Posting this to share my experience this year, and to give some info to others in the future if they ever get the chance to make it down...
This was my second time heading down for a practice round. I was there on Monday in 2019, and we won the lottery again this year. For those that ask the best way to get tickets (other than paying a ton on the secondary market), I just encourage you to get others (non-golfing friends and family) to also apply every year, to increase your chances. My dad got the tickets in 2019, and I won them for 2020. Of course, we had to reschedule this trip several times as the tourney got pushed to November and ended up not having fans, then pushed to 2021 but bumped again due to limited fans.
Last time, we flew in and out of Charleston. This time, we did Atlanta. Flying into August Masters week is $$$, but any of Charleston/Atlanta/Charlotte offer a reasonable drive (it took about 2 hours and 15 minutes coming home yesterday, and a little under 3 hours getting there on Tuesday in the torrential rain).
We did a hotel last time, but went the AirBnB route this trip. Ended up paying $1950 for two nights in a place that comfortably slept the 4 of us about 8 miles/15 minutes away from the course. I'd do the same thing again if/when I go again.
We got into the lot around 7:15am and once again used the South Gate to enter the course...highly recommend it if you ever go. The south gate allows you a few different access points to enter the course (5th green, 15/16, or Amen Corner at the 13th green/14th tee). We went straight to the Amen Corner route, and were met by a member greeting everyone and holding you up until they were ready to drop the rope. It's gets "real" when you see the guys in the green jackets. He ended up dropping it and letting us in at about 7:40am. The crazy thing about the South Gate/Amen Corner is that about 30 people were, there, so we took a few pictures at 13 and headed down to 12, where we were 4 of about 15 people there at the tee. Got a few pics, hit the concession stand behind the tee for a quick breakfast on the move, and went right behind the 12th tee to wait for the first group to make it down, which I was pretty sure would be Tiger/JT/Couples (which it was). About 5 minutes later, you hear the masses pouring down to the 10th green and coming down 11.
The last time I went (as I mentioned, it was a Monday), there were a lot of guys playing as singles, big gaps between groups, etc. On Wednesday with Tuesday being a washout and the par 3 contest in the afternoon, it was just 3some or 4some stacked up one after another. Between the practice rounds and the par 3, we counted and we say 15 former champions and about 75% of the field.
The thing I might like the most is the interacting with everyone there. We talked with Scottie Scheffler's family for a while (we were talking with a member, he asked us where we were from and when I said New Jersey, the woman next to us told us that her family was all originally from NJ, and it happened to be Scottie's sister). Bumped into Spieth's agent who I played against in high school and talked to him for a while, saw Jeff Sluman and talked to him for a bit. Walked past Hale Irwin, Nancy Lopez, Jim Gray. Talked with the guy that runs the locker room for a bit that we saw in "The One in November", a piece that ESPN did a few years ago.
We hung out behind #5 on the Par 3 contest, and the last shot we saw all day was Gary Player putting it 2 inches away, with the horn sounding while his ball was in the air. We also got cleared off the course earlier in the day for about an hour. The last time we went, we got cleared off around 2:30pm due to TStorms, so hoping we get a full day our next trip. But regardless, they were two of the favorite days of my life. As I've said before, it's like Disney World there, where every person working is incredibly friendly, everyone is so excited to be there, one of the cleanest places you'll ever see, incredible efficiency in everything they do (from the concessions to the bathrooms, to the crowd control).
Tying it back to PSU (and I did see 2 other PSU hats at the course)...Wednesday night, we went out to a bar (Doc's Bayside I think it was called), and there was a guy there playing guitar that was phenomenal. When I walked past him between songs, he gave me a "We Are"...turns out he's from Altona, and use to play a weekly gig at Cafe 210 West in the 2004-2005 range. His name is Jimmy Mowery. Talked to him after last call when he was done, and it turns out that he was on The Voice a few years ago, moved to Myrtle Beach, and eventually sold their place and spends his time now full time on the road traveling and playing. Really good musician, and a super nice guy.
