Tag: 16th hole

Tradition of skipping golf balls across 16th hole during Masters practice rounds actually started with this guy

The innovator of the 16th hole skip returned Tuesday to Augusta National.

AUGUSTA, Ga. —  The innovator of the 16th hole skip returned Tuesday to Augusta National.

Fifty-two years ago, Gary Cowan was playing a practice round with Ben Crenshaw when the pair reached No. 16 tee. Cowan, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, turned to Gentle Ben and said, “Watch this.”

The Canadian skipped a 3-iron across the water, starting a Masters tradition that has lasted half a century.

On Tuesday, Cowan returned to the 16th hole and, alongside countrymen Mike Weir and Corey Conners, shot a pellet across the pond.

“Ben couldn’t believe what I was doing,” said Cowan, reflecting on 1972.
Many Masters traditions have indisputable timelines, such as the creation of the Champions Dinner in 1952, or Sam Snead being awarded the first green jacket in 1949. Other tales have gained legs over time without a surefire genesis.

One such custom is skipping balls over the pond at No. 16.

Ken Green and Mark Calcavecchia claimed to have started the tradition in 1987, until Lee Trevino and Seve Ballesteros one-upped the pair by saying they did it in the early 1980s. Then came photographs of Tom Kite mastering the feat in 1979.

But Cowan, now 85-years-old, with Crenshaw’s backing, believes he was the first in 1972. The Masters official website also credits with Cowan for being the first.

“I was there. It happened,” Crenshaw said. “Gary used a 3-iron, put the ball back in his stance and bam, skipped it straight across the water.”

With Ben’s urging, Cowan successfully knocked three over before Crenshaw – competing in his first Masters – tried to duplicate the achievement to no avail.

A first try went kerplunk. Then a second.

“Ben was playing it too much like a chip,” Cowan said. “I told him, ‘Hit it hard and low,’ and sure enough his third one skipped right across. The crowd went crazy.”

For Cowan, skipping balls over bodies of water had become a favorite childhood game in Kitchener, Ontario. The member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame said, “I always liked to horse around.” So when he got to the 16th tee box, Cowan didn’t think twice about dropping a ball and skimming it at Augusta National.

“Did I think I’d get in trouble?” Cowan asked. “You know, that never crossed my mind.”

Skipping balls across the water to the 16th green

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Fan suffers non-life threatening injuries after fall at WM Phoenix Open’s 16th hole

Tournament organizers didn’t give a specific location where the incident occurred.

A woman suffered non-life threatening Friday during the second round of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale after falling from the grandstands on the par-3 16th hole.

The PGA Tour released a statement after play concluded Friday night about the incident, which Golf Channel’s Kira Dixon shared following tournament coverage.

Tournament organizers didn’t give a specific location where the incident occurred at the 16th hole.

“Today at the WM Phoenix Open, a fan sustained non-life-threatening injuries after a fall at the 16th hole,” the statement read. “Scottsdale fire and bike team paramedics reacted quickly at the scene to give the injured fan immediate medical attention and then provided safe transport to a local medical center for further evaluation.

“The WM Phoenix Open works closely with local law enforcement, fire and medical organizations and the PGA Tour to strategically place emergency units throughout tournament grounds to promptly address health and safety situations.

“We will provide additional details if or when appropriate our of respect for medical privacy.”

The most expensive seats at 2024 WM Phoenix are feet away from tee box on No. 16 and cost $24,000

New in 2024 are by far the most expensive seats in the house.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — You can enjoy the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open from the first-come, first-serve general admission bleachers, if you don’t mind waiting potentially three hours to get in.

There’s also about 16,000 seats in the triple-decker suites, if you’re lucky enough to score one.

New in 2024, though, are by far the most expensive seats in the house and they are mere feet away from the tee box.

“We call them teeside seats,” said Jock Holliman, a volunteer with the Thunderbirds who’s seen everything there is to see at 16. His first year with 16th hole duty was 1997, when he witnessed the famous Tiger Woods hole-in-one.

So who gets to sit in those premium seats?

“Patrons who pay a pretty penny,” he said. “It’s on their bucket list to come to 16 and see the players up close.”

A pretty penny is right. You got $24,000 laying around? Then you, too, can purchase one of these seats for the four days of tournament competition.

