Covering a golf tournament.. help!

I covered my first Champions Tour event this year. As everyone else said, much more relaxed than a PGA Tour event.
As others have suggested, get the inside-the-ropes armband. And the media center is the best place to watch. But do take some time to go out and watch some golf, especially on Friday and Saturday early in the day.

 

I don't have a lot more to add than what Double Down posted ... inside the ropes is crucial if you want to see anything. Do be courteous to those fans watching, though, and don't stand right in someone's way. The First Tee gets more promotional help from the PGA and SRGAs than most organizations, so you'll have no shortage of storylines and people bending over backward to try to get them more press. As DD said, unless you're covering a specific player of interest, interviews are the least of your concerns at a professional golf tournament. Everyone who matters will have a transcript. We've got a Champions playoff event in our neck of the woods in November. Can't speak to the media relations staff yet, but the folks running the tournament have been fantastic to work with. The LPGA staff is phenomenal as well. They understand the value of getting their events promoted.

 

Again, thanks for all the help. Whole day went very smoothly. The PGA PR person onsite was great in getting me interviews and even getting some quotes from golfers playing at Poppy Hills. Most of the leaders were done before TV came in, but they had laptops there with live scoring so I could monitor the round. And I did ask: My media card did let me go inside the ropes. Crowds were so sparse, though, not a lot of problems seeing. Had most of my story written while the afternoon teeoffs were still on the course, but waited until a late group finished before filing, and spent most of that time BSing with the marshalls.

Debating how I'll cover the final round. Golf channel doesn't start until a couple of hours after the leaders tee off, and would like to see as much as I can in person.

As for my first trip to Pebble ... wow. Fanboi city here. After seeing this place for years on TV, finally getting to see it in person? To use one of our pet phrases, a tradition unlike any other. And this was just from walking along 17 and 18! As I was writing in the press room during coverage, I had to keep telling myself "this is only 30 or so yards away ...."

 

And on Day 2 ...
Watched the last four groups tee off, then went back to the press room to follow along on the web (and get lunch plus sneak in some NFL time). Golf channel broadcast started at 3 and it turned out to be the best way to cover it, with a three-way tie for the lead at one point. Had I followed around the last group as I was considering, I would have missed a lot of the drama. Did sneak down to 18 to watch the final group, partly for the drama, partly to get another peek at Pebble, but mostly because I'd felt I had been watching TV all day. But as we all know, nobody cares how the sausage is made ...

Again, the PGA PR people, as well as the locals, were super helpful, not only with information, but getting interviews as well.

 

Pebble is one of those things that is so much more magnificent live than on TV. I remember walking the course during practice rounds at the 2000 Open and thinking, "No, Mike, this is a real place. This is happening. You're really here."

 

We drove through there on vacation many years ago. There is that one par-3 next to a vista point. I had my clubs in the car. You know, you get that urge. Grab a 5-iron and a ball and take a swing. There and gone in 5 minutes. My wife was going to slap me silly. "Don't even thing about it. You are NOT spending our vacation in jail."