Celebrating Ten: Elevating the Guest Experience for Ten Years
Over the ten-year history of the Tiger Woods Invitational presented by USLI, guests love attending the event for a stunning golf experience on the Monterey Peninsula. Pebble Beach not only boasts the No. 1 public course in America, but it is also the No. 1 Golf Resort in America, paving the way for not your typical charity golf tournament. The Tiger Woods Invitational is much more than three incredible days of competitive golf, it is an unmatched entertainment and culinary experience as well.
Our TGR Live events team works hard at the special touches and experiences that make the event so special to keep guests coming back year after year. It keeps us on our toes to make sure we are constantly innovating and pushing the envelope to enhance the guest experience each year. From games and live entertainment to the camaraderie fostered along the way, it’s easy to see that the Tiger Woods Invitational is one of a kind.
You probably wouldn’t expect to come to an event at Pebble Beach and square off with table tennis Olympian Lily Zhang, play electric skee ball on the lawn overlooking Monterey Bay, or even play in a night glow golf competition on Pebble’s 18th green, but this is the event to do it. A trademark of the off the course experience at the event is to set up activities that bring out competitiveness with a touch of nostalgia. We love to see the competitiveness that happens between friends – new and old, when playing pop-a-shot and the laughter when playing a retro Pac Man or Golden Tee. We’ve had professional length shuffleboards, air hockey tables and caricature artists as well.
Beyond games, the live entertainment is also a major focus for the evening events. Throughout the years, there have been epic dance parties and singalongs with the live musicians performing at the reception. We’ve featured talented vocalists including American Idol alums and some incredibly talented guitarists. In 2018, we hosted a strolling rock violinist whose unique sound is something guests still talk about. Singing along to piano man with the pianist in the Terrace Lounge after hours is a memory not soon forgotten. These moments from our evening events leave our guests reminiscing each year.
And you can’t celebrate ten years of the Tiger Woods Invitational without mentioning the incredible food experience. The culinary team from The Lodge at Pebble Beach outdo themselves every year by creating catalogues of menus that are not only decadent, but aesthetically gorgeous as well. The ingredients are locally sourced, creating the freshest and most flavorful cuisine possible. Our host, Tiger Woods, still raves about the massive tomahawk steaks sliced table side and how succulent they were. Perhaps my favorite culinary moment was the ushering in of the paella, which took three people to carry the large cast-iron skillets.
On the golf course, special detail is paid to the food experience as well. Some items are meant to fill you up and others to aid your game. A guest favorite is the ‘power-up’ station where guests make their own nut butter sandwich featuring “The Tiger”, an almond butter-banana-honey on wheat bread sandwich that is modeled after Tiger’s go-to on the course. MPCC wows guests each year with their famous lobster corn dogs, leaving guests to make the turn more than once for more.
Epic golf while at Pebble Beach is a given. It’s in the details throughout the three days of the Tiger Woods Invitational that come together to create a warm, inviting and memorable experience each year. Our intention is for guests to feel like they’re part of the TGR Live family and create lasting friendships and unforgettable memories.
Gina Ekmekjian is TGR Live’s Director of Events, specializing in client experience, hospitality and special events for TGR Live events.