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The seats near the tee box on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale for the 2024 WM Phoenix Open. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)

Robert Hughes and a co-worker, who were wearing oversized green hats and seemed to be in awe when the group of Scottie Scheffer, Hideki Matsuyama and Wyndham Clark came through, are two of the lucky few. Their company, Canyon State Electric, has been in business for 46 years and has had a suite on the 16th hole for years. This year, Canyon State also ponied up for two of these seats.

When asked if he knew the price tag, Hughes said sheepishly but with a smile, “We do, yes.”

There are 40 seats in all, and for three of the four rounds, they are positioned directly in front of where the players are teeing off at about 160 or so yards from the pin. The tee placement for Saturday’s third round is generally way up, as tournament organizers try to induce aces from about 105 yards away.

Thursday’s water-logged action made conditions less than ideal but that didn’t stop all the fans.

“Wednesday night two guys flew in from Virginia on the red-eye and they sat our here in the rain all day [Thursday],” Holliman said. “It was a bucket-list deal. They said ‘we gotta come do this.'”

There are often places on a golf course during a tournament when fans can be oh-so-close to a pro hitting his golf ball, but there’s nothing like this.

“Best seat in the house,” said Hughes. “This is the best hole in all of golf, it’s the best party. I’m more nervous than the players. I can’t imagine what they’re going through.”

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What’s it really like to play the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open? This PGA Tour pro explains

Hahn provided some insight to the craziness that is the 16th hole.



SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Augusta National has No. 12. Pebble Beach has No. 7. TPC Sawgrass has the 17th.

All par 3s. All iconic. All a part of the lore of the game.

But for several years now, the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale – normally an innocuous challenge – has become one of the bucket-list places in the game, for pro golfers and fans alike. And there’s really nothing like it anywhere in the game.

It was long known as the party hole at the Stadium Course, but a hole-in-one there by Tiger Woods in 1997 really ignited things. That year, fans surrounded the hole, but the thought of a triple-decker grandstand hadn’t yet materialized.

These days, it’s known as the Coliseum, a mini-stadium packed with close to 18,000 fans, all seemingly breathing down the necks of those golfers who partake in the challenge.

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James Hahn interacts with fans on the 16th hole during the second round of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

What does it feel like to walk through the tunnel? How do you handle all the noise? What about the name-calling or the singing or chanting? And is it really cool for fans to boo you when you miss the green?

James Hahn, an 11-year veteran on the PGA Tour with two career victories, has played the tournament 11 times and made the cut eight times, which means he has had 38 cracks at making an ace on the 16th hole.

During a recent media event, Hahn let Golfweek tag along for the four closing holes, Nos. 15 through 18. It’s the most exciting stretch on the Sundays of the WM Phoenix Open. Hahn provided some insight to the craziness that is the 16th hole.

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Photos: Arena already under construction at famed 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale

The 2024 WM Phoenix Open isn’t for another three and a half months.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — All eyes in the golf world for the next few days will be trained on Marco Simone Golf Club in Italy, specifically the rowdy first hole at the Ryder Cup.

Meanwhile, construction has begun on another golf arena halfway around the world from Rome.

Crews have started the buildout on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale ahead of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open, set for Feb. 8-11.

The famous par-3 hole has become a bucket-list place for pro golfers and fans alike. The 150-yard hole is almost unrecognizable in its normal state.

Crews at the Stadium Course are also already building out the suites and grandstands along the par-4 17th hole as well.

Scene and heard: Saturday’s third round at 2023 WM Phoenix Open

Here are some of Saturday’s best moments from the 16th hole.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — On the eve of the Super Bowl, the WM Phoenix Open certainly drew large crowds and didn’t fall short of providing entertainment.

Friday’s action at the 16th hole warmed up the crowd after a streaker made waves and swam through the water hazards from the 17th hole and 18th hole. With another sellout crowd at TPC Scottsdale for the third round, Saturday was bound to be entertaining.

From crowd sing-alongs to sightings of other sports figures, here are some of Saturday’s best moments from the 16th hole.

A sweet scene

With the second round cutting into Saturday morning, there was plenty of idle time at the 16th hole before the first group of the third round trickled in around noon.

As it got closer for the action to begin, the video boards had a little fun and began a sing-along to the crowd-pleaser, “Sweet Caroline.”

That wasn’t the only tune that the crowd sang either. A group dressed as the Founding Fathers (wigs and all) sang the national anthem that caught on. A few days earlier, a group serenaded Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin with ‘O Canada’ at the 16th hole.

