Ok, folks, time for some more caffeinated covid thoughts. The Memorial Golf Tournament, held in my hometown of Columbus Ohio will be the first PGA event to welcome fans back to the links.
I was watching the debut PGA event a couple weeks back thinking, there really isn’t any good reason there cannot be some kind of gallery with plenty of space at a golf tournament.
The science on covid is constantly evolving but one fact seems very clear, it is extremely hard to catch the virus outside if you practice the least amount of spacing and proper hygiene. Basically, don’t sit elbow to elbow with folks on the beach or at a bar with no mask for an extended period of time. Or put another way, don’t be a lazy dumb ass.
With that thought in mind, I was thinking that selling a limited amount of tickets to individual holes would be the way to go. You could limit the number of people per hole depending on the course layout and natural features. There would also be progressive pricing. You want a spot by the green for #18 on Sunday? That’s going to cost $200. You want #1 on Thursday? $40. If you are a big baller, buy all 200 hundred spots available and show up with 10 of your friends. You would have your own personal gallery, lots of space and look cool on TV.
I would eliminate seats by the tee box and nobody (except family or friends) could follow the player. You have to stay in the area where you purchased the ticket.
It also helps with the crowd control as people would arrive at different times depending on which hole they bought. Same for concessions. Designated beer stands for each hole and everyone stays six feet apart online or waits until the line is shorter than 6 or something.
Is it perfect? No. But it’s a pretty good plan. I would pay money to sit outside on #14 at the Memorial for a full day of watching golf while properly spaced in the fresh air.
Colin Gawel wrote this at Colin’s Coffee. He founded Pencilstorm.
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