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PALM BEACH GARDENS — Fans attending the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches this year will notice significant changes on the course.
The grounds will include fewer grandstands and suites as declining attendance and the PGA Tour looking to make a profit on the event they took over before the 2024 tournament has led to a reduced buildout.
“I don’t want to run from the fact things are changing,” said Todd Fleming, in his first year as Cognizant’s executive director. “Decrease doesn’t mean worse off. Decrease means we’re being honest with our demand and for those (attending) it means they’re going to get closer to the action and have a better experience.”
Fleming is the fourth executive director in as many years for the event that has suffered in recent years when it comes to the field and attendance. Much of that, however, is on the PGA Tour after it placed the tournament, formerly known as the Honda Classic, in one of the least desirable spots on the schedule.
Two years ago when American Honda ended its 42-year relationship as the event’s title sponsor and the PGA Tour’s Championship Management Division assumed control of the event.
That led to Cognizant, an IT and consulting company based in Teaneck, New Jersey, signing on as title sponsor through 2030.
That led to a significant impact on how the tournament – which starts Thursday at PGA National – is branded and operated.
“A top priority for Todd and our team is to present the event in a way that is more representative and reflective of Palm Beach,” said Jared Rice, senior vice president of the Championship Management Division, which oversees several other events including the Presidents Cup, Tour Championship, Players Championship, Sentry and St. Jude Championship, which is the first FedEx Cup playoff event.
“We will review what we do this year. We will change. We will evolve. But we will grow the event. We will improve the event on an annual basis.”
Tour used drones, boots on ground to study 2024 event
Championship Management assumed control of the event about three months prior the 2024 tournament, not soon enough to make a significant impact other than striking a deal with Cognizant as the title sponsor. The tour used the week of the 2024 tournament as a scouting mission, examining drone footage and photographs; eliciting input from the marketing and communications teams, and Fleming, who walked several miles each day taking notes as to what was and was not working, especially when it comes to fan experience.
What the tour found was a tournament incurring unnecessary costs as it lost some of its luster from its heyday. The days of announced attendance figures of more than 200,000 for the seven days are gone, unless, of course, Tiger Woods ever returned to play the tournament that is about a 30-minute drive from his Jupiter Island home.
As a result, an event that was a leader on the PGA Tour for many years when it comes to fan experience and community service – much of that driven by the excitement of the world’s top-ranked golfers like Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy in the field – has been scaled down.
One area, though, that was not suffering before the tour took over was charitable donations. Those, in fact, continued to rise, peaking in 2023, the final year as the Honda Classic, with a record $7.2 million distributed. Last year, that number dropped to about $6.5 million.
So even before 2024 winner Austin Eckroat raised the crystal trophy Monday morning after Sunday’s play was interrupted because of rain, changes were being planned.
“We had to be honest with ourselves,” Fleming said during a tour of the Champion Course last month. “There was not a demand for the products that were there to be purchased.
“There was a lot of wasted buildout that was driving costs to a scenario that I’m not comfortable with and wasn’t necessarily enhancing the fan experience. Anything you see out here it’s been built because it’s been sold.”
The objective was fewer stands and more green space that allows fans to get closer to the action.
And less buildout means the tour is saving money – and lots of it.
“Until the demand really gets back to where we needed to be, financially you got to think through everything,” Fleming said. “To me, this is a better experience that has a business benefit to it.”
With the number of events under Championship Management’s umbrella growing, Rice said the tour is taking ideas that work at some tournaments and applying them to others while doing it “through the lens of the local community.”
That means while a blues festival off the 12th fairway works at the St. Jude Championship in Memphis, that’s not the case at Cognizant. But what might work in Palm Beach County is establishing the Yellow Flamingo Club, named to honor Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus of North Palm Beach.
“Everything is on the table every year,” Rice said. “Details matter. There is shared voice, there’s accountability, and every idea is considered. That starts from the moment a fan buys a ticket to the time they leave on Sunday evening after the final putt.”
Major changes to Bear Trap, 18th hole
For the golfers, the Bear Trap, is a hellacious three-hole stretch starting with No. 15 and ending at the Champion Course’s signature 17th hole. Golfers, and fans, are greeted by a 7-foot-tall, 700-pound statue of a menacing bear and a plaque that reads: You are now entering “THE BEAR TRAP.”
