The FBR Open

I was on a little vacation last week to visit my parents in Arizona (which is why I haven't been posting). I had high expectations of wearing shorts and getting a nice tan while playing lots of golf. Sadly, the weather was cool- mostly in the lower 60's. Not too bad, compared to some other places, but not what I was hoping for.

We spent a couple of days at the FBR Open, a PGA Tour event, held at the TPC Scottsdale each year. It was packed with people- the crowds set an all time record, over 170,000 people were there on Saturday. Known as a party with a bit of golf thrown in, I had heard stories about the rowdy crowds at the famous par 3 16th hole. Surrounded by hills, grandstands and skyboxes, 20,000 fans cheer good shots and boo bad ones. Not normal behavior for the PGA Tour- so bad in fact, some golfers refuse to play the FBR!

All I can say is that the stories are true. I spent Saturday afternoon in the crowd at the 16th and we all cheered, and yes, booed the golfers depending on how close the hole they got. It was all good-natured and a lot of fun. From what I could see, the golfers seemed to be enjoying it too.