I Spent the Day at the PGA Championship: Here's What to Avoid
The PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club is well underway with moving day offering the world's best a chance to surge up the leaderboard and get into contention for the final round on Sunday.
A number of golfers have taken advantage of the perfect playing conditions on the course with golfers like Chris Kirk, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele making a sizable charge.
Advantageous conditions and much more friendly pin locations are making low scores possible, but Aronimink is still showing its teeth with three golfers at three-over for the day, another at six-over and the poor Brian Campbell pulling up the rear at 16-over for the tournament and 12-over on the day.
As the golfers settle into the challenging course, spectators lining Aronimink's more than 7,000-yard sprawl will want to avoid the mistakes I made while attending the first round.
I was invited to attend the first round of the PGA Championship as part of the Visit PA campaign highlighting the many sporting events coming to Philadelphia over the next few months - like the PGA Championship, World Cup and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
While there, I made a few mistakes.
Don't Wait to Spend at the Merch Tent
Upon arriving at the course, the welcome entrance sends you straight into the merchandise tent which can be better described as a massive sporting goods store rather than just a measly tent.
Apparel from seemingly every major brand from Peter Millar, which was the most-crowded section amongst golf fans, to Adidas to Nike were chalked full of eerily similar choices and shirt patterns. While hard core golf fans know the rise in cost of apparel over the last few years, those new to the game will get a slight case of sticker shock while staring down the barrel of a $135 shirt.
The hats were the most sought-after item in the tent, with hoards of fans going against the crowd in order to grab their wanted item before it was gone.
When I arrived just after 8:30 a.m. ET, the crowd in the tent was strong. Seemingly hundreds if not thousands of golf fans were packed in like sardines just hoping for the chance to spend a few hundred dollars in the gift shop.
I returned to the tent hours later, around 2 p.m. ET, hoping to locate a token of my appreciation for my wife watching our nearly two-year-old daughter for the week while I wondered around the year's second major. The seemingly perfect gift caught my eyes, but not before a woman was able to jump in and grab the necessary size.
Don't Get Stuck Chasing the Stars
Not long after leaving the merch tent (my first attempt, that is), I meandered past the 18th green in between holes No. 9 and No. 18 as I attempted to find the Visit PA suite flanking the 17th green and 18th tee.
Gary Woodland, Jason Day and Sam Burns were making their way from the fairway onto the green on the 18th hole at the time, causing a massive road block of fans attempting to sneak a peak at how the pros go about their business on the greens.
As Keith Mitchell, Billy Horschel, Ian Holt made their way off the 18th green to the front nine, a fracas of fans made it nearly impossible to walk down between the 9th and 18th. After finally ambling down the 18th, I attempted to cross, but was stopped in my tracks by officials holding off the walkway while Cameron Smith battled with an errant tee shot.
As Smith, who eventually made bogey on the hole, spoke with a rules official and took nearly 20 minutes for his next shot, the crosswalk was closely guarded. A return around the 18th would have wasted even more time so nearly a half hour was wasted attempting to get across the fairway.
Following a marquee group with big names can generate excitement, but also a healthy wait with a potentially limited view. Those hoping to just catch a glimpse of the course should follow a lesser-known group or simply navigate their way around the course while actively avoiding groups containing the like of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, among others.
Don't Spend $35 on a Cocktail Just for Memorabilia
My final piece of advice is to protect your wallet. If you plan on spending big at the merch tent, I'd avoid getting lured into a $35 cocktail just to hold a plastic cup featuring the course layout for the rest of the day.
That piece of advice should be taken with a small grain of salt as I thoroughly enjoyed the Elijah Craig small batch, black tea and lemonade cocktail that resided in the plastic cup for a grand total of 20 minutes before it was gone, leaving me with the sticky remains of freshly pressed lemon juice coating the cup.
The cup, meanwhile, will likely see the inside of the dishwasher for a handful of washes before the decals start peeling. Wanting to own a piece of the PGA Championship is a problem, but paying the price of two New York City cocktails for a plastic isn't the best use of $35.
This list isn't the complain, attending the PGA Championship in person is well worth it to see the scale and enormity of the venture alone. It's simply to explain some pitfalls that may come with the territory of attending a major.
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This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 11:09 AM.