2/10/2022 - By Mike Hess

The Waste Management Open

The Waste Management Phoenix Open has been a staple for the greater Phoenix Area for nearly ninety years. The tournament history is lined with legends like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, and Byron Nelson to name a few. The great achievements of these past champions continue to reverberate with the thousands of golf fans that come to cheer for this generations group of up-and-coming PGA Tour Players. The TPC Scottsdale Stadium Coursewith its green grass, and desert landscapes provide a beautiful contrast to the adoring fans of the game of golf, in the desert and around the world.

History

The Phoenix Open began in 1932, but due to lack of local support, the tournament was discontinued after the 1935 event. It took a few years for the tournament to be revived thanks to a Mr. Goldwater Sr., and the famous Thunderbirds Volunteer Group, which is still active today in running the Phoenix Open. 
Over the tournament’s 85-year history, the Waste Management Open has been known by many different names, including the Western Open, the Arizona Open, the Ben Hogan Invitational, the Phoenix Open, the FBR Open and now the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The tournament has been played at Phoenix Country Club, Arizona Country Club and TPC Scottsdale. The TPC Scottsdale venue has been home to the tournament since 1987. The 2021 tournament will mark the thirty fourth year of the competition, and currently sits as the longest tenured TPC course to host a PGA tour event.

Scale and impact

TPC Scottsdale is the most fan-friendly venue on the PGA tour and attracts the largest galleries of any golf tournament in the world. The four-day event typically hosts anywhere between 700,000-800,000 people. As one of the most popular events on the PGA tour, the Waste Management Open creates a positive economic impact of $400,000,000 + for the surrounding communities of the greater Phoenix Area. In addition, in 2020 there was over $14,000,000 raised for local non-profits.
The Waste Management Open for the past several years has been at the forefront of recycling and waste generated from the tournament diversion. Hence the nickname of the tournament as the “Greenest Show on Grass.” This waste diversion management plan keeps 100% of the waste generated from the golf tournament out of the landfill. This includes over 62% of the waste generated from the tournament being recycled, 22.5% of the waste material is composted, 12.8% of the waste is converted into energy, and a little over 2% is donated. Of the re-used and donated product 12.7 tons of unused food is donated to local non-profits, over 120,000 square feet of signage reused, and 7.35 tons of building materials is donated to local organizations.

Q&A session with Brandon Reese - Director of Agronomy at TPC Scottsdale:

1. What is the length of time it takes for the entire set up of the tournament?

Historically we have started in October as the seed is going down. This year we began rather early and really started in September due to some logistical challenges. This year the total time to build out and tear back down will be about 9 months.

1. What is the general recovery time after the tournament, and what agronomic products are used to aid in the recovery?

Most of the recovery is minimal from a turf standpoint. We have done several different things to help this, including not overseeding under most structures. We do fight some of the traffic areas where large amounts of spectators move through. In those cases, it is more a soil remediation where we are incorporating Harrell's Cal Plus, Stress Relefe, EarthMAX® Organic, and Soil Enhancer.

3. Can we get a brief overview and history of the tournament?

The tournament as we know it (run by the Thunderbirds) began in 1939. Often referred to as the rebirth of the Phoenix Open. This will be the 35th consecutive year that the Phoenix Open will be played at TPC Scottsdale. Past Champions include some of golf’s greatest: Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Phil Mickelson, and Brooks Koepka to name a few.

4. How many volunteers does it take to run this tournament?

We utilize anywhere from 30-40 volunteers to assist in the Agronomy Department. There are thousands that it takes to host the actual tournament and many people do not realize that.

5. How many spectators are there on average for this tournament? Secondly, I believe this tournament holds the records for most fan attendance. Has the tournament eclipsed 1,000,000 spectators yet?

Annually there are between 700-800 thousand people that come through the gates each year, possibly even more. That said, I do not think that we have eclipsed 1M for the week, but I am sure it is only a matter of time. This is the largest attended sporting event in the world, outside the Olympic Games.

6. How many years have you overseen the tournament?

 This will be my 6th year involved with the WM Phoenix Open. Prior to this year, I was the Golf Course Superintendent. I returned after a 6-year stint in New Orleans as the Director of Agronomy this past April.

This is an incredible event that all fans of the sport should be able to experience at some point. Whether it's for the competition itself, the spectacle of the sheer size of the event, or the history it envelopes. There really is something for everyone at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.