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BREAKING NEWS – “MGA GOLF TOUR CHALLENGES PGA TOUR® HEAD ON!”Posted September 26, 2009 by Not allowed because of spam








“NEW GOLF TOUR CHALLENGES PGA TOUR HEAD ON!”MGA (Modern Golf Tour) sets its sites on makingthe 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 hindreds 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 flys! 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)1.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.
2.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?
3.Play Under The Lights – I think some more tourneys under the lights would make people watch a few more tournaments.
4.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.
5.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.
6.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.
7.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?

I don't get it.. why did the title say a new tour was challenging the pga..

a skills comp would be awesome though, a creative one.

a few people thought the NFL wasn't exciting enough and created this awesome league called the XFL, they were going to give more access to players, more guys mic'd up, more shots of scantily clad cheerleaders, more violent hits from close camera angles etc etc.

1 year and 1 guy named "he hate me" later...it was the dodo bird.

the PGA tour isn't perfect, but it is a very popular nonetheless. Once tiger leaves purses might go down a bit but it will remain a major sport with a lot of fans

The PGA without Tiger would look like the LPGA does without Annika. No big stars and certainly no American stars. Lorena has lost it for a variety of reasons personal and golf related.. It is losing sponsors like crazy which is what would happen to the PGA without Tiger--which will probably happen in the next 6-8 years when his knee gives out.

How about the PGA getting off their gravy train and getting out of the confines of the continental US more often?
A global audience needs a global game. Greg Norman got it right a few years back IMO, with his concept of a world tour, but the narrow minded PGA of the time (has it really changed much?) decided to cut the legs off it.
Just a thought.

that would be interesting, I wonder if the players would protest because of all the travel.

It would be nice to see them play some famous non us/british courses. I think more interesting courses would really add alot of excitement.

Tell ... how would a "World" golf tour work? And why should the PGA support it?

Golf may be "global" ... but media markets are most decidedly local. Purses come from sponsors, sponsors pony up the $ for marketing exposure. Right now, the largest market (by far) is in the US. Most of the best players on any other tour (EU, Australian, South African, or any of the Asian tours) get US Tour cards. Many of them actually have second homes here.

Why? ... they make more money.

Why? Advertisers like access to American markets.

Why are the TV numbers much larger in the US? Well, because America has a massive golf culture. There are something like 25 million or so that actually play golf here. Florida or California alone have more amateur golfers than half the European nations ... or (for that matter) all of China, or most of Latin or South America. And the demographic of the viewers here tend towards older, richer men. It is just flat out a numbers game. The purses of the top EU events are equal to B (or even C) events on the US PGA Tour. And no other tour is even in the same ballpark.

I do understand why other countries would like a "World" tour. They'd get the value of US talent. (There's a reason why Tiger, Phil, hell, even freaking John Daly) have to be bribed with appearance fees just to play in Dubai, or Singapore, or Australia. (The people there know that a single popular US Golfer can boost their ratings and attendance significantly).

But the US PGA Tour? What possible motive would the best US players have to play a "World" tour? To spend half the summer gone from the US, jetlagged, and playing markets with less ad dollars, less money, smaller purses? What motive would the US PGA Tour have to see their revenues decline substantially (how many US viewers will tune into tape delayed tournaments in India, or China, or Madrid, half filled with names they do not recognize)?

A couple of people (including the idiocy in the OP article) talk about the current decline in US golf. Fewer people taking up the game, Viewership declining (though actually, the numbers say it is not declining that much). Fewer courses being built, More closing.

Yep ... we're in a recession here, and golf is an expensive sport. It is taking a hit. So is yachting. Hell, even Tennis. But it's important (IMO) to distiguish between a sport, and the temporary effects of a global recession. Indeed, US Golf is actually faring much better than most of the world. And when the global economy comes back (as it will) the US will likely recover quickly.

The winner of the FedEx Cup is still going to get the same prize as last year. The EU "Race to Dubai"? Well ... this year's prize has officially been reduced by 25% due to the recession. Remember all those threads at the beginning of the season about how the race to Dubai was going to entice all sorts of US players (including Phil) to play the requisite number of EU events? Because that purse was so big hat being absent from events that got you FedEx points was worth it if you could be in the running for the Dubai prize? How many actually went through with that again? And would they have been better off?

Sorry ... US Golf is getting hit by the recession ... but as they say, "rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated". It is getting hit less than the rest of the world's tours.

A "Global Tour"? Sounds wonderful on paper ... let's all sing Kumbaya. But at the end of the day, every pro golfer on this planet is still an independent contractor. The best are going to play where they think they can earn the most money. And that (plain and simple) is the US. Has been. Is. And will be for the forseeable future.

The US PGA Tour? Its purpose is to maximize earnings for its players. It did not "kill" some concept of a global tour due to some kind of short-sightedness ... it simply has continued running a tour that makes its members more money (by, like, a lot) than any other tour on earth makes it's golfers.

