I can't really add too much to what has been written. We stayed at our condo on Seabrook and I was one of the walking scorers at the championship. Below are my observations.
We tried to rent out our condo for the PGA. Our property manager thought that we could of done real well raising the price for the week. Unfortunately, we didn't get too many bites and I asked her to drop the price a month before the tournament. It still didn't get rented, so the week before the tournament, we decided to stay there. A good move.
The parking logistics were beyond bad. Patrons and volunteers had to park in the tomato fields behind Freshfields. The volunteers got free parking with a parking pass, the patrons had to pay $20/day. The lot was divided into three different lots. A single lane filled/emptied lot #1 onto the road leading to Kiawah, and another single lane filled/emptied the #3 lot. If you were in lot #2 that was in between the other two lots, you were at the back of the line trying to leave. One of the bus drivers had the best line of the tournament, "These people had seven years to plan this out, and thsi solution was the best they could do?!"
Getting to and from the course depended on when you decided to go. Early in the AM got you to the course in roughly 35-45 mintues from the parking lot. Leaving was a challenge.
On Saturday, I was walking scorer for Pat Perez and Marcel Siem. We got to 16 when the horn blew. After a wait, The PGA was called for the day at 6:30pm, and we had to come back Sunday and get ready at 6:30 am. After dropping my equipment off, I decided to time how long it took to leave.
7pm. I just passed the entrance to the Ocean Course and joined the line to the buses.
8pm. Still in the serpentine line, but near the front. People were getting pretty antsy.
8:15pm Got on the bus
9pm Still on the bus. We just passedTurtle Point.
9:20 Got off the bus and in the car. There is a line to get out, but most people have already left
9:45 Walked through the front door of the condo.
I talked with a marshal that lived in Mount Pleasant. He left around the same time I did and got home around 10:15pm. He said that he had to be back at 6:30am, so he got up at 4am to get back to the Ocean Course.
Got back at 6:30am, got suited up and we were in the fairway at 7:30 for the restart.
I had an afternoon group of Luke Donald, Scott Piercy and Cameron Tringale. They were third from the end. Luke's round was the best round that no one saw. We started on #10, and once we made the turn, the marshalls outnumbered the fans. Luke shot 66, Scott shot 69, and Cameron would rather that I not say what he shot. Luke hit the ball with precision and Scott birdied the lasst three holes. It was a little windy, but to witness that type of golf showed how good these guys really are.
My last couple of points, I would say that the Ocean Course is not very fan friendly. I would venture to say, there were not too many people wanting to tromp through the dunes to go all teh way to #5 and #14.
Fans were allowed to bring in one bottle of water, and as hot as it was, there was no where to fill a water bottle. Therefore, you were a captive audience to get anything to drink. There were plenty of places to buy drinks and food, but as hot as it was, you could easily drink a bottle of water per hole that you walked.
If the PGA decides to come back, there are a lot of kinks to work out.