whisperingbill said:
I understand how incredible Augusta is, and that it's on everybody's bucket list. I hear how much different it is when you see it in person vs. on tv. I truly hope everyone who wants to go eventually gets a chance to go. I had a chance to go this year for all practice rounds and every day of the tournament, and I had to pass. I did get to pick up my friends that went for the whole week at the airport late Sunday night after the last round. They were EXHAUSTED and DELIRIOUS. They tried following their favorite player or players, and it was just too much. They were just constantly running from hole to hole, and then not being able to see the shots because of the crowd size. So, if you do get to go, I advise doing the seat thing, not the following thing. The Newtwork coverage is just incredible now, and offers much more golf viewing than being there watching in person. But I understand wanting the experience of being there. I am just that guy who enjoys everything "Masters" at home with my BBQ pitt fired up all weekend and a pot of B-1's pinto beans cooking while watching on the big screen. ....
This sounds more like they're just rookies at attending in-person golf tournaments. If you try to follow your favorite players on every hole and do that basically twice throughout the day for the early and late groups, you're going to walk a half-marathon over the course of the day (at any course). Not everyone is in shape to do that for multiple days in a row, especially on a course with that much elevation change when they're probably not drinking enough water. Mix in drinking and lack of sleep and of course they're exhausted. Very few people go for all seven days though.
On any tournament I go to, I typically find a group to follow for about 9 holes early in the morning, then switch and follow another group to follow for 9 holes or until I find a place with interesting/challenging shots to post-up on the ropes and watch all groups come through for the next few hours. At the PGA in Tulsa I did this and still walked 9-10 miles each day.
