2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits Discussion Thread

[jbishop15]

I don't know if this is the right place for this post but ... I'm attending my very first golf tournament next week at Whistling Straits. I have tickets for the final two days (grounds passes) and I'm wondering if anyone with experience has any tips? I'm going by myself. Best times to arrive? What kind of game plan? Should one follow a group or stake out a position? Things like that.

Any assistance/tips/ideas would be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

From my experience, if you have a favorite golfer, I'd follow them around. When I went to the PGA in 2013 (I think), I followed Tiger for the first five or six holes. That was a really cool experience. Now, if you want to a lot of golf shots, I'd park in grandstands, if they have any out there. My uncle and I sat in the grandstands on the 18th hole (I think, lol), and sat there for an hour or so. Got to see some really cool shots.

As for times to arrive: depends on what you want to do. If you know your players tee time, I'd arrive a little bit before that, so you can get acclimated to the place and get food or whatever. If you're there just for general golf watching, it really just depends on how long you want to stay there.

I'd also take in a lot of the activities usually offered at events like this. At the PGA I went to, for example, there were lots of booths with cool offers and buildings with free five minute golf lessons and other cool stuff. The peripherals are actually one of my favorite parts of events like these, and if Whistling Straits has anything like that, I'd take advantage of it, especially if it's free.

Otherwise, good luck! You're going to have a good-ass time.

[Spiethismyhero]

@jbishop15

Thanks for all the insight. I've been watching golf for 40 years (and playing) but never actually went to a tournament. I've applied for Masters tickets for 4 years but we all know how that goes! So I'm very excited but ignorant about watching golf in person.

Is it fairly easy to follow a golfer around? I'd like to do that although I'd like to mix it up and sit in a grandstand or two. I'm slightly concerned about too much walking and standing as I have a bad back.

It's nice to know I don't have to arrive at the crack of dawn!

[jbishop15]

@jbishop15 Thanks for all the insight. I've been watching golf for 40 years (and playing) but never actually went to a tournament. I've applied for Masters tickets for 4 years but we all know how that goes! So I'm very excited but ignorant about watching golf in person. Is it fairly easy to follow a golfer around? I'd like to do that although I'd like to mix it up and sit in a grandstand or two. I'm slightly concerned about too much walking and standing as I have a bad back. It's nice to know I don't have to arrive at the crack of dawn!

Depends on which golfer you follow. Tiger, Spieth, Rory, a few others; those guys'll have big, full galleries, and if you want to follow them, you'll have to near run to get any good view of them. Everyone else, shouldn't be too hard, at least from my experience. I went to the Masters practice round, which was my first time, and let me tell you; I was blown away. I'm from Georgia,played golf for 17 of my 23 years, and I even lived in Augusta for 6 months in college, and I couldn't even fathom how beautiful that place was. If you haven't gone, you've got to find a way.

[Spiethismyhero]

Depends on which golfer you follow. Tiger, Spieth, Rory, a few others; those guys'll have big, full galleries, and if you want to follow them, you'll have to near run to get any good view of them. Everyone else, shouldn't be too hard, at least from my experience.

I went to the Masters practice round, which was my first time, and let me tell you; I was blown away. I'm from Georgia,played golf for 17 of my 23 years, and I even lived in Augusta for 6 months in college, and I couldn't even fathom how beautiful that place was. If you haven't gone, you've got to find a way.

Well, I've been very lucky because I've played Augusta 3 times in the past 25 years. Also, St. Andrews. But Augusta just blew me away. But playing it is very different from watching the tournament. That is something I am dying to do. So I'll keep applying.

I'd like to follow Jordan but would be happy to see any number of different golfers. Perhaps end up in the grandstand on 18 for the close .... we'll see ... Run? Not sure I can run these days ....

I got the guide of everything and one thing I didn't see mentioned was binoculars. Do they permit those?

[pumaAttack]

I prefer to walk with a group as that way you get to see every style of shot.  If you post up at a green or teebox, you just see putts or drives all day.  That can get pretty boring fast, not to mention you have to wait for the next group to come in.

Whistling Straights is a very tough course to walk though, so take that into consideration.  Maybe walk 9 holes then post up?

[Spiethismyhero]

I prefer to walk with a group as that way you get to see every style of shot.  If you post up at a green or teebox, you just see putts or drives all day.  That can get pretty boring fast, not to mention you have to wait for the next group to come in.

Whistling Straights is a very tough course to walk though, so take that into consideration.  Maybe walk 9 holes then post up?

I've heard that about Whistling Straits and will definitely take that into consideration. I think I'll give that a try the first day and then see what I can manage to do for my 2nd day.

I had the same thoughts about the grandstands. That I could get bored pretty quickly although looking at Lake Michigan wouldn't be a bad idea for a few hours isn't a bad idea. But, then again, that's not what I'm paying $95 a day for!

I do hate the fact that I have to stay in Oshkosh -- I hr 14 mins away -- because there isn't much nearby and it all sold out ages ago. But this is my only real chance to see a major that isn't far from my house ....

