What’s on the Wrist at the WM Phoenix Open

There’s something about the Waste Management Phoenix Open that strips away pretension. Maybe it’s the noise. Maybe it’s the chaos. Maybe it’s the fact that everyone’s a little sunburned and overstimulated by the time you get anywhere near the range. Whatever it is, it made for the perfect first stop for One the Wrist, a new series where I roam around tournaments talking watches with anyone willing to slow down for a few minutes and tell a story.

I’ll be honest: walking into this, I had nerves. Real ones. I’m still very new to the watch world, and there’s a specific kind of intimidation that comes with approaching someone who’s casually wearing what amounts to a down payment on a nice house. A lot of references. A lot of history. A lot of things I didn’t want to get wrong. I didn’t want to sound dumb. I didn’t want to be the guy asking surface-level questions while staring at a beautifully worn Rolex or Patek Philippe like it might bite me.

But after the first couple conversations, something clicked.

Everyone was incredibly chill. Spectators. Members. Coaches. Friends of friends. No one was flexing. No one was posturing. What stood out most was how eager people were to talk about why they wore what they wore. A watch passed down. A milestone piece. A reward for a personal moment. And almost every person we spoke to immediately followed it up with, “Oh....you’ve gotta go talk to him,” or, “Wait until you see what she’s wearing.”

It felt like a low-key club. Not exclusive in a gatekeeping way, but connected. A quiet network of people who cared deeply about golf, craftsmanship, and the stories stitched into the objects they wear. Somewhere in that 60-minute window on the range, my nerves faded and were replaced with this calm realization: these are just good hangs who love their watches as much as they love the game.

I left the range that day feeling a little foolish for the assumptions I carried in. And also fully aware that I’d taken another step down the watch rabbit hole, with no intention of climbing back out.

Next stop: The Players Championship.

RELATED: Refinement Is Golf's New Revolution