Old As Dirt

Maybe a few restaurants or taverns, a hotel or Bed & Breakfast or even ironically, a golf course. How many things do you know that are over 75 years old and reside in the 48th state?  Just weeks after celebrating the 97th anniversary of its statehood, there aren’t many things across our great state of Arizona that still exist from the early years of the 20th century.  One of them, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, celebrates its 75th year this weekend.  And just like everything else in Phoenix, the Valley and the state, boy have times changed. 

Long before there was a giant expo tent, raucous 16th hole and palatial corporate village, a few Arizona golfers and business men hosted the very first Phoenix Open in 1932 with the winner taking home $600.  That wouldn’t even get you a Greenskeeper Hospitality badge at this year’s event!  Interestingly, the growth of this golf tournament has mirrored many other aspects of the Valley.  The move from the Phoenix Country Club to the TPC of Scottsdale in 1987 was just a year before the Cardinals moved here from St Louis and the arrival of the Phoenix Coyotes and Arizona Diamondbacks followed shortly.  The year 1987 was also a time where the nightlife scene slowly moved from Tempe/Phoenix to Scottsdale.  But to understand my take on the “The Greatest Show on Grass’, you have to visit the produce aisle of your local grocer.

First, the golf fan.  Or in my analogy, the pomegranate.  Any true golf fan that attends the Phoenix Open is truly a golf fan.  The tournament falls early in the Professional Golf Association’s (PGA) season and many big name players may skip it or if they do show up many are like the grizzly bear just waking up from their winter hibernation.  And before you jump on me, I know they play year round, but the routine of playing competitive tournament golf week after week still hasn’t been established.  The first and foremost difficulty for the golf fan is fighting their way through the party.  Every green patch of turf filled with sun bathers, every tent that blocks the view of the course or reserved grandstand that’s off limits to the general populace are the rind and lining of the pomegranate.  It takes some effort, a little patience and maybe some ingenious trickery to get the juicy healthy fruit inside (great golf in February).  Once you get it, it’s always worth the wait.

Now, the party fan.  Or, in my analogy, the peach.  Many of these people that attend the Phoenix Open have no idea a golf tournament is the reason for the party.  All they know is that they can wear their Friday night attire during a weekday.   Alcohol, food and the opportunity to mingle with the opposite sex with the license to be a little unruly drives this portion of the gallery.  This crowd will party all day and enjoy the sunlight and then hit a lull when the golf ends.  For a few hours they will loiter about the property or leave for dinner and then return for the nightly Bird’s Nest activities.  Just like eating a peach.  You start off immediately with the soft juicy flesh and enjoy it until you hit the pit.  You then turn it to find more of the juicy flesh.  Party all day, take a break and party all night.  Return the next day for more.

So whatever the reason that brings you out to the beautifully manicured grasses of the TPC in Scottsdale, you should enjoy the fact that the Valley hosts the most attended PGA event of the year.  Now while you’re still pondering my fruit analogies to golf, I’m going to leave the bowels of the TPC Clubhouse  media center and enjoy some birdies, beer and, and well, you know.

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