Welcome back

Brittney Griner hasn’t made many public appearances since being released from a Russian penal colony after a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, in December. But the Phoenix Mercury center was at the 16th hole with her wife, Cherelle, on Saturday. Griner had previously made her first public appearance last January when she surprised participants at a MLK Day march in downtown Phoenix.

Griner was interacting with fans at the 16th hole while enjoying the action from between the ropes. Griner still intends to come back to the Mercury this season. The team has yet to re-sign Diana Taurasi and Griner, but traded Diamond DeShields on Saturday.

Sunny times

It hasn’t been a week since Matt Ishbia was introduced as the new majority owner for the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, but he’s already acquainted with one of the area’s biggest sporting events. The Suns have garnered lots of buzz this week on top of Ishbia’s introduction. Late Wednesday night, the Suns pulled off a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant and earned widespread praise.

Ishbia was among many attendees at the 16th hole, including Suns players Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Josh Okogie, and Washington Mystics player Elena Delle Donne.

Ishbia and Paul watched Rory McIlroy tee off as McIlroy finished with a par 3 at the hole.

A gift from below

In a tournament that already has a lot of interactions between the players and the fans, there’s even more going on at the 16th hole.

Golfer Ryan Palmer continued his yearly tradition of treating fans with a golf ball that has $10 attached to it and says “Have a beer.”

Green day

Saturday at the Open means a green out and fans who arrived in the grandstands of the 16th hole received a free green t-shirt. WM and the Thunderbirds will donate money to sustainability-focused nonprofits for everyone wearing green on Saturday.

The large amount of attendees that came for the Super Bowl and the Open certainly contributed to Saturday’s green out with many Eagles fans in attendance.

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Bananas, Waldo and Vikings. Fans go extra yard with 2023 Phoenix Open outfits

Chaos is in style at the WM Phoenix Open, and fans are decked out from head to toe.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Chaos is in style at the WM Phoenix Open, and fans are decked out from head to toe.

Amid the sea of T-shirts, tight dresses and regular golf attire, there are grown men dressed as Disney princesses and in Colonial garb, and one group of Waldos who weren’t difficult to find.

The quartet from Phoenix gathered for a combination Super Bowl/Phoenix Open celebration, admitting they did not come up with their Waldo idea on their own.

“We saw a video from a couple years ago of [fans] storming to run in and there were like 15 Waldos,” said Mitchell Barnes, 24. “We were like, ‘We have to do that.’ We were inspired.”

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Fans at the 16th green at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

One local resident who has been coming to the Open for the last 20 years, brought some new spectators along. Pam Alaaldin brought her college roommate from Arizona State, her roommate’s husband and their five kids to the Open, the group traveling in from Buffalo.

“They had to understand how exciting it is when you’re wearing matching outfits because it just brings it up to a whole other level,” she said. “I provided the free hat and shirt for all the attendees. We like to bring the fun.”

The grass-like hats featured tiny white flagsticks on top while the green shirts each each had golf-themed puns like “We’re here to PAR-TEE!!”

Although many fans around the course sported Eagles or Chiefs gear ahead of the Super Bowl, John Aallen, 42, and his fellow Canadian friends wore the purple jerseys of their favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings.

Standing in an ever-growing line to get into the 16th hole, the group was ready to go with drinks in hand and at one point, tried to remember the name of the Canadian prime minister.

The friends said they have been coming to the tournament in their Minnesota gear for more than 12 years.

“We can’t go to the Super Bowl,” Aallen said, “so we’re pretending like we’re at the Super Bowl.”

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Pivotal par-3 16th at Muirfield Village no longer unbearable during Memorial but certainly is no pushover

It was nearly unbearable until Nicklaus and his team began a major renovation in 2020.

DUBLIN, Ohio – How difficult can the par-3 16th at Muirfield Village Golf Club, at a mere 200 yards at most, play during The Memorial?

In 2020 in the final round, Phil Mickelson laid up 43 yards short on the hole and then putted the ball for his second shot. When the hole measured 173 yards.

The same year, Matt Fitzpatrick, en route to finishing third, purposely tried to hit his tee shots into a greenside bunker the entire week.

