How Dell Technologies Celebrated the Full-Scale Return of Austin’s PGA Golf Tournament

AUSTIN—Dell Technologies Match Play (DTMP) teed off without a hitch on March 23, a refreshing first hole after the PGA Tour golf tournament’s 2020 edition was canceled a mere 13 days before the event began, and last year’s iteration dramatically reduced its spectator capacity by 80%.

Northern California-based experiential event company Lacy Maxwell Experiential (LME), which has been producing the event since 2015, returned for its seventh DTMP and reimagined just over 21,000 square feet of the Austin Country Club to create myriad immersive experiences for spectators. Ticketed attendees entered through the Fan Experience, which took place beneath a 30-foot-ceiling, indoor-outdoor tent and featured views of Lake Austin and creative to-dos for guests at every corner.The event took place March 23-27 and featured 64 of PGA's top players competing for a prize sum of $2.1 million.Photo: Courtesy of Lacy Maxwell Experiential

Graham Day, the chief production officer at LME, explained that in the last two years of producing post-pandemic editions of DTMP, he's learned “that open-air hospitality environments are well-received,” noting that he and his team “built our activations with that in mind.”LME created an oversize, Dell Technologies-branded chair made out of golf balls for the perfect photo op.Photo: Courtesy of Lacy Maxwell Experiential

Activities included a Chip Challenge golfing experience, where fans could practice their golf swings alongside 64 of PGA’s top players participating in the tournament, which took place March 23-27. There was also an oversize Connect4-style game flanked by a living plant wall detailing Dell Technologies’ 2030 moonshot goals. Additionally, attendees of all ages were encouraged to draw pictures or write a note of inspiration at the “Human Touch” station. Notes were placed in one of the real-life mailboxes, and at the conclusion of the event, they were delivered to children in need at the Dell Children’s Foundation or The First Tee. 

The sponsor also worked with the PGA Tour team and LME for two larger-than-life photo ops: a Dell Technologies-blue golf ball throne and the staple oversize golf ball and tee structure, which made its return in 2022 with “Golf, Love & Queso” printed on the front as a historical nod to the wildly popular, cheesy Tex-Mex dip that arrived stateside with the United States' acquisition of Texas in the late 1880s. 

Naturally, the LME team incorporated technology throughout the experience, including the Alienware Gaming Environment—think a full video arcade—under the Fan Experience tent, and the Solar Lounge, a solar-powered recharging station adorned with motherboards and chips situated under tech-clad palms, which also made an appearance at SXSW this year. 

LME also took advantage of monitors in place of paper signage throughout hospitality areas to help the 60,000 guests—around 15,000 each day—find their way to the Fan Shop, which housed all the latest DTMP swag and the Chapel Stage, which featured four days of musical entertainment by local musicians, and served as a thoroughfare for fans to catch a sighting (and hopefully an autograph) from one of PGA’s all-star players.

Food and beverage were also on par with a selection of vendors based in Austin and all over the world, which Day explained was a nod “to golf’s expanding global reach.”

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the DTMP activation.A "Human Touch" station encouraged fans to draw and write inspirational pictures and messages, then place them in one of the real-life mailboxes to be delivered to children at the Dell Children’s Foundation or The First Tee.Photo: Courtesy of Lacy Maxwell ExperientialThe indoor-outdoor Fan Experience featured a giant Connect4-style game, plus the "Human Touch" station and a living plant wall, which detailed Dell Technologies’ 2030 moonshot goals and highlighted how technology can improve lives.Photo: Courtesy of Lacy Maxwell ExperientialAt the shaded Solar Lounge, guests could take advantage of solar-powered phone charging stations.Photo: Courtesy of Lacy Maxwell ExperientialLME also produced and stylized DTMP's General Session area, which was used for Dell Technologies Thought Leadership and Executive Summit sessions throughout the week.Photo: Courtesy of Lacy Maxwell Experiential