US Open for spectators-worst ever

[dontscratch]

The Open this year is the worst for spectators ever!
Having supported the Open for at least 25 of the 39 played,(maybe more),I will say I will be going no more unless it is at another place.
First the seating-there are 2 rows in the general admission seating-while going up there are signs saying watch your step and watch your head-after helping my girlfriend from smashing her head ( she is 5 ' 3") we arrive at the seats-For 2 of the four tables we are able to see there is only a view of half of the table-you cannot see anybody shooting from the right side of the table! For the other two tables on the other side you can see the balls, but not the players because of the lights over the tables.All the people in our row were standing up and leaning over to try to see some of the play on the two closest tables-Now for the arrangement of the tables-they are so close together that one player has to wait for the player on the other table to shoot before they can even sight their shots-These players deserve a much better place to play than being congested like cattle-When leaving you have to make everybody in your row stand up and then it is really tight trying to get by-We drove 120 miles -got there at 10:25 and we were back in the car at 11:50-very disappointing-unless something changes drastically I will not be back for the 40th,if there is even one-sorry for the long rant-

 

[JAM]

The Open this year is the worst for spectators ever!
Having supported the Open for at least 25 of the 39 played,(maybe more),I will say I will be going no more unless it is at another place.
First the seating-there are 2 rows in the general admission seating-while going up there are signs saying watch your step and watch your head-after helping my girlfriend from smashing her head ( she is 5 ' 3") we arrive at the seats-For 2 of the four tables we are able to see there is only a view of half of the table-you cannot see anybody shooting from the right side of the table! For the other two tables on the other side you can see the balls, but not the players because of the lights over the tables.All the people in our row were standing up and leaning over to try to see some of the play on the two closest tables-Now for the arrangement of the tables-they are so close together that one player has to wait for the player on the other table to shoot before they can even sight their shots-These players deserve a much better place to play than being congested like cattle-When leaving you have to make everybody in your row stand up and then it is really tight trying to get by-We drove 120 miles -got there at 10:25 and we were back in the car at 11:50-very disappointing-unless something changes drastically I will not be back for the 40th,if there is even one-sorry for the long rant-

I read on FB that Rodney mentioned the players were having trouble with lack of room, and they were butting butts when trying to shoot. That is a shame.

The Chesapeake Conference Center was ideal, of course, but I think they raised their prices, which wasn't economically feasible to hold the Open there anymore, sad to say.

Another thing, which bothers me as a spectator on live streams, why in the world don't they have a neutral racker for the TV table? I just don't get it. This would be so much more professional. Seeing a player rack his own balls is like watching a bowler rack his own pins. It's crazy!

 

[Donny Lutz]

setting pins

I read on FB that Rodney mentioned the players were having trouble with lack of room, and they were butting butts when trying to shoot. That is a shame.

The Chesapeake Conference Center was ideal, of course, but I think they raised their prices, which wasn't economically feasible to hold the Open there anymore, sad to say.

Another thing, which bothers me as a spectator on live streams, why in the world don't they have a neutral racker for the TV table? I just don't get it. This would be so much more professional. Seeing a player rack his own balls is like watching a bowler rack his own pins. It's crazy!

Your comment brought back an old memory...

My second job at age 12 was as a pinsetter in a bowling alley. If we set pins for each other, the "pinboys" could bowl for free. Otherwise practice bowling was 25 or 35 cents a game, and the pinboys earned a dime of that!

 

[sjm]

Seeing a player rack his own balls is like watching a
bowler rack his own pins. It's crazy!

Absolutely right, JAM, and I'll extend this to the idea that seeing players take balls out of the pockets on drop pocket tables in tournament play is just as ridiculous. If we want internet streaming to be a means of making our sport look good rather than just seedy and cheap, we need to lose this stuff.

I hope we can make it happen somehow.

 

[Johnnyt]

128 player tournament needs 3 days with a 30 minute shot clock tops. Why the hell it's a 6 day grind is beyond me. It doesn't look like many have gone through the gate, just the 50 or so old farts that are there every year...a lot of them asleep during matches. Johnnyt

 

[336Robin]

The Open this year is the worst for spectators ever!
Having supported the Open for at least 25 of the 39 played,(maybe more),I will say I will be going no more unless it is at another place.
First the seating-there are 2 rows in the general admission seating-while going up there are signs saying watch your step and watch your head-after helping my girlfriend from smashing her head ( she is 5 ' 3") we arrive at the seats-For 2 of the four tables we are able to see there is only a view of half of the table-you cannot see anybody shooting from the right side of the table! For the other two tables on the other side you can see the balls, but not the players because of the lights over the tables.All the people in our row were standing up and leaning over to try to see some of the play on the two closest tables-Now for the arrangement of the tables-they are so close together that one player has to wait for the player on the other table to shoot before they can even sight their shots-These players deserve a much better place to play than being congested like cattle-When leaving you have to make everybody in your row stand up and then it is really tight trying to get by-We drove 120 miles -got there at 10:25 and we were back in the car at 11:50-very disappointing-unless something changes drastically I will not be back for the 40th,if there is even one-sorry for the long rant-

I didn't go this year because of the seating last year. I bought a Gen Admission and the best I saw was on a huge screen. I can stay at home and do that.

 

[Kid Dynomite]

I was considering making the trip. Rethinking it. Now! Forgot about seating and crowds. Sad to get there and see less than I would at home. Vendors and friends would be only reason to ride down. Never underestimate the power of chit chatting of old friends.

 

[CaptainDidactic]

I flew down there from Minnesota to check it out for the first time. I too was disappointed in the venue. Way too tight. The stands were downright dangerous. You had to watch out for hitting your head, tripping over things, and literally falling off the platform. If you pushed your chair too far back, the legs of the chair would go off the back of the platform. I saw at least three people almost fall from that.

The viewing wasn't all that great either. Unless you got there early and camped out, you couldn't watch more than one match at a time, you just couldn't see.

The vendors were fine although overpriced on staple type items. I wasn't expecting internet type pricing, but was surprised to see retail type prices on everything.

I was very excited to go down there and am glad I did, but I was expecting a lot more.

 

[bdorman]

I'll extend this to the idea that seeing players take balls out of the pockets on drop pocket tables in tournament play is just as ridiculous.

This is where Bonus Ball had it RIGHT.

They had two, long-legged beauties to handle the balls.

Trivia question: When was the last US Open to feature a Rack Girl? (the one who walks around the table between racks with the number of the upcoming rack).