Golf Tournament at WDW

[minnierealtor]

DH is a big golf fanatic. He watched the golf tournament on tv this past week and now wants to go down next year to watch. Has anyone done this? If so, how do you access these locations if you normally take ME and don't have a rental car. It would be great if they played at LBV course but I think they only play at the Palm or Magnolia.

 

[jimmacmn]

Years ago, they used to play one of the rounds on LBV. As a matter of fact, The year Tigger Woods turned pro, we sat on our deck at OKW and watched him play through the hole we were on. They have changed the format of the tournament since then and now only play on the Palm and Magnolia.

I don't know if they have any special shuttles set up for the tournament (I would be surprised if they didn't), however, it is not to difficult to get to the Palm/Magnolia area. A taxi is probably the most direct method. Probably $20.00 max from anywhere on property. The Palm/Mag are pretty easy walking distance from the GF and Poly. Take a resort bus to either of those locations and a short walk and you are there. The Shades of Green resort is right at the golf courses (it used to be the Golf Resort/Disney Inn), but those buses are operated by the Military since Shades of Green is a Military R&R site.

 

[lsutigger2]

My dh and i have gone to the tournament several times. It is a lot of fun, esp if golf is your "love"

you can get day passes or a pass for all of the days. At one time I think there was even a discount for dvc members. Most folks set up 'camp' at one hole and watch as the player come thru. Others follow their favorite player from hole to hole.

Another thought, the tournament is usually looking for volunteers to work. All sorts of jobs are available. My dh did this two or three years. he was assigned to a player and kept score in an electronic device. He really enjoyed the experience. I think there is a way to put your name on a list to do this on the wdw page. Look under sports experiences or golf.

 

[BigTigger]

We used to be at WDW on golf tourney week every year from 98 to 03. It was the National Car Rental tourney the first few and the Funai Classic the last couple. I used to take the bus from OKW to the TTC and then walk over to the courses as the parking was always hard to find and out of the way if you drove (they used the 9 hole course fairways by Shades of Green). Both the Palm and the Magnolia courses are used on Thursday and Friday and only one (having a mental block here - Magnolia I believe) on the Saturday and Sunday. I always liked the early rounds at the Palm as you can easily walk along with a group for the whole round. If you get there early you can do three complete groups in a day. After 5-6 holes, some of the pros know you're along for the full round and if they are having a good round they'll give you some comments on their shots, etc. I always made it a point to be still and silent as I watched and they would respect that and usually talk to you to thank you for being their gallery at the end. A lot of younger players and foreign players are in the field and they do appreciate having some fans. Some are wound tight and some are pretty loose. All in all, it's a good way to see the whole game and the strategies they use. For the weekend rounds I'd do the pick a hole and location and watch the field go by. It's not uncommon to see some of the pro's and their families in the parks or the restaurants at night. One year we went to Chef Mickey's for dinner and the whole upper area was golfer families with Davis Love the only real household name. He was very cordial to the many people who stopped by to wish him well and his kids who were young were having a blast twirling the napkins with the characters.

 

[skm]

My wife and I attended this year's Children's Miracle Network tournament. Tickets were priced at $20 per day or $30 for the entire week (tournament and practice rounds.) Transportation was provided out of the Epcot parking lot. You could take any Disney bus to Epcot and then transfer to the special golf shuttle buses (they were using Disney Cruise Line buses.).

 

[minnierealtor]

Thank you for all the great replies. My husband is so excited to go next year. Our DD is going to be a jr. in high school so she will have to stay home so it looks like we can have a relaxing WDW vacation and DH can watch the tournament without thinking about entertaining DD. It sounds fairly easy to get to the courses so no rental car needed.