Please sir, can we spend our money?

Calm before the storm

As promised, car wash tips

Yesterday, I promised the secrets to a showroom-clean car from the folks at Eagles Eye. Some of you may be wondering who cares about the cars, but if you attend the tournament you know that the golfers arrive in the hottest Mercedes and other luxury cars. They park in a special area and the cars look clean enough to eat off.

I always thought I kept my car pretty clean until I saw these beauties. I try to wash mine every other week, and wax it once a year.

Who am I kidding? To keep your car looking good, the folks at Eagle recommend washing it weekly and get this, waxing it once a month. Once a month.

Okay, golfing peeps. This was my last post from the tourney. I'm out of here. If you're coming have fun, if you're not have fun wherever you go.

I'm out.

Chillin' in VIP

Volunteers make the tournament go

One of the most important groups working the tournament is the volunteer. Each year, volunteers give so much of themselves to make the tournament run smoothly. They take their tasks extremely serious, whether it's the guy who raises his arm for quiet while a golfer hits or the woman who ropes of the "golfer x-crossing" areas, these are the people the tournament depends on to make the week run smoothly.


Phillip is one such volunteer. He's a tent captain for the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center's concession stand. In a matter of minutes, I watched him handle a woman who wanted to be a cashier and not a food processor, break-in two rookies and make sure all of the condiments stayed dry when it rained. It was Phillip's first year as a captain.

There's starving children in....

I'm in the executive kitchen which sends food to numerous tents. Antwan sauces, not bastes, more than a dozen pans of ribs, and Brian chops cantaloupe. I see the unthinkable. A chef grabs a pan of steamy carrots, rolls, and asparagus in a creamy sauce. He dumps it in the trash.

My eyes bulge.

He returns to the warmer and grabs another pan. My mind screams nooooo. He dumps it in the garbage too. Then another and another.

I'm speechless. Why?

He needs four empty pans.

Troubleshooting with Fitz

Handling the food at a major golf tournament isn't easy. This morning I zoomed around with Restaurant Associates' John Fitzgibbon. The biggest problems of the morning were a leak a terrace tent, the bomb squads request for more trash pick ups at one of the sites and making sure the condiments didn't get soaked in the rain.

My favorite cocktail

Roaming around the Champion Club, I saw so many people drinking Bloody Marys I had to taste one (non-alcoholic) for myself. I'm a Bloody Mary junkie and I'm always looking for a good mix. My favorite is Zing-Zang. The folks from Restaurant Associates use Ocean Spray. It's tasty, but still not as good as Zing-Zang. If, add a little Tabasco sauce and Old Bay seasoning and you're all set.

Any Bloody Mary fans out there? If so, what's your favorite mix?

This is how we do it

Oh yeah, it's Friday and the Champion Club on the eighth green is buzzing upstairs. Bloody Marys flow and the weekend has begun. If you have an upgraded ticket the Champion Club is the place to be. There's food, beer, wine, liquor and most importantly shelter from the rain.