Fortinet Championship focusing on fan experience!

It has been an interesting run for the Fortinet team as they enter their third year as the sponsor of the Fortinet Championship PGA Tour event at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.

Two years ago, the deal was reached to keep the tournament going not long before the tournament took place. It was all hands on deck to get the event off and running. Little was changed as it was easiest to take what the Safeway Open team had done effectively.

Last year, with a year to organize, Fortinet turned the tournament into a big corporate affair for the South Bay based cybersecurity company, bringing in clients from around the world.

That part was nailed as the company praised what they were able to accomplish.

But left in the lurch were golf fans throughout Northern California who had come to love what Safeway had been doing. The Safeway Open had become one of the top fan-friendly events on the PGA Tour.

Arguably it was No. 2 only behind the infamous Waste Management Open in Scottsdale.

That part of the Fortinet Championship was overlooked in year two and many, me included, called out the Fortinet team for ignoring the fans and focusing on clients.

Year three was laid out for the media on July 31 during Media Day at Silverado what we can expect September 14-17 with the playing of the tournament this year.

There are a lot of changes coming as Fortinet now understands the importance of the fans and seems intent on enhancing the experience.

“We are committed to providing a fantastic experience for attendees and supporting the local community,” said Jim Overbeck, the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Fortinet. “We have zeroed in on the on-course experience.”

They certainly appear to have built a solid approach to the fan experience.

There are three major areas of importance that will be new this year, all positively enhance the fan experience.

1) Parking. Parking for any PGA Tour event is a major pain. This might turn out to be one of the best anywhere. Silverado is going to close five holes in the South Course for a parking lot and fan activities. That will in turn give the fans/spectators the closest parking of perhaps any PGA Tour event. The daily parking fee is only $25, a bargain for professional sports. It will allow parking close to the concert venue, making it much easier to get access to your cars following the event. It promises to be much easier than waiting in long lines for shuttles.

2) New entrance. The fans will be able to get out of their cars and walk a short distance to the entrance by the second hole on the South course. In addition, once they enter the grounds, they will be right in the middle of Fan Village, and close to the concert stage. There will be several food options like Bouchon Bakery Cookies, Model Bakery English Muffins, the Original Burger Dog, El Porteno Empanadas, and sweets from The Chocolate Dippery.

There will also be merchandise sales, and bar areas, all serving as a meeting place before or after the tournament.

The Fan Village will also be close to the concert venue and will be open until the concert is over. As of right now the only concert announcement is for Friday, September 15 where the headliners will be country superstars The Brothers Osborne.

The Saturday night concert should be announced in the next 10 tens, but it was teased to be a big group/artist from the 90’s alternative rock genre.

3) The South course will be re-routed for the tournament, making a better walking trip for the spectators that choose to follow a group. Hole Nos. 1-7 and No. 18 won’t change from the regular course routing. One of the changes is No. 11 – the signature par 3 over water – will now become No. 17.

“We didn’t have a par 3 in the last three holes and with that the 11^th, it wasn’t shown much on TV,” said Andy McDowell, the Executive Director of the Fortinet Championship. “The re-routing now gives you a much better five-hole closing route to walk.”

When I initially heard about the rerouting and saw the diagram, I didn’t get it. But when we played the course at the Media Day it made total sense.

In the regular design the last five holes traverse almost the entire course, now they are all close together, making it much more efficient to walk along with the groups as they close it out.

Plus, it is correct that No. 11, which is the signature hole for the course, got little TV time. Now as No. 17 it will be prominently shown on the broadcast, and it will play well on television.

As for the field of players, as the first event of the next season it’s always tough to draw all the top ranked players but the location is a big factor.

“There are what, 40 different tournament sites but there is only one Napa,” said Overbeck.

One player who will be at the Fortinet is two-time defending champion Max Homa. Homa is also sponsored by Fortinet and was originally lured to the tournament by his wife Lacey – at least according to Overbeck.

“Some of the players are really tired at the end of the season and want to take some time off,” said Overbeck. “Max told Lacey he was tired, but she told him, ‘We are going to Napa.’ Then they came here, and he won the tournament.”

As for Homa, who joined the press conference via teleconference, it is not a tough decision.

“We pencil this in as one of our favorite tournaments each year,” said Homa. “It’s an easy sell.”

When asked about the re-routing of the course, the two-time defending champ answered predictably, drawing laughter from the media.

“I wish they would keep it the same,” said Homa. “That would have been alright with me.”

This year there are some players like Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland that may need tournament points for their status on the PGA Tour could end up in the Fortinet.

In addition, the Ryder Cup takes place September 29-October 1 this year. With the Tour Championship ending August 27, that leaves a month off for the players.

The Fortinet sits conveniently in between – two weeks after the Tour Championships and two weeks before the Ryder Cup. It’s the only event scheduled and would be the perfect time frame to keep their games sharp.

Keep checking back with ACES as we will update any new player commitments.

For more information on the tournament or to buy tickets, please visit www.fortinetchampionship.com.

By Dennis Miller