A few thoughts on the Deutchebank

[VtDivot]

I was very fortunate to attend the 1st round of the Deutchebank Championship at TPC Boston on Friday and was able to see all the big names up really close (even Tiger, within a few feet - we were there EARLY on day 1 and right at the ropes on most holes and mostly watched the boys hit driver) We walked a ton in the morning with Tiger and camped out on a few key driver holes in the afternoon. We had a great time. I recommend getting to a tour event if possible, it is an eye opener to say the least.

Here are a few of the things I noticed:

1. Take how long you hit the ball at your best... all the big hitters will blow it by you by 50 yards
2. Tiger is a lean mofo he looks more ripped and slim in person compared to bulkier on TV
3. Billy Mayfair lost a ton of weight
4. Brad Faxon and DL3 are taller than I imagined.
5. 2 most popular drivers were R7 and FT3 or Original Fusion
6. Ted Purdy appears to be genuinely a nice guy - smiled on every tee box
7. Heath Slocumb has the largest putter (head) on planet earth.
8. Most pros swing REALLY hard. The whole smooth tempo thing I didn't see at all.
9. Many Mizuno, Hogan and Bridgestone headcovers but no drivers
10. Tiger hit 4 iron to the 234 yard uphill par 3 11th. Mayfair hit a 4 wood.
11. Lickliter doesn't look very friendly.
12. Soda's were $3.50, Hotdogs $4.25
13. The crowd was polite and from what I could tell very knowledgeable
14. Traffic at the venue was managed very well. Traffic in MA is horrible.
15. The fairways were wider than I thought they'd be. Comparable to any high end private course that one might play.
16. I bumped into Brad Faxon (litterally) twice when he was going to the crapper on 2 consecutive holes???
17. The entire world needs to stand still for Justin Rose to putt.
18. Kevin Stadler is as cranky and hotheaded as his old man
19. The only players I saw interacting at all with fans were Faxon, Purdy, and Flesch, and we saw 50+ guys.
20. 200 yard par 3's to those guys are like 135 yard par 3's to us.
21. Most players were wearing stubby metal spikes
22. Some of the volunteers on the tee boxes would hand out bottles of water to the fans while we waited for the next groups to arrive.
23. Zach Johnson is a lot smaller than I thought he would be.
24. Mark Brooks is too short a hitter to compete on tour anymore.
25. The people at TPC Boston and the hundreds of volunteers did a great job making the day run smoothly.

 

[Kilted Arab]

Thanks for taking the time to post this - it was a good read!

Cheers

KA

 

[IrishGolfer]

16. I bumped into Brad Faxon (litterally) twice when he was going to the crapper on 2 consecutive holes???

Had this guy been drinking Guinness? rop:

Good post VT Divot. How much did it cost you to get in?
Did you catch much of Tim Heron's round? I think he shot 65.

 

[Loop]

Excellent post VT!! I'm still hungering to get on a Tour event.

8. Most pros swing REALLY hard. The whole smooth tempo thing I didn't see at all.
20. 200 yard par 3's to those guys are like 135 yard par 3's to us.
21. Most players were wearing stubby metal spikes
25. The people at TPC Boston and the hundreds of volunteers did a great job making the day run smoothly.

Those ones I loved them the most.
Yup these guys hit it really hard, but their precision and shotmaking abilities are just astounding.

 

[VtDivot]

Cost of a one day grounds ticket was $45. We did not see Lumpy at all, as he was playing in the afternoon on the opposite side as DL3, Freddie, Howell III, O'Hair, Johnson etc. We weighed in on which side would have the bigger names and we'd go see them.

The crowds were so thin on that first day that we had no problem getting to see all those guys up real close. I kinda hope next year we will get to do it again. Maybe we won't concentrate on Tiger so much and follow one or 2 groups the whole way thru.

The Faxon thing was really weird, he teed off 10 (his first hole) passed by me on his way to the potty (public - there are special potties for the pros, but Fax couldn't hold it I guess). I was moving to 11 green for concessions as we just finished watching Tiger all morning and the concessions at 9/18 were pretty backed up. I get my dog and soda and am walking back to catch some action at the 11th green and here comes Fax again under the ropes to the crapper again... nervous reflex I guess LOL

 

[VtDivot]

Excellent post VT!! I'm still hungering to get on a Tour event.

Thanks! You better start practicing your putting then LOL

 

[ualtim]

Great post!

I have never been to PGA Tour event, but have been to a Senior event several years ago and appreciate your insights. I am hoping to get a day off for the Disney World event, but unfortunately I am working all 4 days of the tourney.

Driving distance wise, the Seniors did not wow me, but that was like 8 years ago before distance really started climbing. I am sure that they are smacking the ball out there as well these days.

 

[cabinessence]

Yeah, they really do swing hard...the ball doesn't go 350 yards by itself. But as my pro always says, if you're on plane you can swing as hard as you want to and the ball is going to go straight.

 

[Bravo]

Thanks for the post...one thing surprised me though.

I thought we would finally see most of the players going to softspikes rather than staying with steel. I think I read in Golf Digest a year ago that about 35% of the Tour was using Softspikes and it was increasing.

The Black Widow spikes I have on my shoes now are super. We have plenty of wet weather here and I never think that I would get an advantage with steel spikes if I were allowed to go back (None of the courses allow them).

Anyway, great report...very detailed.

 

[Big Brother Dunk]

Awesome post VtDivot. Thanks for sharing.