It’s a Major Experience at the PGA Championship

Five things that add to the special experience of a major championship

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Five things that add to the special experience of a major championship

 

The prize – There are only four of them each season and winning one can define a career. Everyone around golf is acutely aware of this. With the Wanamaker trophy on offer this week, it is accentuated even more with the trophy weighing over a dozen kilos.

 

Weighty issues aside, every player in the 156 strong field will put their body and soul on the line this week to inch closer to holding the trophy in their hands on Sunday evening.

Majors have an elaborate space in the hearts of players – ask the importance of one to a man that hasn’t won it to understand the gravity of it all. A Dustin Johnson or Sergio Garcia are prime examples of men who have smelt it several times, only to let it slip away at the very end.

More often than not, it is the stories of these valiant heroes that add to the evergreen lustre of the prize on offer at the major championships.

Crowds – they come thronging to these venues like bees to flowers. Take it from me that any regular tournament will happily trade their entire profit for having a practice round crowd that graces the major events. Of course some men draw more of them than others – Tiger Woods, no matter the state of his game, continues to draw crowds that are far higher than some events can boast of on a Sunday afternoon.

 

Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are quickly following in the footsteps of Tiger, acquiring iconic stardom at a young age.

Rickie Fowler is in good form at the PGA Championship

And then there are men like Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els who draw an affectionate audience that appreciates more than just golf.

No matter the reason, it is only the majors that can boast of pulling in several thousand people every day from Monday through Sunday of the week.

Quality of Competition – the grand slam tournaments aren’t technically any different from the regular PGA or European Tour event, yet there is something intangible that draws the best out of everyone. The high stakes and invested golfers results in a week of high quality golf that makes the experience intense and unforgettable.

 

Top 5 PGA Championship
Top 5 PGA Championship

 

There is not one soul at the Whistling Straits that does not remind Dustin Johnson about the fact that he missed out on a playoff with Martin Kaymer in 2010 for landing his club in a bunker.

That unintentional accident has lead the people at the Straits to post notices all around the players locker room and urinals, reminding the professionals of the hazards of landing the club in a hazard.

Such a vivid recollection of detail happens mostly at the majors. People tend to forget most details of other tournaments, but even the minutest detail relating to a major is engraved on the consciousness of people and players alike.

 

Memento Hunters – everything associated with a major has a special place in the hearts of fans and followers. Children and adults run around the grounds of the golf course with over-sized golf balls, caps and placards looking to hunt for an autograph.

But then even more valuable are mementos from players – used golf balls, ball markers, signed gloves and such other player sponsored memorabilia tend to acquire a special glow when they are collected from them at a grand slam event.

The Whistling Straits promises to tease and taunt golfers before we discover the winner of the 97th PGA Championship
The Whistling Straits promises to tease and taunt golfers before we discover the winner of the 97th PGA Championship

 

Most important of all are the souvenirs that commemorate the event and the venue – fans mill around stores looking to shop for event merchandise with the official insignia that signify the specific edition of the major event.

 

Volunteers – the spirit of volunteering is an integral part of golf everywhere. Only it takes an army of them to get through a grand slam week, considering the thousands of visitors that throng these tournaments to watch and take in the experience.

From ushers to scoring to crowd management, enthusiastic volunteers of all ages lend their time and energies to make the experience pleasant and memorable for all the people that embrace the golf tournament.

It takes a massive effort to put it all together and there will be no big event that can succeed without the efforts of happy volunteers who extend their spirit to script its success.

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