This week the mighty annual golf tournament is in town, playing out just a mile or so away at the golf course nearby where it is held every year. The idea of being interested in a golf tournament is foreign to me, but it is fun to observe the hoopla simply as a local festive event.
So popular is it that they shut down the soccer fields where I walk in order to use it as parking. This past week they have been busy setting up ropes with red flags on them to create a patchwork of roads and lots on the expansive connected fields. As part of this, they block off the walking path on the back side with metal barricades. Last year it was still possible to weave around them but this year they have extended the barricades far into the nearby (real paved) parking lot where the busses await. They are doing this because of heightened security where they make people pass through metal detectors and inspect their bags. No doubt this is because last year things got out of hand. A lot of people consuming a lot of alcohol during the rainy days of the tournament led to a mud bath on the last day where the organizers questioned the viability of the tournament as it exists (which is basically an open-air cocktail party).
For now---at least until Sunday--my walking routine is interrupted. At least I can still follow most of my normal route, and watch as the private jets fly over ahead approaching Scottsdale Airport, carrying very wealthy people coming to see the tournament.
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