Players need thick skin to survive crowds at TPC Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The practice facilities at TPC Scottsdale were overflowing Tuesday with players dialing in the specifications of their clubs and honing their swings and putting strokes ahead of Thursday’s start of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Extra layers of clothing were put to full use as the Valley of the Sun was more like an ice box and is expected to remain that way, at least in the morning hours, for the next three days.

And attention is being paid to one more detail ahead of the first hole of the tournament – players are getting their ears ready.

Dubbed the Greatest Show on Grass, players’ eardrums will get a workout as an expected 500,000 fans this week will make their voices heard at the loudest tournament of the season.

“It’s time to head West to the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Ear plugs at the ready for the 16th. Let’s hear that noise,” Ian Poulter tweeted.

This is where players get booed, ear plugs are handed out and T-shirts are sold encouraging spectators to bring the noise. The drivable par-4 17th has new luxury boxes seating at least 3,500 to the left of the lake bordering the green. The 18th hole is bordered by a beach where revelers will scream while they tan.

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The epicenter of this raucous gathering is the stadium-enclosed 16th hole, home to 20,000 people per day, with an occasional shower of beer cups and the constant ringing of clever chants that can shatter nerves and have players reaching for Tylenol.

In other words, this is the tournament where the golf clap goes to die.

“If you don’t have thick skin, you could be in trouble,” Billy Horschel said. “People are going to yell things at you that you’ve never heard before and some will be hammered and some of those comments can throw you off your game. So you have to roll with it. ...

“This isn’t normal. But you have to embrace the crowds. If you embrace the crowds, they will embrace you and not hammer you too hard. There’s only one tournament like this every year and no other tournaments should try to copy it because you just can’t. I’m not a robot. I will show my emotions and I’ll chat back with the fans and I think you’re so much better off doing that than not doing that.”

Jason Bohn said you prepare differently for the Phoenix Open just as you would prep differently for a major.

“You have to be patient because you know some of the fans are going to say inappropriate things at inappropriate times sometimes, so you have to get ready and block it out,” Bohn said. “ ... At all times you have to focus on what you are doing. You will hear noise right in the middle of your putting stroke or right in the middle of your back swing. Someone is always screaming somewhere or falling down. And it’s never quiet on 16. You just have to gear yourself up before you start your stroke and be ready for everything. ...

“Stuff like that bothers some players but I try to have fun with it.”

Last year Bohn was playing with Jason Kokrak, who stands about 6-5 and was dressed in white pants and a red and white striped shirt.

“And this guy yelled out, ‘You look like a giant candy cane,’” Bohn said. “And he did. And we all lost it. We all laughed and I applauded the guy. Some of the comments are pretty witty even if they are against you. ... If the language gets to be too much, that’s when it gets out of hand.”

The whole week has the feel of the Las Vegas Strip or Times Square – loud, bright and over the top. Which is right up Rickie Fowler’s alley. He hasn’t missed the tournament since he was given a sponsor’s exemption as an amateur in 2009.

“I don’t do anything differently,” to get ready, Fowler said. “I love this event, and I definitely embrace the crowd, the atmosphere. You can definitely use it to your advantage if you’re playing well and kind of feed off the crowd’s energy.

“And it seems like it keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

And louder and louder.