"Hosted Experiences" The First Effort To Welcome Back Golf Fans

Rex Hoggard looks at the “hosted experiences” apparent to viewers duing last week’s Wyndham through the eyes of Tournament Director Mark Brazil. He saw the addition of a few guests to get some sponsors on site and commence what will be a slow, challenging process in eventually welcoming spectators back to tournaments.

“It’s better than nothing and it allowed us to give a special thank you to Wyndham and all the key sponsors who stayed with us,” said Mark Brazil, the Wyndham Championship tournament director. “It wasn’t the 5,000 we planned on a day but I think the Tour has made the right call as far as fans go.”

Brazil built three hospitality-style tents adjacent to the 18th green to accommodate what the Tour has dubbed a “hosted experience.” What that means varies wildly from market to market depending on local and state COVID-19 regulations, but at the Wyndham it meant that 25 guests were allowed to gather outside and 10 were allowed inside the tents.

It seems, at least based on what we know now about COVID-19 spread, that the golf course and even outdoor hospitality areas will generally be safe if spaced. It’s getting to the site—without a long shuttle bus ride—that will be a long term issue for many tournaments.

Oh, and we’ll need some form of rapid testing and a system to confirm one is asymptomatic. And eventually, get everyone inoculated against the virus. No problema!