This was my second time heading down for a practice round. I was there on Monday in 2019, and we won the lottery again this year. For those that ask the best way to get tickets (other than paying a ton on the secondary market), I just encourage you to get others (non-golfing friends and family) to also apply every year, to increase your chances. My dad got the tickets in 2019, and I won them for 2020. Of course, we had to reschedule this trip several times as the tourney got pushed to November and ended up not having fans, then pushed to 2021 but bumped again due to limited fans.
Last time, we flew in and out of Charleston. This time, we did Atlanta. Flying into August Masters week is $$$, but any of Charleston/Atlanta/Charlotte offer a reasonable drive (it took about 2 hours and 15 minutes coming home yesterday, and a little under 3 hours getting there on Tuesday in the torrential rain).
We did a hotel last time, but went the AirBnB route this trip. Ended up paying $1950 for two nights in a place that comfortably slept the 4 of us about 8 miles/15 minutes away from the course. I'd do the same thing again if/when I go again.
We got into the lot around 7:15am and once again used the South Gate to enter the course...highly recommend it if you ever go. The south gate allows you a few different access points to enter the course (5th green, 15/16, or Amen Corner at the 13th green/14th tee). We went straight to the Amen Corner route, and were met by a member greeting everyone and holding you up until they were ready to drop the rope. It's gets "real" when you see the guys in the green jackets. He ended up dropping it and letting us in at about 7:40am. The crazy thing about the South Gate/Amen Corner is that about 30 people were, there, so we took a few pictures at 13 and headed down to 12, where we were 4 of about 15 people there at the tee. Got a few pics, hit the concession stand behind the tee for a quick breakfast on the move, and went right behind the 12th tee to wait for the first group to make it down, which I was pretty sure would be Tiger/JT/Couples (which it was). About 5 minutes later, you hear the masses pouring down to the 10th green and coming down 11.
The last time I went (as I mentioned, it was a Monday), there were a lot of guys playing as singles, big gaps between groups, etc. On Wednesday with Tuesday being a washout and the par 3 contest in the afternoon, it was just 3some or 4some stacked up one after another. Between the practice rounds and the par 3, we counted and we say 15 former champions and about 75% of the field.
The thing I might like the most is the interacting with everyone there. We talked with Scottie Scheffler's family for a while (we were talking with a member, he asked us where we were from and when I said New Jersey, the woman next to us told us that her family was all originally from NJ, and it happened to be Scottie's sister). Bumped into Spieth's agent who I played against in high school and talked to him for a while, saw Jeff Sluman and talked to him for a bit. Walked past Hale Irwin, Nancy Lopez, Jim Gray. Talked with the guy that runs the locker room for a bit that we saw in "The One in November", a piece that ESPN did a few years ago.
We hung out behind #5 on the Par 3 contest, and the last shot we saw all day was Gary Player putting it 2 inches away, with the horn sounding while his ball was in the air. We also got cleared off the course earlier in the day for about an hour. The last time we went, we got cleared off around 2:30pm due to TStorms, so hoping we get a full day our next trip. But regardless, they were two of the favorite days of my life. As I've said before, it's like Disney World there, where every person working is incredibly friendly, everyone is so excited to be there, one of the cleanest places you'll ever see, incredible efficiency in everything they do (from the concessions to the bathrooms, to the crowd control).
Tying it back to PSU (and I did see 2 other PSU hats at the course)...Wednesday night, we went out to a bar (Doc's Bayside I think it was called), and there was a guy there playing guitar that was phenomenal. When I walked past him between songs, he gave me a "We Are"...turns out he's from Altona, and use to play a weekly gig at Cafe 210 West in the 2004-2005 range. His name is Jimmy Mowery. Talked to him after last call when he was done, and it turns out that he was on The Voice a few years ago, moved to Myrtle Beach, and eventually sold their place and spends his time now full time on the road traveling and playing. Really good musician, and a super nice guy.
