CA Course Reporters: Saturday morning

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Editor's note: The CA Course Bloggers -- Ellie Maniery, Desi Brantley, Stefano Diaz and Philip Spano -- will be taking PGATOUR.COM fans behind the scenes at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship this week. The bloggers will be filing a total of 32 entries over five days, so check back frequently to see what they have discovered.

Other blogs: Wednesday | Thursday morning | Thursday evening | Friday morning | Friday evening

Waiting for Tiger
By Desi Brantley

This morning we walked some holes on the course. After walking down the first two holes, we decided to go back to the first hole and wait for Tiger Woods. When we got to the bleachers by the first tee, it was about 50 or 55 minutes until Tiger was supposed to start.

We watched a bunch of other golfers come and tee off. While we first got there, only a couple of people were sitting around us. More and more people kept showing up as other golfers started.

There were tons of fans when Tiger finally showed up. When Tiger came up to the hole, everyone was going crazy and wild, clapping and yelling: "Yay! Tiger! Yay! Go Tiger!" When Tiger came up to hit he took a minute and everyone got really quite while he was getting ready. Then he got in his golf stance and hit the ball.

The ball flew up in the air, then went wide to the left. It was heading to the people on the side. I said "Oh, snap!" One of the volunteers yelled, "Fore!" and started waving his hands.

After Tiger hit his shot we left the bleachers to go see the PGA TOUR's weatherman. He told us how he sees lightning on a computer. There's a line on the screen that goes up and down like steep hills when there's lightning in an area on his map.

Lightning is dangerous for golfers because their clubs are made from metal. When the weather gets bad, the security guards and the volunteers at the course send the golfers and the fans back inside the building.

Then we went to the flash interview area, where players talk after they walk off the course. The man running it showed us a machine that he can use to control other TVs and he said he can use it on his kids to cut off cartoons and change the station to GOLF CHANNEL.

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Not as easy as it looks
By Ellie Maniery

I never got to finish writing about everything that happened yesterday, so I figure I'll write about that now. I was privileged enough to have a meeting with Eddie Carbone, Richard Hills (the European Ryder Cup Director), and Ramon Mas Conosa of the South Florida Golf Foundation. These are the guys in charge of making sure this tournament runs the way it needs to. It was good of them to take time out of their busy schedules to meet with me, and I enjoyed talking with them.

Yesterday was the day for me to be interviewed. The first one was on XM Radio, and I was super nervous surrounded by all the gear with those headphones on. I learned that radio is harder than most people presume.

Although I didn't experience it directly, I got to learn about PL (or private link). On top of talking constantly over the radio, announcers also have people talking into their headphones, filling them in with information they may need. I don't know how they do it. It's hard to concentrate on what's being whispered into my ear at the same time I am talking about something entirely different. Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman of GOLF CHANNEL have a private link in their headphones, too.

I had another interview when I was writing my afternoon blog. A video crew from PGATOUR.COM took me aside and asked me a few questions. The only difference from XM Radio -- they filmed it! It might end up on the website soon -- which is intimidating to say the least.

Today we went to the weather room, where the PGA TOUR's meteorologist, Stewart Williams, outlined how he goes about predicting the weather with as much accuracy as he needs to keep everyone safe. There really isn't too much predicting about it -- he has programs that accurately measure electrical charges in the ground and air, as well as cloud movement around the Florida peninsula.

He can almost always give warning for lightning and big storms before they hit, and his forecasts influence the decision to move up tee times like they did today. And look out folks, is it ever going to storm today!

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Weathering Saturday
By Stefano Diaz

This morning I was able to hang out with one of the guys running the program. We watched all the groups that teed off on the first hole during the third round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral (aka The Blue Monster). We hung out on the course, walked around and appreciated the tough work the volunteers do to make this tournament what it is.

Did you know that the PGA TOUR has its very own meteorologist or weatherman? I didn't, but I got the chance to meet him today. His name is Stewart Williams. It was pretty interesting.

The guy has a small room with two laptops that are hooked up to a satellite. From there, he warned the tournament about weather delays. He also showed us how the devices detect electricity charges from the atmosphere and the crust of the earth which help him predict lightning.

We also were able to see how the golf is transmitted through television, and how they take down a channel to put on the golf.

Because of the chance of a weather delay today, they were supposed to start transmitting the golf broadcast at 1 p.m., but since they teed off early, they took down a channel that wasn't very important and put up GOLF CHANNEL.

Well, I'm going to post another blog around 5 p.m. See you soon.

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Dad was in hot water
By Philip Spano

This morning I was able to spend some time with my dad on the course. I haven't been able to have some quality time with him besides eating dinner or when we go for a swim.

We walked and talked. He told me some of the things that had happened to him while I was busy doing other things so I could write this blog.

One story he told me was that he was on the third hole by the putting green, standing behind a lady who was sitting down on a foldable chair.

He had just gotten a bottle of water and was trying to open it. When he opened it, some of the water spilled out and landed on the lady's neck. She screamed right when one of the golfers was putting and the volunteer marshals got really mad -- not at her, but at my dad.

When I heard the story, I could easily imagine my father trying to open the water bottle and in the process, spilling it on some lady! I was really glad to have this quality father-son time with my dad, even though sometimes he acts like a big kid.

My mom told me right before I left that I had to keep my eye on my dad so he would stay out of trouble! But my dad is a great guy and an even better father.

I was able to see Justin Rose play a really nice chip shot with his wedge for a birdie on No. 3 and I was able to watch Tiger play his first hole. Then my dad and I got caught in Tiger's gallery as we tried to walk the opposite way. It took us 10 minutes to get back to the media center. There were SO many people!

I also was able to meet the PGA TOUR's meteorologist, Stewart Williams. Stuart's job is to watch the weather and determine whether it is suitable for playing golf. His forecast helped tournament officials make the decision to play today's third round earlier than scheduled.