Alcohol as much of a draw as golf for some attendees
By the time first rounds of golf are underway at Muirfield Village, so are the first rounds of drinks. “This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” said Jim Bob White, 66, of West Liberty in Logan County. “If you don’t start drinking in the morning, you can’t drink all day.”
Over the course of the Memorial Tournament, organizers expect to tap plenty of kegs at 13 concession stands that stock beer. Two spots also serve liquor; last year, they went through 2,200 bottles of vodka alone.
“We work it off walking from hole to hole,” said White, who began enjoying libations with his friends even before tee-off.
Bob Davis oversees three of the tournament’s full-service bars. The beer, wine and liquor start flowing by 9 a.m.
“They’re lining up at 8 a.m. for Jack on the rocks,” he said. “Those are the people just coming out to party. For
them, it’s a social gathering.”
By 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Ieshea Bastian, 35, of Reynoldsburg, was nursing bourbon on the rocks with a shandy on deck.
“From the first 15 minutes we got out here we saw beer,” she said. “When you work hard, you play hard. This is a ‘work hard’ crowd.”
Leeanna Gardner, 33, of Columbus’ Far West Side, ordered the day’s first wine at Pub 18, one of the tournament’s watering holes. She came with her husband, Sean, easily the bigger golf fan of the pair.
“I looked at him and said, ‘I need a drink,’” she said, laughing.
Though there are early birds, most of the 21-andolder fans start showing up around noon, said concessions manager Ben Kerns. And — as is true at any outdoor event — the nicer the weather, the thirstier the crowd.
“At a certain time of day, we’ll be doing more beer and wine sales than traditional concessions,” Kerns said. “But as long as the course is open, we can serve.”
The tournament actively looks for ways to provide spots for fans to hang out when they’re not tailing players around the golf course.
“When you give them a place to gather, it builds the chatter and camaraderie,” he said. “It brings some noise.”
Security makes sure the party never gets out of hand.
Servers are trained to get anyone who’s had a few too many to one of two designated pickup sites for ride-sharing and taxi services, said security director Rob Geis.
“Any type of enforcement action is a last resort,” he said.
White and his companion, Ben Charles, 32, of Urbana, brought along a designated driver to keep them in check and get them home safely.
“We just happened to find out there’s golf here too,” Charles said with a laugh.
“There is?” said White, before the pair clinked cups.