Golf News for Thursday, January 29, 2009 | Daily Golf Blogs

Mike Bailey: The FBR Open's 16th: Truest of stadium golf

This is really cool. This week, we're talking 15,000-20,000 fans on one hole after officials of the FBR Open added around 3,000 general admission bleacher seats and completely enclosed the par-3 16th at The TPC Scottsdale. Completely surrounding a hole with bleachers is indeed a first for the PGA Tour.

Now this is real stadium golf. On one hole, which was crazy enough already, you've got more fans than you get at most NBA games – and they're a heck of a lot more boisterous.

This is also a move that perhaps helps players who are trying to tee off on the 17th as well. Enclosing the hole could help shied the 17th tee from some of the noise.

To get to the 17th tee now, players will use a new tunnel added underneath the new seats. A tunnel from the 15th green to the 16th tee has been used for years. There's also a new 51-foot wide new video board display on the west side of the hole. Gotta love it.

It wouldn't be cool to see this every week, but for one tourney out of the year, the unwritten rules of golf fan decorum are deposited in the hazard. I look forward to it every year now.

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