so in this regard, fair play to the PGA Tour.

But surely it will expose the game to many more people, especially young people, than any number of identikit PGA whack and wedge tournaments they have every week. And for any game to grow it need to be in the public consciousness? Yes the vast majority who attend or tune in especially to watch it will never probably take the game up, but I bet it kindles an interest in some of them. Golf is fighting in an increasingly packed media landscape for any type of coverage, so something like this can't do any harm.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Expose the golf to younger people because it's full of lager louts ?

If it exposes to people who think they can go to events and get smashed and throw abuse and then throw cans at the green then think the game is better off without them

I'm all for exposing the game to younger people but the only purpose the 16th does is allow people to get drunk in a sporting arena and shout stupid comments - why exactly would someone take the game up because of that ?

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Working at Medinah for the Ryder Cup in 2012 was an eye opener for me, beer flowed and as the day wore on the abuse towards the European Players grew, the behaviour at times was awful, personally witnessed wives of the European players getting sworn at and when we asked the Police to eject them, we were answered with "what do you expect when you're providing them with beers all day"
At least in this comp it's confined to the 16th and for me it's one off good fun, even the abuse seems to be light hearted, don't blame the fans, blame the organisers if you don't like it.