Was lucky enough to go twice. Congrats!!!
Consider the following two cents.
-Prepare for a long day. You’re probably staying far away but you’ll still want to be there waiting in line when the gates open. Like any sporting event the traffic and parking isn’t very efficient but doable.
-Shop right away! Make a list and only get stuff for your core people. Anyone else can get the same stuff online and pay themselves. They will store your merch for you so you don’t have to lug it around.
-Bring (the right kind) or buy a chair. Find a spot to place it for the day. Someone will likely sit in it sometime during the day (as you can do with someone else’s), but it is true that chair will still be there later on and likely will be empty. Find a place for later on in the day. My favorite spot is by the pond on 16. You can also see what’s going on at 15 and if you’re looking to beat some of the crowd getting out of there it is likely close to your exit from the grounds.
-Walk the course and grounds right away. Even with tee times off both tees the golf course takes a couple hours to fill up with players.
-Don’t forget about a trip by the clubhouse and the practice ground. Amazing place and some of the best up close views of players.
-You know all the places to go for views but two recommendations are the tee box at 18 looking through that tiny gap in the trees to the fairway and the crosswalk in the fairway of 15, trying to imagine hitting a shot into that green.
-Eat and drink everything. It’s all awesome and cheap and the cups are great memorabilia.
-Wear cyclone stuff! Everyone wears college gear and you get tired of SEC and ACC junk. I guarantee you will see people wearing big 12, big 10 gear and even hawk stuff. It’s a great convo starter with fellow “patrons”. You may even see a fellow cyclone walking around!
What a trip it’ll be!! Don’t fret about doing it perfect. It will still be one of the coolest things you’ve ever done. No matter what you’ll be trying to figure out how to get back again in the future as I am with my father someday.
I've been fortunate to attend 3 times. 2 Monday practice rounds & a Friday round. I echo everything that is said above. What I will add is:
1. treat it as a museum & don't spend too much time at any 1 location
2. wear comfortable shoes. You are either walking up a hill, down a hill, or sideways on a hill
3, Regarding where to stay, I've flown into Charlotte all 3 times the day before & made the 2 hour trip the next morning twice....easy drive (think Ames to IC). 1 trip we cut the drive in 1/2 & stayed in Columbia SC & then made the 1 hour drive the morning of the tournament. If you get too much closer to Augusta, hotel rooms are either sold out or are stupid expensive.
Enjoy!
