This guy plays golf or something.

The PGA Championship attracts members of the worldwide media for the annual event, held each August at a top-flight golf course somewhere in the United States. Little did the PGA realize that when they accepted one media credential, they were allowing in a writer for an arts and entertainment magazine in western Wisconsin. I now take you, the Volume One reader, behind the scenes at a major sporting event, as only Athletic Aesthetic can do so.

This event is one of four “major” championships held throughout the golfing season (along with The Masters, U.S. and British Opens), and this year marked the second time it has been held at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Chaska, Minn. On the advice of Bill Rolland at the conclusion of my column interview with him earlier this year, I decided to acquire a media pass. I applied, got the pass with surprising ease, and made a one-day trip on Saturday, August 15.

I had attended the PGA Championship as a spectator in 2002. That Saturday seven years ago featured a 50-something-degree late morning with gusty winds and a bit of a wind chill, and ended with a glaring sunburn-inducing sun by early evening. For my second sojourn to Hazeltine this year, I knew I needed sunscreen, but not a winter coat; the forecast called for average August temperatures. The sunscreen proved unnecessary: clouds were present for most of the day, even a bit of rain (with plenty of threats of storms in the surrounding dark skies).

What is the experience of being a media member at a major sporting event? The following is the PGA Championship version.

After parking in a somewhat closer-than-normal lot, I entered the Media Center. Once registered (having received my cool polo shirt and picture badge), I walked to the banks of media desks, with large video boards and player standings at the front of the room. A mini-Mission Control, if you will. After getting copies of every event publication available, I took my stack of goodies back to my car and got ready for the main event: the Media Dining Center.

This is where I discovered the über-brownie, a sizeable triangular wedge of dark-chocolate heaven that surely fueled many a media member’s trips back to the dessert station. However, despite the preponderance of frozen treats and flat-screen TVs, I had that pesky task of going out and watching golf. I had been advised to make my way to the 17th hole to get a good viewing spot and watch all the golfers pass through.

There was no particular media station on the course, save for the camera towers. I merely stood amongst the masses, media badge hanging around my neck. From 50 feet away from the green, I watched the likes of Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, and eventual champion Y.E. Yang putt into the second-to-last hole on the course. Eventually Tiger Woods came through, getting everyone’s rapt attention.

Once the day of watching golfers was done, I hustled back to the Media Center to get a spot in the Interview Room (a roofless, walled-off section under the Media Center tent). From seven feet away I witnessed from The Golf Channel’s Jim Grey sneakily poking TNT’s Craig Sager on the elbow. I then witnessed a Tiger Woods press conference; despite sitting in the back row (about 25 feet from Woods), there were enough empty chairs that I easily could have moved near the front row. Yet I was content to watch from the back and soak in the atmosphere, and not do anything to get kicked out while in the presence of Tiger himself. Following a second stop in the Dining Center and a collection of every interview transcript from the week thus far (including already-finished transcripts of the just-completed interviews), my day was done.

The summary of my visit to the PGA Championship? Get a media pass if you can. Good, free food; sports media celebrity sightings (I counted four total); a badge with your photo on it; plenty of reading paraphernalia; and the opportunity to ask a question of the best athlete on Earth. Maybe you’ll have the chutzpah to ask that question.