I camped out at the 16th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open to see if it really is the biggest party in golf

The 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open has earned quite a reputation.

If you know anything about the Waste Management Phoenix Open, you know about its reputation as the biggest party in golf.

At the center of that shindig is the No. 16 par-3 Coliseum hole at TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course, featuring the most raucous fans the gentleman's sport has to offer.

Last year, fans cheered on Sam Ryder’s ace by throwing beer bottles across the green.

—PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 12, 2022

 

As players walk to enter the stadium, they are greeted with a reminder: This is "The Loudest Hole on Earth."

On Thursday of the 2023 Waste Management Phoenix Open, I decided to check out No. 16 for myself.

I was already in Phoenix for the upcoming Super Bowl between the Eagles and Chiefs, and on Thursday, attended the first round of the WMPO on far too little sleep, hoping the party would be enough to keep me going.

It certainly did.

The stadium hole is split into different seating sections. The majority of the hole is surrounded by a three-story club complex.

The other, more infamous section of No. 16 is the general admission area, where any fan can get a seat as long as they get there early enough.

I started my day on the club level, taking a tour around all three floors before the first groups arrived at No. 16.

The place is filled with a comical amount of bars.

I walked all three levels of the club area of No. 16 before a golfer played a shot at the hole. In all, I counted 20 bars on the first floor, 25 bars on the second floor, and 27 bars on the third floor.

While there's a chance my count could be off slightly, that's an estimate of 72 bars on one hole that measures just 163 yards long.

This is before we even get to the general admission area, which featured no bars, but as many beer vendors per capita as I have ever seen at a sporting event.

Even just past noon on Thursday, liquor was making itself available.

In the club area, drinks were flowing even before the golfers made it to the course. While it wasn't bustling early like the public section was, those who had made it to the stands were having a good time.

Bloody Marys were a popular early morning choice for those in the more exclusive area.

Before the chaos got started, I spoke with bartender Casey, who was working her fourth Waste Management Phoenix Open at the 16th hole.

According to Casey, what people are drinking depends on the time of day.

"If it's morning, people like their Bloody Marys. They like them spicy," Casey explained. "If it's midday, they're trying to get a pick-me-up, that's vodka-red bull. And then you have your people that will stick with beer all day."

There were also food stations around the club complex.

Several stations around the club area were serving up sandwiches and bowls of food for those in attendance. While the food options were not as plentiful as the drink options available, there was no shortage of food to eat.

I grabbed a solid pulled pork sandwich.

I had skipped breakfast that morning to make it to an early media opportunity at the Kansas City Chiefs hotel, and then headed straight to TPC Scottsdale to check out the golf.

Running on a single black coffee, I was fading fast.

This was by no means the best pulled pork sandwich I had ever had, but in the moment, in that context, it was heaven sent.

The pork was hot, the barbecue was sweet, and the bun held it all together. I grabbed a second and felt like a video game character whose health bar had refilled.

But mostly there were bars.

I did not have pre-evening liquor, as is a solid rule to live by for anyone on a work trip.

But there were plenty of opportunities for me to do so if the thought crossed my mind.

The signs on the bars were comically hilarious.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open was intent on reminding fans not to repeat last year's snafu on No. 16, but didn't want to be in anyone's face about it.

In the club area, signs showed the history of No. 16.

Obviously, it took a while for the hole to become what it is today.

The Golf Channel produced some of its studio shows from the first floor.

From behind the tee box, you can see just how daunting the shot is into the green.

And behind the green, there was an angle outside where fans could watch tee shots from another hole.

Seeing the area fairly empty before the golfers reached the hole left me in awe of the infrastructure of the stadium-like construct.

All three levels were a marvel of engineering.

The bars were nice too.

While some views are better than others, I legitimately don't think there is a bad seat in the house.

This angle gives a great perspective of how close the fans must feel to the players on the green.

After touring the club area, it was time to head to the real party.

The line to get into the general admission area was long, even in the early afternoon of the first round.

Nearing the front of the line, fans said they had been waiting for close to an hour to get into the stands.

For fans hoping to skip the line, the only option besides an expensive box in the club area, is the early morning "Run for 16."

—PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 11, 2023

It's been affectionately dubbed the annual "Running of the Bros."

Unsurprisingly, the Waste Management Open takes the management of waste pretty seriously.

Given the long wait to get into the public area, I was ready to suggest that fans go elsewhere to enjoy the course.

No one likes standing around waiting in line, especially when there's great golf being played all across the course.

While my press pass allowed me to skip the line, I walked into the general admission area of No. 16 expecting it to fail to live up to the hype, or at the very least, fail to prove itself worthy of an hour-long wait.

But the atmosphere of No. 16 is undeniable.

If you've thought about going to No. 16, you should find a way to do it. Getting there early or late is probably your best bet. You could very well spend an entire round watching groups go through, or simply go for a beer or two to capture the experience.

But the energy lives up to the hype.

Even in the early afternoon of Thursday, the crowd came ready to party.

Volunteers' efforts to quiet the crowd were fruitless.

The volunteers holding the "quiet please" signs to the grandstand at No. 16 felt more like a novelty prop than any actual directors of behavior.

Beer snakes were a common sight.

Read more: The WM Phoenix Open banned bottles from its raucous par 3 16th hole, prompting a war of beer snakes to break out

A very common sight.

Eventually, I decided I needed to join the party.

This was, without question, the best that a $10 Coors Light has ever tasted.

As I purchased my beer, the fan waiting to get the next one asked the vendor if he could have two cups. He was one of the fans working on a beer snake.

The vendor said he was sadly only supposed to give one cup each. The fan asked if he could have two cups if he promised to tip 25%, and the vendor obliged. When the fan saw me push the tip button as well, he smiled and said, "He needs two cups too."

The vibes were immaculate.

It was still just past noon on a Thursday, but the party was in full swing.

Full disclosure: It's quite possible that as the day went on and the party got more drunk, it would have been less hospitable to my temperament, but at the moment, it was everything I could have hoped for out of the loudest hole on Earth.

It's truly unlike any other hole in golf.

Fans cheered and jeered. Players played to the crowd. It felt like golf crossed with WWE wrestling in all the right ways.

Simply put, No. 16 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open delivers.

Even in the early hours of a Thursday, it was the loudest hold on Earth.

I will be back.