5 hours.
That's how long it took to get there from Connecticut. Who knew? I figured maybe 3. Long Island is a lot bigger than it looks.
When we arrived we find out that the shuttle buses are a good 20 minutes away from the event....that was disappointing.
When I finally got to the course I was impressed by a few things, one has to be the mud. That poor course is getting hammered by all the rain. The people moving across the fairways are like cattle, grinding the grass into oblivion. Cutting swaths 20 yards wide through once pristine Bermuda. The cattle analogy is a good one because the other thing that stands out is the smell. Traipsing through the mud one cannot help but be reminded of the odor a dairy farm emits.
I have been to several PGA events and I have found that the experience does not vary much from one venue to another. You have your $3.50 cokes, $4.00 hot dogs and merchandise at nearly every turn. This time I have to mention the main merchandise tent at Bethpage.It is the size of Walmart. I have never seen such an enormous merchandise facility anywhere.
The variable is has to be each different course. I found Bethpage to be stunning but not user friendly. Very hilly with steep viewing areas. The right side of the 18th tee box for instance was easily 50° of mud and trampled grass. I saw a couple of people go down trying to negotiate the trip to get close to the tee box. The weather and the lay of the land conspired against me, keeping me at lengthy viewing distances.
The opposite is true of the TPC course at River Highlands where next week Travelers puts on the
Travelers Championship. The TPC course is made for tournament viewing with stadium style hills or relatively flat viewing areas.
The golf, in spite of the weather, was inspiring. I especially enjoyed watching some of the amatures who seemed to be having fun in spite of scores like +7 and +20.
In spite of all the difficulty with the travel and the weather I highly reccommend that you get to a PGA event if only once in your life. It's well worth the time.