We had the great good fortune to be able to go to the Arnold Palmer Invitational Golf at Bayhill last week, and it was a great experience.  I can fully recommend it.   Being relatively local meant that we were able to drive and thanks to some very helpful friends, we could actually park in Bayhill itself.

Walking from their home to the main concourse, and seeing the crowds gathering around the practice putting green to watch some putting and then we wandered over to the practice range to watch Ian Poulter and a couple of other golfers ( names escape me), setting up their tee shots.   Two things occurred to me at that moment – one, what a poor golfer I am, and two, these guys are a lot more slender than they look on TV.

The concentration is intense, and it needs to be , with the throng of people moving around behind and alongside the course, and even with the marshals requesting stillness and silence, the hum and buzz of ongoing conversations  is palpable.

Cameras and cell phones are not allowed except on the first day of the tournament, but I did manage to sneak a couple of photos when the stewards weren’t looking.   This view was of the scoreboard as Phil Mickelson was teeing off.

Following the major players , of course, were large crowds of supporters who alternately groaned when their heroes missed a shot -  or cheered , whistled and clapped when they sank a putt, or made a particularly long drive.

Coming from the UK as we do, I found the whole event very reminiscent of the Badminton Horse Trials; beautiful weather, being out in the country( even in Orlando), shopping ( lots of golf equipment and clothing to shop for) and happy crowds walking the course and enjoying themselves.

Colin and I had a couple of jokey photos taken………….      oh, the wonders of Photoshop – take a look …….

me with friends!

We did meet with Mr Arnold Palmer as we were walking out of the event, and we bumped into Bubba Watson ; however, security was very strict around them, and I didn’t have a chance to pull my camera out, so these pictures are the best we can do!

If you are in this area next year, this is definitely an experience not to be missed. Take a sun hat, sunglasses, sun cream, money and wear comfortable clothes and shoes.  There’s a lot of walking if you like following your favourites, and when the sun shines, there’s not a lot of shade.  The players are to be congratulated for keeping their cool in what was close to record heat throughout the tournament.