As the 2010 PGA Championship returns to the Whistling Straits golf course near Sheboygan this week, the head of the local chamber of commerce says area business have tempered their expectations about the tournament’s immediate economic impact.
Betsy Alles, executive director of the Sheboygan Chamber of Commerce, the financial gains in the wake of the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits weren’t exactly what Sheboygan was expecting.
“I think we may have been a little overoptimistic,” Alles says. “A lot of people slept in their hotel rooms, went to watch golf and then came back to their hotel rooms to sleep. That didn’t have what you might call a huge impact on our economy. It’s not that we’re not optimistic but we tend to be realistic.”
Alles says chamber members have changed their expectations a bit and feel they have a pretty good handle on what to expect. This time the chamber is looking beyond this tournament for future gains from the exposure a major golf tournament can bring to an area.
“We participate in what I call a ‘come back’ philosophy. … It’s not only the immediate financial impact but the future rewards from the tournament,” Alles says. “This is our chance to showcase Sheboygan. We’ve had people come back after visiting to open a business or buy a summer house. That’s the real reward from this type of thing, the long-term results.”
A study of the economic impact of the 2004 PGA Championship, also held at Whistling Straits, determined more than 300,000 fans attended the tournament in Kohler, generating $76 million for Wisconsin’s economy.
Alles says the PGA event “blows the doors” off any other when it comes to bringing people into the area and she’s happy to roll out the red carpet for what she calls a great opportunity.
The PGA doesn’t share a lot of information regarding their operations but Alles says she believes ticket sales are brisk. “I think allowing kids in for free with a purchased ticket is a great idea.”
During the next decade, six championship golf events will be held in the state. That includes this weeks PGA Championship; the 2011 U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills; the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler; the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits; the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills; and the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
Barry Deach, tournament director for the PGA Championship, calls Wisconsin “a perfect place to hold an event like this” while admitting “I might be a little bit biased but i’ve personally managed major championships all across the upper Midwest.”
Deach says in Wisconsin he’s seen cooperation from all levels of government, from the governor’s office on down to the village level.
Gov. Jim Doyle is planning a Tuesday visit to the course to discuss the impact of golfing and the PGA Championship on Wisconsin’s economy and tourism industry. He’ll be joined by PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka and Kohler Company president and chairman Herb Kohler.
Deach’s primary duty is to ensure that the PGA of America and the host venue meet their mutual objectives and he says Wisconsin understands the unique opportunity major championships provide in both economic impact and residual exposure.
“Oftentimes these same goals are shared by the host community and state who additionally benefit in both real dollars and untold worldwide media and tourism exposure that lasts and builds well before and well after a major championship is held.”
The tournament can also give a boost to state residents looking to work in the golf industry: four golf enterprise management majors from UW-Stout are interning at the PGA this year.
Adam Haese, 22, is one of the four interns who started work July 5 and expect to work for two weeks after the tournament is finished.
“It really takes a lot of manual labor to set up for the tournament. I had no clue. It’s ridiculous,” Haese says.
UW-Stout’s interns are part of a group of 10 who have the formal title of operations assistants. They unload furniture and supplies from trucks for various media and corporate hospitality tents, make deliveries around the course and help set up fencing, along with other miscellaneous tasks.
With five more championship events scheduled in Wisconsin over the next decade, more Wisconsinites will be getting the experience that comes with preparing for events like this.
Recently the announcement came that the 2017 U.S. Open will be held at Erin Hills Golf Course, giving the small community of Erin a chance to gain international recognition.
Ben Fahrenholz, the head golf pro at Erin Hills Golf Course, used to work in Kohler and was a firsthand witness to the 2004 tournament at Whistling Straits and says he will keep a close watch on how things are handled this year.
“We will have representatives from Erin Hills up there periodically throughout the week,” Fahrenholz says. “We can learn a lot about how they handle the infrastructure, the corporate hospitality.”
Fahrenholz says the preparation and planning involved is a bit like planning the Olympic games. “So much goes into a championship event,” Fahrenholz says. “Work starts so far ahead of the event.”
The course does have some previous experience in the limelight: Erin Hills played host to the 2008 Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, conducted by the USGA.
“They (PGA) saw enough of this course to know that they were in good hands,” Fahrenholz says. PGA officials were interested in the course before it was built. “The PGA has recognized we are willing and able to make improvements and changes.”
— By Jim Cryns
For WisBusiness.com
