To state the obvious, there’s a massive difference between watching a Professional Tour event on TV and being there in person. When you watch the broadcast, you know everything that’s going on over the entire course. You can see the leaderboard and watch every shot. At the actual event, sometimes there are so many people that cell phone service gets weak, and it’s hard to follow along with the action. We wanted to share a few of our tips and tricks for getting the most out of attending a tour event: Look into upgraded tickets: A lot of events will have upgraded ticket packages that don’t cost much more money than the price of general grounds passes. These packages often come with benefits that are way worth the money. Air conditioning, free drinks, better views… We can’t think of a time we got upgraded tickets here at Frogger and felt that it wasn’t worth it.
Own the concession stand: You never know when your next opportunity for a drink will be at a PGA event. And we’re not just talking about booze here, so when you hit the concession stand, consider grabbing a couple bottles of water. A lot of events don’t provide adequate hydration stations and things can get pretty toasty down in Tennessee in July. Sunscreen: Don’t forget it. Follow some lower level players: Oftentimes some of the most exciting moments you’ll have at events will be when some lower level player does something great and you were right next to them. Crowds can be 20 people deep trying to catch a glimpse of Tiger, but the quality of play is at a very similar level no matter who you follow. Instead of jostling for position to catch a brief look at some of the top names, go enjoy yourself by following some people that have been playing well as of late but who might not draw as huge of a crowd. That being said, we’re not knocking watching big cats play a few holes. If you want to see the finish, get to 18 very early: As you can imagine, the crowds around the finish of the tournament can be immense. If your favorite golfer is in close contention, consider going to 18 while he or she still has 4 or 5 holes left. That way, you can get a great spot. Position yourself to see the entire hole: Instead of standing right by the tee or the green, go a little in front of the golfers you want to watch and find a spot along the hole where you’ll be able to see all the action. That way, when people are running around trying to get the best position, you’ll already be hunkered down and ready to let the game unfold. Find the WI-FI: Often at tournaments, cell phone reception will be weak because so many people are trying to use the network. You can do yourself a favor by planning ahead and finding the spots at events where there’s Wi-Fi. That way, you can see if your Draftkings team is going to pay for your next beer! Avoid getting hit by a golf ball: We all just saw Justin Thomas almost kill someone on a driveable par 4 at Bellerive. Our advice, if you’re going to post up at a par 3, short par 5, or driveable par 4, be on the lookout and know that nowhere is safe.