“It was just playing that firm that day. I just remember the whole week, it was just really, really firm and it was downwind as well, and it was incredibly hard to stop the ball,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think there was only one man that hit it within 20 feet on the final day, and that was Tiger Woods.

“I think that says it all.”

Since 2011, the 16th has been pivotal in determining who gets to shake Nicklaus’ hand in victory as it has been the toughest hole on the course Nicklaus built in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2020. How tough? There have only been four aces on the hole since 2015. In the 2013 Presidents Cup, Ernie Els was the only player to birdie the hole in singles action as he knocked in a 25-footer.

The hole wasn’t always a terror. For the tournament’s first 37 years, it was a pleasant hole that was not much of a bother. But in 2010, with the Presidents Cup upcoming, the Golden Bear sunk his claws and dug out a lake abutting the green on the left that teamed with three severe bunkers on the right that instantly turned the hole into a monster with plenty of teeth. Especially when it played downwind.

It was nearly unbearable until Nicklaus and his team began a major renovation in 2020 and discovered the shallow green pitched from front to back, and with the surface usually firm, players had a hard time holding the green with tee shots. Especially from 200 yards with wind at their backs.

“Nobody could stop it on the green before,” Nicklaus said. “So we took seven inches out of the center of the green and added seven inches to the back of the green and now the green sits to you.

“It wasn’t fair before. They couldn’t stop the shot. It’s still not an easy shot, but the green will receive a good shot now.”

That’s what the players are hoping for this weekend. If the forecast holds – plenty of sunshine and heat on Saturday and Sunday – the green will be firm. But not a rock, as it was in the past, Nicklaus said.

Jordan Spieth putts on the 16th green during the second round of the 2013 Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Jon Rahm has had his moments on the 16th. The 2020 Memorial champion made an ace on the 16th in the second round and survived a two-stroke penalty in the final round for his ball moving slightly as he addressed the shot in the rough that year. Rahm likes the redo and said the hole is fair but not a pushover. That was the case in 2021 when the hole ranked as the eighth toughest among the 18.

“The new redo makes it a lot easier than it used to be,” Rahm said. “But it all depends on the firmness on the greens, right. I mean, when the greens were as firm as they were in 2020, there wasn’t much you could do. You had to hit it as high as possible and hope for the best, and hope you got up-and-down from long, basically, if you didn’t hit the green.

“Now it’s a little more doable. Still a tough shot, right. Just got to be comfortable with the decision you make, right. I feel like you need to be decisive, choose the club, choose your shot and stick to it because it’s not a big target. It’s a small green, water and bunkers around it.

“But unlike in the past, those up-and-downs are slightly easier than they have been. So it’s not like it’s a hole you’re looking at to make birdie, but I’m pretty sure everybody in the field will take four pars and move on to 17.”

Or as Rory McIlroy said, “just hit it in the middle of green, two putts, take your three and run to the 17th tee.”

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‘You’re going to have adrenaline’: What PGA Tour pros say about playing the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale for WM Phoenix Open

What’s it like to step into the coliseum during the tournament? These pros have some opinions.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The combination of an entertainment-starved crowd happy to be returning to live golf, a picture-perfect afternoon, fantastic weather and a star-studded field made the famous 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open a site to behold once again.

TPC Scottsdale’s iconic par-3 has become one of the bucket-list events for pro golfers and fans alike.

It only plays about 140 yards but it’s surrounded by an estimated 17,000 fans, many who get louder as the day grows longer.

What’s it like to step into the coliseum during the tournament? These PGA Tour pros have some insight.

Leaderboard | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+ | Tee times, TV info

Stage is set—literally—for first Concert in Coliseum on 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale

The 16th hole is one of golf’s more famous holes. On Saturday, the par 3 becomes a concert venue.

Always looking to push the envelope, WM Phoenix Open tournament organizers The Thunderbirds have done just that with its first Concert in the Coliseum.

The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is one of golf’s more famous holes. On Saturday, the par 3 becomes a concert venue.

Construction on a stage started on Wednesday and will take three days to complete. On Friday, the light towers will be installed. On Saturday, it’s show time as country music stars Old Dominion and Thomas Rhett will rock the house in the arena that surrounds the hole.

The two bands will perform on a stage that sits between the tee box and the green.

The gates to the venue open at 3 p.m. local time and the concert starts at 5 p.m..

The event kicks off tournament week. The stage will be disassembled on Sunday and the course will be open for practice rounds on Monday.

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