Want a cold plunge recovery? That's just one of the new amenities for golfers this week
When the PGA Tour announced before the 2024 season that tournaments would be providing more amenities for tour players this season, from more on-course restrooms to cold plunge recovery after rounds, officials of The American Express felt they understood exactly why players were asking for changes.
“At the end of the day it is a professional golf tournament with 156 of the best players in the world, and anything we can do to provide services that week that improve that week, whether it is them or their families or their people who are attending, that’s important,” said Pate McCabe, executive director of The American Express event.
But McCabe and his team also felt they were perhaps better suited to meet the new demands than some other events.
“With our unique (pro-am) format and our amateur players, our sponsors who are paying to play or participate, we have always kind of been on that,” said Pat McCabe, executive director of The American Express. “We always want, regardless of what is happening in the landscape of golf, it is important to take care of our sponsors and to take care of our fans and volunteers and all the different amenities.”
More: American Express golf tournament 2024: Tickets, parking, schedule and more
The tour, in response to player requests and perhaps as a counter to the threat from the rival LIV Tour, issued a list of amenities that tournaments must offer players at events this year. Some are straight forward such as more restrooms on the courses for players and complimentary courtesy cars for players at each event. Others are a bit of a change for some tournaments, like access to the cold plunge recovery and added amenities for player’s families and caddies.
World-class experience
In announcing the new amenities to players before the season, Eric Baldwin, vice president of tournament business and fan engagement, specifically listed player, family and caddie enhancements, with the hope of “delivering a world-class experience commensurate with a PGA Tour event.”
At the American Express, there are some new amenities that have required the event to be a bit creative.
“We have built out a brand new locker facility for them,” McCabe said, admitting that the PGA West clubhouse in La Quinta didn’t quite meet the needs for such facilities during tournament week. The new facility, just to the north of the resort clubhouse, is approximately 2,000 square feet.
“In collaboration with the PGA Tour, we’re building out a performance recovery zone for the players so they have the ability to recover after their round with stretching and different cold plunges and stuff like that,” McCabe added.
A new player lounge, next door to the players' locker room tent and about the same size, now overlooks the PGA West practice facility with large windows and an outdoor balcony and is just a staircase away from the practice facilities that serve both the Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament Course. Inside the lounge are lounge chairs and furniture and a large-screen television.
Upgraded food and beverage, with healthier choices at the request of players and caddies, is also a key to the new amenities. But some options The American Express has always offered, including child care and family activities at resorts in the area, remain in place. Those include play activities for children, spa activities for wifes and girlfriends and even date nights for a player and his spouse.
"So anything we can do to for the guys, just stuff like that,” McCabe said. “It is a grind week to week, and these guys are traveling every single week out there on tour, and we want them to feel like they are at home, we want them to feel comfortable, we want their families to feel comfortable. That’s important to us.”
New activities this year will include a caddies’ night sponsored by the Beer Hunter, the sports bar and restaurant in La Quinta.
“We are doing a caddie competition off-site on Tuesday night where they can go and have a little fun and let their guard down,” McCabe said. “Beer Hunter is the sponsor of that event where they can go and play after hours.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: PGA Tour answering players' call for more and better amenities at events
