PALM BEACH GARDENS (Fla.) — If a lake partially surrounds the 18th hole on any course, you can expect to find many golf balls. Maybe a few clubs, perhaps an entire bag at bottom. This is the most frustrating game in golf.
A car floating on the water is something you won’t see just a few feet away from the fringe. It’s not even a Honda Pilot Trailsport.
This is unless you have attended the Honda Classic.
You’ll be able to answer the question “Is Tiger Woods playing?” at PGA National The Week of the Honda. (The answer is “no” since 2018).
Or, “Where can you buy beer?” (OK. That one might be).
Instead, they asked “How did they get that car onto this lake?”
It’s not by attaching the vehicle to a helicopter and dropping the vehicle onto the platform. This is a theory John Johnson has suggested many times. Johnson has been responsible for the floating and anchoring the vehicle for over 30 years.
Johnson also liked this question: “Did they attach it to a crane that placed it on the platform?”
In 2023, the SUV will be flown by the 18th green. Honda Motors ended its sponsorship of this year’s tournament, which ran from Thursday to Sunday, after the process took two days.
Andrew George, Honda Executive Director, stated that it was “a bit emotional” this year.
The platform was then transported to the shore on a flatbed and positioned by a boom tractor at the water’s edge. The Honda was then driven onto the stage by using two steel ramps and a lot of plywood.
As the 12-foot boat pulled the platform 800 feet, the crew had to battle the wind and avoid underwater cables and fountains.
Gary Klobukowski, site supervisor, said that the item is moved to the location where it will be positioned. “We will have the spotter at shore, and he will know from the past where this was set. He will signal to us that we need to turn the front end. This will allow us to determine the angle of the vehicle.
Johnson is in the water, holding onto the platform and steering the boat as it is pulled. Gators are the biggest problem.
He said, “They usually just pass around and have a look.”
About 24 tires that are more than 7,000 lbs each hold the platform together. The water depth is between 8 and 10 feet.
These anchors were placed by a forklift at the shore.
The weather and the vehicle are monitored daily once the vehicle has been anchored. Bad weather, such as the 2015 storm, can cause the lake rise to flood the vehicle. Workers will adjust the height of any raft if there is any chance of heavy rain. Honda was hit by a hailstorm in Mirasol one year ago.
Other nuisances
Pranksters stealing their boats at night, and decorating them with beer bottles and cans. It’s happened.
A stray ball from a golf course could cause injury. An amateur golfer in the pro-am shot a shot that broke a window one year. Crews had to pull the boat back to shore in order to replace the window.
George stated, “This is a real kickoff to Honda Classic,” and “the car going to the water.”
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