Getting Up Close to the Pro’s at The Hero World Challenge

World-class PGA Tour field? Check. Ferocious, perfectly manicured course? Check. Sunny, warm conditions? Check. It’s a golfer-watchers paradise. But no one was there at the Hero World Challenge. Let me explain.

This past week I was able to attend the Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas. I’d never seen the best in the world play, at least not in person. I live in a part of the country that doesn’t have a PGA event within 300 miles. I’ve seen the Champions Tour and the Web.com Tour, but never the best in their prime.

The field is small; 18 total players. However, not one is currently ranked below 30th in the world. The group boasts over 20 collective Major titles. It is pound for pound, one of the best fields in golf.

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The course at Albany is equally world-class. While rather flat, it bares its teeth with ample water throughout and enormous waste areas that outline every hole.

While there are few plants taller than Dustin Johnson on the whole track, a detour from the fairway will land you right in the sawgrass.

And the greens. Whoa, boy! A tournament official told me they were rolling at 12+. A bold statement but I consistently saw the best players in the world putt as if their ball was filled with liquid nitrogen. A lip out from 4 feet was likely to leave a five-footer coming back. Just ask Rickie Fowler.

The field, the course, the conditions; everything aligned for a golfing Clash of the Titans. One would expect the place to be packed.

It was a ghost town.

Only Tiger Woods, the tournament host, had more than 50 people following him around. The first day I walked with Dustin and Rickie – so good you know them by one name only – and I was able to stand on the ropes with enough room to swing a driver.

You may be asking, “So how can this be?” A better question is, “Why aren’t you booking your tickets to the Hero World Challenge for next year?”

It’s certainly not any reflection on Albany, the PGA tour, or sponsor Hero Motorcycles. Everything about the event is what you’d expect from a first-class operation.

It’s a matter of dumb luck for those in attendance that the tournament occurs after Thanksgiving and well before the Christmas rush. It’s perhaps the least interesting golf week on the calendar.

Pro football is heating up, college football is playing their conference championships, college and pro basketball are in swing, and the real reason. The holiday season has descended to distract every person in America.

Take advantage of this grace period before December devours your attention – I’m begging you. The Bahamas are a tropical paradise. Albany is arguably the best course in the Caribbean. The weather is warm but not hot this time of year. And the tourists have all departed from Thanksgiving or yet to arrive for Christmas. It’s perfection.

There is little doubt in my mind that, should you want to get up close and personal to the best golfers in the world, attending the Hero World Challenge while it’s still in the Bahamas is your best bet. Once it returns to the mainland, you’ll have to go elbow-to-elbow with the sweating masses for a mere glimpse of your favorite player.

At the Hero World Challenge, it could be argued that you get to be the hero of the day. You have the course and the players to yourself. It’s as if they are playing on your own home course and no one told any of the other members.

There may be more famous venues, but there isn’t one that allows such proximity to the players. Finishing the day with a Rum-Dum and your toes in the pink sand isn’t too bad either.