I almost went to Chambers Bay but friends in the area said it was NOT very friendly for spectators and that I wouldn't have a good time.

[Calvin]

FWIW, locals told us that spectators are lined up @ 6:30 AM (although maybe that's only for the prize locations like # 6 below). The course is expansive and there's lots of room to find a seat if all you want is a spot along a fairway.  Also, because many holes are adjacent, a watching spot can give you good sight lines for more than one hole; check out the course layout for what looks like the best spot (although there are many tents set up that make the visual layout much different than the course website suggests). I don't know how they will rope things off, but consider looking for a spot behind the 15th green, which should allow you to also see some lower elevation holes between #15 and the Lake.

The grandstand pictured in the second post in this thread is directly behind the green to #6 and thus in addition to #6 affords an excellent view of multiple front 9 holes, especially if you are in top right corner of the stands - it's a popular spot, so you will have to be ready to run there as soon as the gates open; also it's very exposed if the weather goes bad. Still, that would offer max viewing.

The good spots on the 18th are taken by corporate tents on the right and the clubhouse at the end, but nice if you can get access.

BTW, Milwaukee could be closer than Oshkosh.

[Spiethismyhero]

FWIW, locals told us that spectators are lined up @ 6:30 AM. The course is expansive and there's lots of room to find a seat if all you want is a spot along a fairway.  Also, because many holes are adjacent, a watching spot can give you good sight lines for more than one hole; check out the course layout for what looks like the best spot (although there are many tents set up that make the visual layout much different than the course website suggests). I don't know how they will rope things off, but consider looking for a spot behind the 15th green, which should allow you to also see some lower elevation holes between #15 and the Lake.

The grandstand pictured in the second post in this thread is behind the green to #6 and affords an excellent view of multiple front 9 holes, especially if you are in top right corner of the stands - it's a popular spot, so you will have to be ready to run there as soon as the gates open; also it's very exposed if the weather goes bad. Still, that would offer max viewing.

The good spots on the 18th are taken by corporate tents on the right and the clubhouse at the end, but nice if you can get access.

Thanks. That's a lot of good information. Sounds like 18 is a no go without access (which I don't have). I guess I'll have to have game plan, see how it works out, but be ready to make changes if it's not working. Being a first timer, I don't have huge or high expectations, just hope to have a decent time especially since I'm going by myself. Is there a printable map of the course somewhere?

[Calvin]

https://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/whistlingstraitsstra/actual.htm

[pumaAttack]

RORY IS PLAYING!!!

Going off with Jordan and ZJ.

[RiddleMeThis]

RORY IS PLAYING!!!

Going off with Jordan and ZJ.

[newtogolf]

RORY IS PLAYING!!!

Going off with Jordan and ZJ.

That's a cool grouping, they could be all up at the top of the leaderboard.  It will be interesting to see how Zach handles Whistling Straits and if his short iron play can overcome his lack of distance.

[ChrisP]

Poor Zach. He'll be like the third wheel in that trio. But Zach nearly won at Whistling Straits 5 years ago (as did Rory) so I expect a good performance from him.

[Calvin]

Question...can the pros use a cart when they play a practice round? Does it make a difference if it's before the week of the tournament?

There are no carts at WS, you are required to use one of the course's regular caddies (who are great, BTW). The caddy we had told us he carried for one of the pros on a practice round, with the pro and the pro's regular caddy taking notes on the course.

[Spiethismyhero]

https://course.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/course/course/whistlingstraitsstra/actual.htm

Thanks for posting that.

[nevets88]

PGA of American experimenting w/Snapchat and Periscope.

Quote:

The PGA of America will also outfit Whistling Straits with free Wi-Fi, use Snapchat “as it’s relevant,” Lockridge said, and is testing Periscope, a live streaming app that makes published content available for 24 hours at a time.

The PGA Tour used both Snapchat and Periscope at the Players Championship in May and the Phoenix Open in January.

Putting videos, pictures and stories on social media creates content fans wouldn’t otherwise see and couldn’t record themselves, because of the PGA Tour’s exclusivity rights.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/pga/2015/08/09/pro-golf-cell-phones-social-media-usga/31372965/

---

Did not know this was a thing. The 3/4 slam!

Quote:

The Grand Slam ended at the home of golf. Still in play is the “American Slam” — no one has ever won the three U.S. majors in the same season. The PGA Championship is a reminder that these chances don’t come along very often.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/golf/2015-08-09/landscape-golf-much-different-entering-pga-championship

[iacas]

Did not know this was a thing. The 3/4 slam!

See? Definitions change all the time. Now you don't even have to win FOUR of anything to get a "slam."

[pumaAttack]

See? Definitions change all the time. Now you don't even have to win FOUR of anything to get a "slam."

I remember hitting my first "Slam" in baseball!  Runners on first and third, two-outs, full count, and I knocked it out of the park!

We go on to lose 8-7, if only we had one more runner on base for my Slam...