Pacific Life Open 2008

LuckyR · 06-19-2007, 03:54 PM

Seriously thinking of going. Any personal experience tips on: where to stay (city and place), where to play tennis, where to eat, which week to go, what ticket package to get, where to sit, whether to buy a package or a la carte tickets?

welcome2petrkordaland · 06-19-2007, 04:00 PM

great tourn. 2 go 2!! i'll go again for sure. go the first week and/or weekend. avoid the big house, as you can't see jack from up there. stick to the other matches and enjoy up close and personal tennis viewing not only of matches but also incredible practice matches. safin vs. haas practice match was the best tennis i saw-incredible. you'll run into 20 pros in a 2 hour period of time. find a cheap motel in palm springs, palm desert, indio, or rancho mirage. bring sunscreen, hats, food, and drink. don't know about playing though.

LuckyR · 06-20-2007, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by welcome2petrkordaland

great tourn. 2 go 2!! i'll go again for sure. go the first week and/or weekend. avoid the big house, as you can't see jack from up there. stick to the other matches and enjoy up close and personal tennis viewing not only of matches but also incredible practice matches. safin vs. haas practice match was the best tennis i saw-incredible. you'll run into 20 pros in a 2 hour period of time. find a cheap motel in palm springs, palm desert, indio, or rancho mirage. bring sunscreen, hats, food, and drink. don't know about playing though.

Thanks! By the "big house" you mean the stadium court, right? So do you need a specific ticket type to go to the other courts, or do they have a grounds pass or somesuch? Do Fed, Nadal, Sharapova etc practice on site, or at some private off site location?

atatu · 06-20-2007, 08:20 AM

Hey, I'm going also next year, it will be my first time in about 10 years (had kids in the interim...) I'm thinking we should set up a mini TTW tournament. I'm trying to decide on staying at Shadow Mountain or maybe someplace else. Any ideas ?

LuckyR · 06-20-2007, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atatu

Hey, I'm going also next year, it will be my first time in about 10 years (had kids in the interim...) I'm thinking we should set up a mini TTW tournament. I'm trying to decide on staying at Shadow Mountain or maybe someplace else. Any ideas ?

Any thought on my OP queries?

atatu · 06-20-2007, 10:38 AM

Well, all my advice is ten years old. When I went last time I just rented a condo in Palm Desert that I found on the internet. Check sites like VRBO, you'll find a lot of places. I think it's worth it to pay more and be closer, as opposed to staying in Indio or someplace. The place I rented had courts in the complex so I just played there. I went the first week of the men's tournament and it was fantastic, definitely saw some great tennis on the outside courts. Bring a sweater as the night sessions can get chilly. I don't remember eating anywhere that was spectacular, but we were really too busy watching tennis to worry about it.

LuckyR · 06-22-2007, 08:12 AM

My research shows that the first two days of the tournament are qualifying for men and women. The next two are the first rounds of the women and even more qualifying for the men. The fourth day is when the men start their first round, so rather than a "first week" ticket I'd want a 4th through 11th day ticket.

atatu · 06-22-2007, 12:06 PM

Right, so for 2008, you want to get threre on the first Friday, or March 7th. I'm still trying to decide on staying at Shadow Mountain or a cheaper place with less courts on-site.

jamauss · 06-22-2007, 06:20 PM

I might be going as well. It's just a shot out on the 10 from where I live in AZ.

LuckyR · 06-23-2007, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamauss

I might be going as well. It's just a shot out on the 10 from where I live in AZ.

Have you gone there before?

chlsmo · 06-23-2007, 02:26 PM

I went last year and it was awesome. (Fed lost but anyway). The tickets are basically a grounds pass style, but you have to purchase for day or night (they probably also have a combo ticket). The practice courts are very accessible. I would sneak in my own food and WATER. Anyway get the best tickets you can afford it is a big difference in the stadium for sure. I have family out there so I can't really help with lodging Qs but I had a great experience.

