"So if the PGA of America is considering returning to Kiawah, it should think again and just say no emphatically."

Golfweek's Jeff Rude touches on the miserable time players, media and fans had with transportation, parking and actual spectating of the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah and says once was enough.

Kiawah might be suited for a four-man PGA Grand Slam or Skins Game or two-man Shell’s match or maybe even another Ryder Cup, but it was overmatched when putting on the spectacle of a major championship with 156 players (and their caddies and entourages) because of the infrastructure issues.

Some veteran writers seemed to think it was the worst major ever, and that wasn’t even factoring in the 5 1/2-hour rounds.

“The only way the PGA should come back here is if they have flying buses,” one scribe said.
Couldn’t agree more.

Comments

[Derek P.]

So if Golfweek is considering giving Jeff Rude another assignment, they should think again and just say no emphatically.

What a bunch of cry-babies...

[No Longer Used to be Former S&T Convert]

Alan Shipnuck put it best in a tweet below, sad commentary.

Alan Shipnuck ‏@AlanShipnuck
How scribes evaluate majors: 1) parking/shuttle 2) hotel 3) press room food 4)local restaurants 5) weather 6) good winner? 7) the course

[Nick Adams]

Does he wish they had played at Valhalla this week?? This was the first time there for this tourney. They learned a lot and next time would be much better.

[smails]

Kiawah emphasizes how irrelevant the gate is to venue choices.

[B.I.G.]

I was at the tournament all day Friday and enjoyed it completely. We arrived at 7:30 and drove the speed limit all the way into the parking lot. 20 more minutes and we were at the course. I for one like the fact that the PGA seeks out different venues although they also fall into the old stodgy private club trap as the USGA.

Golf writers hardly ever go on the course. With all the satellite feeds, press conferences live on The Golf Channel, etc, they could just as easily stay home anyway...but then they would have to buy their own shrimp cocktails and beer.

Well done Kiawah from a fan.

[digsouth]

Having worked for many years as a factory rep at major car races, I can attest to the misery of poor infrastructure/transportation problems. Everyone who bitches about the press bitching would have a different opinion if the did it a time or 2.

While I liked the beauty of Kiawah, I can see where it is totally unsuited for an event like this.

[D. maculata]

Hey, digs. I hope you were fortunate enough to see Texas legends in action. Lee Shepherd and the Reher-Morrison boys.

[DTF]

How about a media free major, Kiawah could be the 1st!!

[fyg]

The Ocean Course is great for the modern game and I hope the PGA goes back.

Think we will see that many drivers at Merion next year?

[digsouth]

d. maculata

Yep.

While I am personally a Top Fuel guy, my work was more on parts for door slammers. The Nickens guys in Houston were among the last door slammer guys I really knew on a ''regular'' basis.

[ol Harv]

Very sad that the same writers that push for the PGA and R&A and USGA to think outside the box and be open to new venues or great courses that maybe are in remote areas or hard to get to, are the ones that are trashing Kiawah. I applaud the PGA for probably giving up a significant amount of money because of limited spectators and bringing the event to the Ocean Course, that's what I as a golf fan want these organizations to do. I really hope the R&A has the balls to do the same and award future OPEN Championships to some of the great courses of Northern Ireland and Scotland that also may cause some logistical problems for writers and afford limited spectators. As for the player comments, I still have not read that many unfavorable statements and have heard lots of great things.

[digsouth]

O'harv

The players stayed on the island, I believe.

[Home in Chas]

I live in Mt. Pleasant which is east of Charleston and it never took me more than an hour to get to the course and park. I went Tuesday and Saturday. Just don't understand the outrage. The tourney is for us and the players. Dan Jenkins can stay in Ft Worth for all I care and bash Tiger from his couch.

[ol Harv]

Digsouth, I understand that, I cannot for the life of me understand why the writers did not do the same unless it was just ridiculously overpriced. I know the Sanctuary Hotel on the Island is probably way out of the budget of the average writer and the houses had to be a fortune to rent, but that island and Seabrook have tons of condos for rent. Getting out to the Ocean Course is no doubt a pain in the ass, even when you stay on the island, but I would have thought the writers would have known better than to stay in Charleston. I've been to Kiawah many times and always go into Charleston for a night, but even though they claim it's only a half hour drive that's just not the case. I think the mistake the PGA may have made was not securing enough rooms on both islands at somewhat affordable rates so the writers could have stayed closer without going bankrupt.

[Garland]

I suggest that writers complaining about Kiawah be given their next assignments in Kabul.
Jack considered players that complained about major championship courses to be losers. People he didn't have to worry about. Editors, we think the same of your writers.

[Smails]

I would love to see an Open at Dornoch.

[Saint Pete]

I returned from the PGA Championship with mixed emotions. Certainly the organizers and promoters worked very hard preparing, and the TV coverage was great. However, my own opinion is that Kiawah Island, as elegant as it is (and I have a place there), is not an appropriate venue for a major championship. The island is small and cannot accommodate the size of the expected crowd. I ran into a number of people in restaurants and on the course who were giving their tickets away, rather than trying to return. Some had waited more than four hours on Main Road to get to the parking lot, where they then waited for a shuttle bus and another trip down to the course. When a storm broke out on Saturday, there was pandemonium, since there is little shelter, and the shuttle buses cannot evacuate large numbers of people quickly. I went for a few hours on Thursday and Friday mornings, and then gave away the remainder of my tickets. Fortunately, there's plenty to do in Charleston instead, but I do have some compassion for some I met who had scheduled their vacations around the tournament and expected something similar to the Masters in Augusta, where they've had years of practice, and where there's plenty of shade and refreshment areas. It was a great effort this year, and I love the idea of returning to South Carolina, but I would think that Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach would be able to cope with the logistical issues much more readily than Kiawah. I'm very sorry that large numbers of people were disappointed in the experience this year, but I think it was a great effort, and we learn by trial and error.