Thanks to golf, Rochester has bragging rights in upstate NY. At least for a few days.
Golf tournaments, such as the PGA Championship going on at Oak Hill Country Club, mean a lot to Rochester.
Golfers and golf fans bring money, and worldwide attention. In addition to all of that, for one week, just one week, Rochester has bragging rights over Buffalo.
Buffalo, bruising, brawny, blue-collar Buffalo, is the big kid on the upstate New York block; it’s used to soaking up all the media oxygen in the room.
Blame that on the Buffalo Bills. Thousands of people come to Buffalo – actually, Orchard Park, but let’s not nitpick – to watch the Bills.
Those fans, lumped together as the Bills Mafia, are celebrated for jumping on card tables, consuming a fair amount of beer and raising thousands of dollars for all sorts of worthy causes.
Oh sure, people visit Rochester even when there’s no golf event. They take in the Strong National Museum of Play, go to the George Eastman Museum.
But, let’s face it, these tourists don’t jump on card tables, or face paint. They don’t wear Josh Allen shirts, or do anything else to call attention to themselves. They’re polite and orderly, kind of like Rochesterians.
Rochester doesn’t like noise, self-promotion. In other words, Rochester isn’t Buffalo.
But every few years, Rochester gets to strut. Fans from around the world will be exposed to the areas many charms. They will be welcomed at the airport by Bob Duffy, head honcho at the Chamber of Commerce and Rochester’s biggest booster. He’ll give them Rochester literature, a T-shirt or two.
During the down times in the media tent at Oak Hill, the golf writers will crank out stories about Rochester. What will they say? They’ll say that Rochester seems nice.
Yes, nice. That’s it. Nice. There’s nothing wrong with nice, but it’s not splashy. Better to be edgy and lively and filled with Brooklyn ex-pats if you want to be noticed. Better to be Buffalo.
Speaking of Buffalo, some of the fans at the PGA will be from Buffalo. They will have Googled Rochester, found where it is, packed their cars with supplies, said goodbye to family and friends, made out their wills and headed east, venturing into the unknown.
While in Rochester (actually, Pittsford), they will watch the golfers, chat with fans, load up on PGA merch and then go back to Buffalo.
Safely home, they will be welcomed with parades and banners. They will be profiled in the Buffalo News as survivors, Buffalonians who braved Rochester (actually, Pittsford) and lived to tell the tale.
In describing their adventure to the News, the Buffalonians will tell their friends that Rochester (actually, Pittsford) seemed nice, that it even had a Wegmans not far from the course.
“Big deal,” the reporter will say, “Wegmans started in Buffalo, don’t you know?”
That’s not quite right, of course, but Buffalo is the big kid on the block. What it says goes.
I bet there are bars in Buffalo that serve Genesee Beer claiming it’s brewed in Buffalo. If they weren’t so obsessed with chicken wings, they would probably boast that the garbage plate is a Buffalo delicacy. Abbott’s custard. Buffalo born. White hots. Buffalo’s best.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Buffalo. I grew up south of that city. I even know some people who live in Buffalo. They tell me about the Bills, and the Sabres, who play hockey, I think, and the art museums and about 100 Frank Lloyd Wright houses.
Come to think of it, they never mention golf tournaments. Rochester has those.
After the PGA, the U.S. Amateur Championship will be at Oak Hill in 2027. The world will take notice. Fans will arrive.
For one week, just one week, Rochester, not Buffalo, will be Numero Uno in upstate New York. Won’t that be nice.
From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott, writes Remarkable Rochester, who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Thanks to the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Rochester NY in spotlight
