The Masters vibe is not present. So this is not a substitute for that. But in terms of getting to see the course, in a lot of ways I think this was better.
Not nearly as many people or golfers so I never felt in a hurry.
Most of the morning I felt like I had the place to myself. I walked the course in order from 1 to 18 throughout the morning, stopping to watch some golf along the way as I felt like it. Also stopping for some refreshments a couple times. Very unhurried and peaceful. Throughout the morning I made a point to look at every tee shot from the box, every green up close, and every approach from a crosswalk. Mission accomplished.
The golf shop is a f#####g zoo. I went in after we were allowed to reenter. Just too many people. About a 30 minute wait to get in and then inside it is chaos. If you can find a way to avoid this entirely I recommend doing so. For the ANWA they only have the main shop open (the secondary store near the south entry wasn't open). As best as I can tell it was like that all day.
The peach ice cream sandwich is in fact still available but they ran out in the afternoon.
Seems like quite a bit less staff and volunteers than The Masters but they're all as friendly as I remember them being.
After the end of the round everyone seemed to head back toward the front but I went the other way and wandered around for a solid half hour. I re-walked almost the entire back nine (had to swing by Amen Corner one more time).
Aside from figuring out something different on shopping, the only thing I can think of I wish I'd done differently was follow the golf more closely leading up to it. If I get to go again I will consider going to a round at Champions Retreat to get more familiar with the players and the storylines. Also it was a bummer they went off of two tees. Made it harder to watch them play.
In summary I recommend you try to go. Highly recommended.
Not nearly as many people or golfers so I never felt in a hurry.
Most of the morning I felt like I had the place to myself. I walked the course in order from 1 to 18 throughout the morning, stopping to watch some golf along the way as I felt like it. Also stopping for some refreshments a couple times. Very unhurried and peaceful. Throughout the morning I made a point to look at every tee shot from the box, every green up close, and every approach from a crosswalk. Mission accomplished.
The golf shop is a f#####g zoo. I went in after we were allowed to reenter. Just too many people. About a 30 minute wait to get in and then inside it is chaos. If you can find a way to avoid this entirely I recommend doing so. For the ANWA they only have the main shop open (the secondary store near the south entry wasn't open). As best as I can tell it was like that all day.
The peach ice cream sandwich is in fact still available but they ran out in the afternoon.
Seems like quite a bit less staff and volunteers than The Masters but they're all as friendly as I remember them being.
After the end of the round everyone seemed to head back toward the front but I went the other way and wandered around for a solid half hour. I re-walked almost the entire back nine (had to swing by Amen Corner one more time).
Aside from figuring out something different on shopping, the only thing I can think of I wish I'd done differently was follow the golf more closely leading up to it. If I get to go again I will consider going to a round at Champions Retreat to get more familiar with the players and the storylines. Also it was a bummer they went off of two tees. Made it harder to watch them play.
In summary I recommend you try to go. Highly recommended.