“It should be won or lost right here.”
Below is the signature of the man who uttered those words: Nicklaus, the man known as the Golden Bear and for whom the Bear Trap is named.
But when it comes to the social scene and fan experience, the Bear Trap is the name given to the grandstands and suites around the 16th green and par-3 17th hole where fans gather to take in the scene, satisfy their appetite, imbibe, and perhaps place a wager on which caddie will step onto the 17th green first.
And watch some golf.
The most noticeable changes when it comes to the buildout will be at the Bear Trap, and the 18th hole,
The Bear Trap still can accommodate about 1,000 people, but some of that now will be on the grounds and along the ropes with the grandstands and seats being reduced to one deck.
The public grandstands on the 16th green have been removed and the seating around the 17th hole has undergone major changes.
In recent years, the stands running from behind the tee box around to the back of the green completely enclosed No. 17. Now, breaks between the structures will allow fans to stand closer to the tee box.
The hole still has a stadium feel, just not a Phoenix Open No. 16 feel.
The hole still includes several venues like Titos, which is open to the public; the 1909 terrace, named for the year Palm Beach County was established; the air-conditioned CIBC Champions Club; the Cognizant suite; and the Yellow Flamingo Club. Additionally, several cabanas have been added near the tee box.
“We’re opening up our best hole to allow people to get eyeballs on it,” Fleming said.
Even more so at No. 18 which has significantly changed. Fleming estimates more than 1,000 seats have been eliminated leading up to and surrounding the green with fewer grandstands and all now one deck.
“What I saw last year, Sunday before the rains came and Monday, nobody sat in them,” Fleming said about the grandstands.
Instead, many opted to get closer to the action along the ropes. Removing grandstands along the fairway allows fans vantage points from the grassy, hilly area.
“I want people to feel like they’re in the action,” Fleming said. “So using the natural contours and the elevation changes we have from the topography allows me to pull you closer to the greens and tees.”
The Nicklaus-inspired Yellow Flamingo Club also has a suite behind the 18th green. Nicklaus, who won this tournament three consecutive years (1976-78) when it was held in Lauderhill, often wore yellow on Sundays to honor Craig Smith, a friend’s son who died from bone cancer. That inspired the Play Yellow campaign, which helps raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Membership to the Yellow Flamingo Club includes valet parking and all-inclusive food and beverage at the Butcher’s Club restaurant inside PGA National and the suites on the 18th and 17th greens.
The Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation remains the primary charitable beneficiary of the tournament.
“Over the last 11 months we’ve worked closely with the PGA Tour to rebrand and create a new experience that I think fans and players are going to love,” said Thea Hayden, Cognizant’s chief marketing officer. “That up-leveled experience is going to draw a lot of attention and it’s great for the future. It’s a new foundation we’re setting for the future.”
Fans now can see golfers on range after entering grounds
Other changes on the course include removing the fence that blocked the view of the driving range after passing through the main entrance. Fans now can see golfers warming up as they enter the grounds.
“People need to feel like, ‘I’m close to them,’ ” Fleming said. “I want people to feel connected.”
The Champagne Lounge has moved from behind the 10th tee to between the 10th tee and 9th green in order to lengthen the 10th hole. The hole was made a par-5 last year and played about 530 yards. It now is about 550 yards.
Three fan villages have been added, between holes 12 and 16; close to Nos. 10, 4 and 17; and by the 18th hole.
Tents, signage, markers and everything else inside and outside the ropes will be color-coded for the first six holes (pink), middle six (orange) and final six (teal).
“Our team is focused on integrating the community’s character into every facet of the tournament with vibrant colors, exclusive food and drink offerings,” Fleming wrote in an editorial that ran in The Palm Beach Post.
Championship Management’s flagship event is the Players Championship held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. Rice said the blueprint to run Cognizant, and many other events, can be tied back to The Players.
“What we did at Players – top food destinations on 12 green; wine and dine on the ninth fairway; autograph zones in close proximity to entry points for kids and families; accessibility improvements for kids, families, disabled, military – is not dissimilar from what we’re talking about here,” Rice said.
“Build programming around the golf course so fans feel like we’ve given them multiple days of entertainment and value through providing them great places to go watch golf.”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches making changes to boost fan experience
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