I would recommend the early rounds as well because there will be more players practicing and the tickets are more inexpensive. Im not sure where you would play tennis while you are out there, but the TW booth had some kind of a demo court set up. Otherwise you would have to check with local hotels or parks in the area.

Seating is only assigned in the stadium I am pretty sure. I had great tickets on the hookup for Federer's match (which was actually good for all the day matches) SW Courtside I think it was called pretty close but not too close. I was diagonally across from the Chair Umpire. If you can sit in there somewhere you wont be dissappointed. The night before that I had to buy my own tickets I bought two night passes in the nosebleeds for $17.00 a piece to see Roddick and it was not bad, but I prefer the closer seats.

Hope that helps.

jamauss · 06-23-2007, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuckyR

Have you gone there before?

No I have not gone before. Prior to moving to Arizona last summer I lived in NorCal so it was kinda too far of a drive before but I'm considering it now that I live a little closer.

GRANITECHIEF · 06-25-2007, 02:29 PM

I'll be going next year, since my wife won't be having a baby, so lets set up the TTW tourney. Only thing better than watching the pros is playing fun matches.

GS · 06-26-2007, 07:11 AM

I'll be there the first week for sure. I think Shadow Mountain has clay courts available to the public. I'll probably be staying at the affordable Palm Court Inn near the mountain tram.

atatu · 06-26-2007, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRANITECHIEF

I'll be going next year, since my wife won't be having a baby, so lets set up the TTW tourney. Only thing better than watching the pros is playing fun matches.

Let's do it. What do you think of this format ? Pull names out of hat, 21 points matches, ping pong style (switch serves every five points)...where should we play ? I heard COD has nice courts, can we get on there ?

GRANITECHIEF · 06-26-2007, 07:48 AM

That sounds like a fun format, although i prefer traditional set play.

What is COD?

GS · 06-26-2007, 08:04 AM

College of the Desert. I have a listing of all the public hardcourts in Palm Springs, but I'd rather play on clay---hey, it'll be vacation time!

atatu · 06-26-2007, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRANITECHIEF

That sounds like a fun format, although i prefer traditional set play.

What is COD?

Yeah, I guess it depends how many people we have show up, we could go with a one set format or pro sets. I think you're the #1 seed....

LuckyR · 06-26-2007, 11:32 AM

A couple of my regular hitting partners are also going so hopefully we would have a quorum I'm thinking of the first Friday through Monday or Tuesday (kids in school)

atatu · 06-26-2007, 05:22 PM

That's exactly when I plan on being there, although my kids will be out of school. I told them I'd take them to legoland mid week.

06-23-2007, 02:26 PM	#11
chlsmo Semi-Pro Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: So. Cal Posts: 521	I went last year and it was awesome. (Fed lost but anyway). The tickets are basically a grounds pass style, but you have to purchase for day or night (they probably also have a combo ticket). The practice courts are very accessible. I would sneak in my own food and WATER. Anyway get the best tickets you can afford it is a big difference in the stadium for sure. I have family out there so I can't really help with lodging Qs but I had a great experience. I would recommend the early rounds as well because there will be more players practicing and the tickets are more inexpensive. Im not sure where you would play tennis while you are out there, but the TW booth had some kind of a demo court set up. Otherwise you would have to check with local hotels or parks in the area. Seating is only assigned in the stadium I am pretty sure. I had great tickets on the hookup for Federer's match (which was actually good for all the day matches) SW Courtside I think it was called pretty close but not too close. I was diagonally across from the Chair Umpire. If you can sit in there somewhere you wont be dissappointed. The night before that I had to buy my own tickets I bought two night passes in the nosebleeds for $17.00 a piece to see Roddick and it was not bad, but I prefer the closer seats. Hope that helps. __________________ 2 PS Tour 90 Currently using Gosen Sheep Micro 17g at 52# and Babolat Polymono 16g at 54#.

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