THROW IT OUT: Phoenix Open Crowds Went One Step Too Far

It’s always a good day when you can open up your laptop, see what the bosses think, and have the respect from and of them when you get to write, “Sorry, y’all are wrong on this one.”

The Waste Management Phoenix Open has turned into one of the PGA Tour’s great showpiece events, much like THE PLAYERS has evolved into over the years. The crowds, the energy, and the now iconic 16th hole stadium which is totally unique to the sport. There’s honestly nothing else like it and traveling to the desert to watch this spectacle from the now notorious par-3 is part of my golf viewing bucket list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I just didn’t think it would require myself and my party to consider bringing head protection. Which leads to the bigger question, why?

I’ll give an example because of experience. One of the many hats I wear is one of a professional hockey public address announcer for next to the top tier team in a building which seats about 8,500 people. Hockey fans are passionate, often loud and raucous, and very into the game they’re watching. Every once in a blue moon a call is made or an opposing player causes such a great disturbance in the force which leads to an overzealous fan hurling something onto the ice: a beer, a soda, a souvenir puck, keys to the camper, whatever it may be. At that moment all play is stopped, ice crews skate out to clean and fix any issues, and the crowd is issued a stern warning: throwing things on this surface can cause damages that could harm a player, and if anything else gets thrown there will be penalties assessed to the home team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How many times in my career have I had to make this announcement? Once in eight seasons. Why? Because true hockey fans know the rules and know the danger. These fans also know throwing their beverage container over the glass and onto the surface is going to do nothing to change anything that is happening or has happened.

While the scene on the 16th hole in Scottsdale was one of pure jubilation and celebration this past weekend when Sam Ryder and Carlos Ortiz drained their respective aces on Saturday and Sunday (and for some reason to thank fellow Philly guy Harry Higgs and Joel Dahmen for partially disrobing…and I’ll never be able to bleach that image from my memory bank), the hurling of full containers of beer and other alcoholic beverages by the crowd onto the hole was absolutely abhorrent and unnecessary wasteful display of dangerous and potentially destructive stupidity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What’s at risk with this bombardment?

Players. Caddies. Volunteers. TV crews. Radio folks. Photographers. Reporters. Fans of all ages. Security and first responders. Liability galore. And more.

For what? For throwing a beer distributor’s truck worth of damn beer cans?

Club fitter Ryan Barath asked on Twitter how does what we saw on the 16th grow the game? Daniel Rappaport of Golf Digest responded with a really good answer about the view of the game from those finding this elitist and changing a perception to the vast majority of the public, and I agree with 99% of it. But the throwing of loaded, full metal missiles of alcoholic beverages? No, on this I cannot disagree more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Have a party. Spray Coors Light all over each other if someone drains an ace or strips out of their shirt on the green to celebrate one hella birdie putt. Jump up and down like a maniac. Hoot, holler, shout, chant, whatever. Do this. THAT is in fact a good thing for golf to see this game as fun, that it can be a party, that this is one hell of a game to see and experience live with the best in the world right in front of your eyes.

But the minute you risk damaging people, courses, and equipment galore because you want to hurl pounders like drunken animals wildly throwing their collective feces? Well, that crap is where you’ve lost me.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open needs to stop this practice in 2023 and beyond, or someone is going to get hurt, and possibly hurt badly.

Cover Image Via CBS Sports