"I do understand why other countries would like a world tour" They will get USA talent? What the? Golf is played outside of the USA Midas just to let you know. Which market is bigger for golfing equipment...Asia or the USA? Which part of the world is expanding in golf more than the rest of the world with golf courses?

WOW! Someone please read this and then give us a two sentence explanation. TMI for sure.

( crickets... )

Guess what, I've played golf all over the world. Don't need a lecture about how golf is not just played in the US.

Perhaps you need a lecture on what money is.

Fact is, if Tiger, and Phil, and the top ten on the PGA Tour could make more money by playing in "the world" than they do by playing in the US, they would. In a freaking heartbeat.

Which continent is "expanding" more? Well go ahead, quote numbers. Indeed, I just got back for living for a couple of years in Mexico City. I'd be willing to bet that as a percentage ... Mexico is "expanding" more than the US. Why? The US is saturated with golf courses (relative to the number of golfers). Mexico (largely because of Lorena) is seeing an increase.

But what are the absolute numbers? Here's the stats: The US has a population of about 300 million ... it has between 20 and 25 million amateur golfers.

Mexico has a population of about 100 million. It has about 24 thousand amateur golfers. I lived in Mexico City ... population 20 million. It had 5 golf courses ... all private. I had to drive an hour and a half just to get to a public golf course. There is not a golf culture. But this also means it would be very easy for Mexico to appear to be "growing" at a faster rate than the US. Does this mean Tiger's gonna be playing in freaking Mexico next year? Um, no.

There's "lies, damn lies, and statistics".

The best in the world still play the US PGA Tour.

If the US PGA Tour thought it was better off playing half its events in the US, and half in "the world", it would.

But that is just not what the numbers say.

Is the market for golf equipment bigger in Asia or the US? Ummm ... so what? Well ... then tell me ... are you actually saying the best US players are making less by focusing their attention on the US PGA Tour than they could make in ... freaking Asia? The potential market for golf equipment in China, Korea, Japan, is huge.

Weirdly though, the purses are still miniscule compared to the average US event.

Sorry dude ... for you, this is theory. For these guys ... it is income.

And guess what ... the best US Players play mostly in the US. In fact, the best Asian players try to get to the US Tour.

This is not theory. It is not nationalism. It is money.

+1

+1. The Gettysburg Address was only 256 words long. This is more like War and Peace.

And +1 on the "Crickets" comment tjy355.)

sure the tour could use some more excitement i.e, skills competitions and what not. Tiger is going to eventually quit playing, just like nicklaus did. Im sure the tour had this scare back then as well. There is always going to be someone to take the game on its back. It has yet to fail, someone always steps up or some new talent comes along. This thread acts like the sport is roller derby or something. Just going to dissapear in an instance. Sure the purses would go down, but come on.....the european tour doesnt have the luxury of tiger and they seem to do more than fine!!!

I remember seeing that guys jersey thinking WTF?? They let them put whatever they wanted on their jersey, and that is what he comes up with? I think that is the only thing anyone remembers about he XFL. Although, football fans should be greatful for the XFL, as they introduced the tethered cameras that hang above the field that are used in the NFL now.

There already is a second "world" league that could possibly snag a lot of the PGA stars. It's the Euro tour. They play all over. If Tiger were to go away and more purses drop, I could see a lot of the bigger stars going overseas, or a lot less of the Euro guys coming over to help make tourneys good. The Euro purses are rising now too with the fresh push from the Dubai stuff.

I'm with you Midas...the TOUR has lots of people whose jobs are to figure out the most profitable way to run this thing, let's trust them rather than our speculation.

Long-term, money is generated by the players, who determine the value of a TOUR. If, as one ESPN article last year mused, Tiger started his own tour, hit up about 2 dozen large golf cites (I think it was 6 US, 6 other), he might be on to something. His name certainly brings the initial dollars that would be needed to attract high level competition which would sustain revenue and purses, keeping the competition around. BUT there already is a Tiger Tour...it's called the PGA Tour. He has so much influence on it...what would the point be of starting his own.

To speak to the globalization...The TOUR is bringing in outside "worldwide" dollars. The former Mercedes-Benz Championship is now sponsored by SBC, and I don't expect that to slow down any. It is a similar idea to why a Japanese company would advertise on Yankee Stadium's wall IN JAPANESE. Japan has a baseball league, but MLB is much bigger.

Although I WOULD like to see the WORLD Golf Championships played throughout the world.

Wow. The "World Tour" certainly stirs up a lot of opinions - some of which are perfectly valid.
I agree that the USPGA Tour is the most lucrative for players, but eventually it will be it's own downfall.
Point 1 - Tiger is a fantastic player and a worldwide phenomenon, but the strangle hold he has over the US tour is not really a good thing. Remember when Tiger was out injured for quite a while? How boring was the tour without him? Exactly - one man tours are nothing without one man.
Point 2 - Sponsors. