Why the PGA Championship is including food with every ticket at Quail Hollow
In some ways, the incentive to buy PGA Championship tickets is the same as to fly out of your regional airport.
The PGA Championship does not have any bare-bones tickets. Every ticket purchased for this week’s event is a Championship+ ticket, which means all food and non-alcoholic beverages are included.
“Free,” as in your dinner at an all-inclusive resort is “free” — simple math, duh!
But to enjoy it will cost you — after taxes and fees — $253 for Thursday and $301 for Sunday — the two remaining days with available tickets. The Friday and Saturday tickets are sold out, perhaps a sign that folks are willing to look past the higher entrance fee because of what comes with it.
Sort of how so many travelers weigh the cost of driving hours to a major hub versus flying out of their regional airport.
Are the prices at the regional airport a little more expensive? Yes. Is the parking cheaper? Yes. Is it going to be more convenient? Of course. Shorter lines? Yep. Perhaps even cheaper when you total gas and food and your time? Maybe.
“I think our value proposition is incredibly rewarding when you look at the benefit,” said Jason Soucy, the championship director for this week’s event.
Also, Soucy points out, there are ways to experience the tournament for a very reasonable price. The Tuesday ($105 after taxes and fees) and Wednesday ($130) practice rounds are both right around the average get-in price for an NFL game — which lasts about four hours. If you really wanted to stretch your day at Quail Hollow, you could be on the course for 10 to 12 hours.
And that doesn’t even include perhaps the PGA Championship’s most fan-friendly program: Juniors (15 and younger) get in for free when accompanied by an adult — and then get free food once inside.
So, in theory, a parent could buy a Sunday ticket to the tournament for $301, bring their two kids — who can eat all they want, all day long — and, suddenly, the average cost is $100 per ticket.
“A major golf championship here in North Carolina recently (the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst), I believe it was about $235 just to be on property with no added value in there,” Soucy said. “As a dad with two college-aged daughters who are hitting the concert circuit … I feel like (the PGA Championship) is hitting my bank account less than some of the things I’ve approved recently.”
While the Championship+ ticket option began in 2022, this will be the first time that every single ticket is a Championship+, which includes food, water and soda. Soucy said this came only after extensive market research to ensure that the PGA Championship could pull this off not just in Charlotte, but in every future stop, too.
The way it’ll work is at the concession stands across the course, fans will go through the line with the suggestion they take one entree, one snack and one beverage. Would anyone care if someone grabbed two hot dogs and two chips? No. But the hope is that folks aren’t loading up with 15 entrees and handing them out along the rope line like Santa giving out presents.
The PGA Championship isn’t trying to limit how much food fans can take — you can go through the line as many times as you want — but it is trying to keep the line moving. That’s much of the reason for the Championship+ tickets.
“The theory is: It’s a bucket-list experience to be at a major championship,” Soucy said. “The transaction time at a lot of events these days for concessions is just such a challenge. … We’re reducing that transaction time down to zero.”
Soucy noted that there will be a separate line for alcohol — which will include a financial transaction — within its major markets spread out all over the course, but the hope is there are enough concessions to thin out lines.
The goal is it’s Sunday at Quail Hollow and half the day’s spectators are following the final group of Rory McIlroy and another star, jumping from hole to hole with the leaders. And whenever they might get hungry along that five-hour walk, they can slip through to a concession stand and grab their food without missing much action.
Once you’re inside the confines of Quail Hollow, once you’ve paid your money and scanned your ticket, the day is smooth. Food is included. Lines are short. The golf is great. Life is good.
“It’s a great way to experience a major championship and have it all be complimentary,” Soucy said.
