“NEW GOLF TOUR CHALLENGES PGA TOUR HEAD ON!”
MGA (Modern Golf Tour) sets its sites on making the game more entertaining to watch.
This press release title is a fictitious one…well it is at least for the time being…because it might not be all that far fetched if the PGA doesn’t do something and something fast about the state of the game. More and more golfers are leaving the game for other sports and more and more viewers are turning their tvs to different stations when golf comes on. Why? Well…lots of reasons…but one of the main reasons their turning the station is because it just flat out is not entertaining. There are too many choices now…you have hundreds of stations all trying to vie for our attention and golf is losing out.
They are leaving the door wide open for someone else to come in and steal their thunder. And for those that don’t think it can happen…think again. Because it can and will if the PGA doesn’t open their eyes and ears. You might remember…it was not that long ago that 2 of the other major sports leagues, the (NBA & NFL) were not only challenged but also beatin up by a couple of new and upcoming challengers, the (AFL & ABA). And where they got beat and beat badly was in the entertainment aspect of their sport…and we all know this is one of the major areas the PGA Tour needs to improve on if they have any hopes of gaining back the golfers they are losing week after week.
“What would happen to the PGA Tour tomorrow if Tiger got injured and could never play golf again?”
Anyone that says that the ABA and AFL didn’t change their sports leagues style and popularity forever would be crazy. Before the ABA their was no dunk contest…hell there wasn’t even a term known as dunk in basketball before the ABA. No 3-Pointer either and the All-Star game didn’t even exist. In Football the AFL followed a similar path to success…they simply made an already great game even better…simply by making it more entertaining. It just took a couple guys sitting around asking themselves…”How can we make this game better?” to get this started and forever change the path and history of these sports. And their is ample opportunity to make the golf game better in many peoples opinion.
But…the founders of these new leagues were smart…yes they tried a lot of crazy promotions and ideas that didn’t work…but…they did make the games more entertaining while not disturbing the true traditions of the game…and this is important. They just made it more entertaining to watch and even more fun to play. And if you think about it there is much more wrong with the game of golf then the NBA had at the time. At the time the ABA just made it more fun and they became a success…because at the time that is all the game was really missing. Golf has a lot of areas that could be improved if a new league felt like challenging the PGA Tour.
Some Of Their Challenges:
- Entertainment Level…Lacking Severely!
- Not As Many Golfers Playing The Sport (or) Taking Up The Game
- Not As Many Courses Being Built (Fewer Courses = Less Access To New Golfers)
- Too Expensive For Many Who Want To Start The Game
- Rely Way To Much On Tiger For Their Success
- Time It Takes To Play
- Money It Takes To Get Started Playing (Equipment)
- USGA Hampering Growth (In Many Golfers Eyes)
- and many more…
Just think…what would happen to the PGA Tour tomorrow if Tiger got injured and was told he could never play golf again? They would be in DEEP DEEP trouble. As a matter of fact you would see see start to crumble almost instantly. And in a matter of just a couple years it would be off the air almost completely. You think sponsors are leaving the game at an alarming pace now…wait until Tiger isn’t playing at there event next year…they will drop like flies! Think the sport has a problem bringing new players to the game now? Wait until Tiger the only guy who does show some emotion on the course is gone and young kids have no one to relate to on tour…those kids that he used to influence into picking up the game will decide to pick up a glove or a football instead.
Of the major sports in the US…golf is the only one that relies entirely on one man for its success. And that is because the other sports have learned how diversify themselves by learning how to ENTERTAIN viewers. There is not much better of a nap then on laying in bed watching golf with the windows cracked the fan on and the sound of kids playing in the street. The whisper of the announcer seems to be like a security blanket to an infant…it puts you right a sleep. I mean I love golf…but there IS MAJOR room for improvement when it comes to the entertainment level of the sport. And what about if Tiger decides to take the week off…forget about it…snoozefest!
Things That Could Make It More Entertaining (But Not Ruin The Game)
- Skills Competitions – Seeing Tiger…Phil and the other almost equally talented pros out there showing off skills they cant use during a competitive round would be incredible for golfers to see. To be able to see a guy do something that made your jaw drop so you and everyone else immediately went out to the course to try would be great for golf. Remember when Tiger juggles the golf ball on a wedge?? That caught on…just a LITTLE bit.
- ThrowBack Equipment and Clothing – I think they (PGA) would get huge ratings or if another tour challenged them if they had the golfers dress up and play with the gear from 50 years ago. Wouldn’t you watch to see them all have to play in 3-Piece suits and wooden shafts?
- Play Under The Lights – I think some more tourneys under the lights would make people watch a few more tournaments.
- Final Round NOT on Sunday – golf has enough to compete with…so why not try to end rounds on a different day then Sunday so you don’t have to compete with the NFL.
- Local Competitors vs Pros – maybe it would spark some interest to see one guy at every event from the local course get to try and compete head to head against the pros. Some of these locals know these courses back and forth and might be interesting to see if they can compete.
- Some Cheering Please – It was nice to see how passionate the fans are at events like Bethpage Black. Yeah Yeah i know the old schoolers will say they were rude. And maybe they were. But man it was refreshing to see. I would love to see one tournament where golfers could get heckled and yelled at just to see how much of a difference it would make. Never know the next tour to challenge the PGA might just try it…and I think people would like it.
- Some Fun Please – everyone likes it when they see Tiger do a fist pump after draining a long putt or YE Yang throwing his bag over his head after a huge victory…but most PGA golfers never show any emotion. I think if another tour started and their players started showing more of their emotions then golfers would begin to relate to them a little more. Why do you think Daly is such a fan favorite?
With viewership down…sponsorships down…new golfer numbers down…I seriously think the PGA could be challenged by another tour if that tour did it the right way. Hell you might even see some of the top 50 guys migrate over just to have more fun and be a part of more exciting atmosphere. You might actually see some Top1 10 guys that have made all the money they could ever need make the move just to feel what it is like again to get goose bumps from playing a sport they love. I mean ask yourself…when is the last time you got goosebumps from playing or watching the game of golf?
Your Opinions
– What do YOU think the PGA could do to make the game more entertaining?
Neil
15 years ago
I really like the idea of local vs. pro competition. Many other types of shows are going to things like this (Pros v. Joes, Bobby Flay Throwdown, etc.) I think that the audience likes watching the everyman compete. Maybe the local has some insight into the course that the pro doesn’t.
I also like greenfee’s comment about offering the viewer more information on the player. Tie in GPS, wind info, some data mining, etc. NASCAR seems to really have something going with their “follow your driver plus telemetry and info” idea.