I Worked the Viking Pro-Am yesterday...

[pittpanther]

1. It has basically rained every other day since the beginning of September. The hole I worked was a quagmire - my feet were wet from the moment I stepped onto the fairway, until I got home. This was a time when I wished I had been "that guy" and worn golf shoes, even though I was a marshall.
2. Almost every Amateur had a rangefinder, almost no GPS.
3. I spoke to John Daly. He smiled and said "Hello." Can't believe how thin he is.
4. The Pro's are not interacting with the Amateurs. What's the big deal playing with a pro who basically ignores you for 18 holes? Not to mention the pro is walking while the ams are in carts.
5. I had to go through a car wash TWICE to remove all the mud from my car, from what they called a "parking lot."
6. More rain this morning - first round was canceled.

[steve8820]

Little surprised to hear Pros not interacting with the amateurs. Isn't that a huge part of the pro-am. That being said, I am completely surprised by it after seeing the attitudes of some on tour while following groups around at Bay Hill this year. Some of the lesser known players acted like complete pricks to their caddies.

One I remember, Scott Piercy, tossed his club down at the caddy's feet twice on the same hole after 2 bad shots. We've all seen clubs tossed in disgust, but this was obvious childish behavior. Couldn't be happier when I saw ole Scott tugged one in the water on his tee shot on 4. Karma........

[FHopper]

I watched Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus play an exhibition on Aug. 21, 1962 at Prairie Dunes KS, couldn't see much through the cardboard periscope though. The next time I went to a tourney it was the Nike Open in '93 when Duval won here in Wichita; I did the daily results/tee times newsletter for the tourney. Everyone was very nice to everyone there. Has the money changed attitudes? Is it just the PGA pros who have changed or have the nationwide players changed too?

Or is the Fall series just full of highly stressed golfers?

[pittpanther]

The pros were not "mean" to the ams, they just did their own thing - they talked to their caddy, discussed their club selection, and took the shot.

The ams in the group were typically friends, so there was joking and banter between the ams, but no conversation with the pro. It was obvious that the pros were working and using the round to prepare for the actual tourney.

I was told the ams paid $3,000 to play, by the way. Not sure if it was $3K per person, or per group...

[NormH3]

I was told the ams paid $3,000 to play, by the way. Not sure if it was $3K per person, or per group...

Does it matter? That's ridiculous.

[O.B. Right]

Does it matter? That's ridiculous.

If I had the money I would totally pay $3000 to play a round with somebody like John Daly. Of course I would be pissed if he totally ignored me after I payed that much.

On the other hand, there are a lot of pros who I would probably not be willing to pay that much to play with and you probably don't get to pick. I guess it's something for rich businessmen anyway so, fortunately, not a problem I'll have to address in real life anytime soon. Anyway - I really hope they get to tee off today. Will be watching from the dry comfort of my couch.

[RemyM]

I was told the ams paid $3,000 to play, by the way. Not sure if it was $3K per person, or per group...

Per person. Remember these events raise money for charity.

http://www.vikingclassic.com/2009_SalesBrochure.pdf

[RemyM]

Anyway - I really hope they get to tee off today. Will be watching from the dry comfort of my couch.

Rained out again today.

[kafka01]

Per person. Remember these events raise money for charity.

Actually thats not that much - it gets even cheaper if you play on Monday, and yes i´m sure there are enough people willing to pay that price (and a lot more when the A squad shows up).

But regarding the charity thing - are you sure about that? In that specific case, do you know how much and which charity the money went to? Regarding the interaction - i know of some Pro-Ams of the European Tour, where they are actually played as a team-format (pros+amateurs - all walking btw) - and that gets a lot more interaction going betweens the pro and the amateurs than if the Pro only cares about his business.

[Shindig]

Regarding the interaction - i know of some Pro-Ams of the European Tour, where they are actually played as a team-format (pros+amateurs - all walking btw) - and that gets a lot more interaction going betweens the pro and the amateurs than if the Pro only cares about his business.

I saw Luke Donald (on TV) playing some such event at St. Andrews not too long ago. Looked like he and his partner were chatting quite a bit. This surprised me, because I always picture Donald as a quiet guy.

If I had the money I would totally pay $3000 to play a round with somebody like John Daly. Of course I would be pissed if he totally ignored me after I payed that much.

Daly is a notoriously good pro-am host, from what I hear. It's one of the few behavioral categories - if not the only one - on which Daly outshines many on the TOUR.

[MSDOGS1976]

Looks like the tournament will be a complete wash out. I live 90 miles from Jackson and it has been wet wet wet. Someone told me that it has rained 37 out of the last 56 days. Pretty incredible for this time of the year. October is usually the best month of the year to play golf. I'm retired so you know I'm frustrated.

[pittpanther]

I'm sitting here at 12:30am, and it's been raining constantly since about 3pm. There won't be any miracles here like we saw at Bethpage. I think this tourney will eventually be canceled completely.

If so, too bad for the guys trying to make the money list - one less opportunity to get themselves over the hump.

[NormH3]

they should at least play 18 holes of pitch and putt. Better than nothing

[MSDOGS1976]

Canceled. Too bad.

http://www.pgatour.com/2009/tourname...led/index.html

[EightBlue]

Canceled. Too bad.

This week's big winner is Kevin Streelman. Pretty much guarantees him the Kodak Challenge.

[iacas]

This week's big winner is Kevin Streelman. Pretty much guarantees him the Kodak Challenge.

$1M for not working at all! I'd take it!

(Obviously that's not accurate, but go with it for fun's sake).

[RemyM]

But regarding the charity thing - are you sure about that? In that specific case, do you know how much and which charity the money went to?

http://www.vikingclassic.com/century_club.shtml

[2bGood]

I have played in a few pro-ams (never paid out of my pocket, always as a guest of someone) with a few at the PGA level. I have never had a "bad" pro, but I always make a point of getting to the now the pro's. The guys in the lesser tours actual seem to enjoy chatting and finding out what they need to know about the city etc. or I'll take them out for diner sometimes as often they are just scraping by.

At the PGA level i found the caddies almost more interesting then the pro's - if you give them a chance they have some great stories.