Michigan Golf Journal February 2020

25 February 2020 www.michigangolfjournal.com the PGA Tour players, course set up experts, fan feedback, the sponsors, charities, community members and others. “We’re going to have a lot more interactives in the fan zone area, so that will be bigger and better,” Langwell said to MGJ. “We’re going to have more public grandstands, more viewing decks that will be bigger and better. We have a lot of crowds out there, so we’re thinking viewing decks can kind of get people up in the air, not just within Area 313, but beyond. Our Tito’s deck behind No. 9 is going to be bigger and is going to wrap all the way around and actually blend into our grandstand structure. So, it’s about the fan experience.” Fanatics of golf, and first timers, flocked to the Rocket Mortgage Classic by the multiple tens of thousands last June as excitement rose all across the region for the first-ever PGA Tour stop inside the city limits of Detroit. Langwell also touched on the basic plans for the first day of the tournament’s new spot on the calendar – Memorial Day. He added that it should be the best value for sports entertainment in Detroit. One adult ticket for $15 also covers course entrance for up to four accompanying children on Monday and Tuesday of tournament week, May 25-31. Monday will feature a clinic and a BBQ cookout, followed by Tuesday’s traditional pro practice rounds at the celebrity event at Area 313. “So, you can bring five people in for $15 for two days,” he said. “That’s a great value and something that isn’t available to anyone in the entire entertainment ecosystem in the city.” Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner said that leader Dan Gilbert always talks about going bigger and getting better. That’s a philosophy that is driving the tournament as well. “The culture that we have at our organization for 35 years under Dan (Gilbert’s) leadership is that it’s all growth,” Farner said. “It’s all ‘how do you go bigger?’ How do you do things better? How do you have a bigger impact? So that’s the foundation that drives us every day, and we incorporate that into everything that we’re doing, from fan experience, to player experience, to improvements on the golf course, to impact on the community.” MGJ