There is something strangely civilised but mildly chaotic about pulling into the leafy surrounds of one of the most beautiful places in the world at which to hold a golf event. Mature, tree-lined lanes are lined by spectacular private homes. It is chaotic in that it is the first event of the year in northern Europe and everyone who knows anything about golf wants to visit the West course at Wentworth.
Tuesday was a little early for a seamless entry to the BMW PGA Championship which starts today. Nobody was quite sure where they were going. But beyond the rhododendron hedges and over the cedar gates life went on as normal in the exclusive Wentworth Estate.
I traversed the West Course and crossed fairways of the East, ending up somehow half way along the fifth hole as Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald were preparing to hit their tee shots to the par three. I switched off my engine, rolled down my window and had a quiet, brief chat with a television producer who was also trying to find his way through the estate.
Sergio and Luke hit, I crossed between them and the green and stopped on the other side to let "Tigertracks" set some of their steel platforms onto a soft part of the ground adjacent to the fourth fairway, I assumed in anticipation of soft weather. I was getting a real behind-the-scene glimpse of what goes on in the background before the start of an event.
Grand entrance
As I waited for the track laying I noticed the steam rising from a group of spectators' morning tea at a refreshment stand close to the fifth green. A grand entrance, with elaborate gates that would befit a palace, was placed between all this activity, its inhabitants beyond seemingly undisturbed by the activity outside. It was not a warm May morning in Surrey as the various groupings that make up a golf event eased into their 2013 PGA Championship.
I eventually wound my way to the caddie parking alongside the first fairway of the West. Given my journey I could have easily mistaken my location for Sunningdale New, such was my disorientation from my circuitous search for the West.
Making my way to the driving range I was reminded the PGA Championship is not a normal tournament on the European Tour, it is truly the BMW shining haughtily above the much inferior events on the calendar to date. As I shuffled my way onto the driving range I passed the entourages that align themselves to the biggest golf spectacle in England. I was surprised so many hangers-on had still wangled their way onto the Wentworth range. Every snake-oil salesman and purveyor of anything remotely associated with the game was on the range.
No distractions
All the activity at Wentworth was the reason why my player, Ernie Els, took himself to the less congested environs of the nearby Queenwood Golf Club. It is even more exclusive than Wentworth but without the surrounding mansions. Ernie wanted to hone his game undisturbed.
It was the lady members’ club championship at Queenwood which probably meant it was actually less busy than normal. There was a tranquil atmosphere on the range, in stark contrast to the melee at Wentworth. Some retired football players and a handful of other members were quietly working on their games with little interest in any top golfer doing the same.
Ernie took a break from practice and we wandered into the clubhouse for a late lunch. He came across the commissioner of the PGA Tour of America on his way out. I had seen the secretary of the R& A, Peter Dawson, at Wentworth earlier on. They were in town for the announcement of the decision about the future of the “long putter”. It was a decision Ernie naturally took a keen interest in. So, with January 2016 marking the end of the anchoring of the long putter, Ernie was happy in the knowledge he has some time to wean himself off the long stick.
As I continued my journey around the estate for the pro-am yesterday, this time from inside the ropes and with the cheers of a pro-am gallery echoing through the trees I realised why there was seemingly so much chaos in what is the most tranquil of surroundings; the British public are starved of golf. It is the only time they will see such a cast in England this year. They couldn’t have picked a more idyllic venue.
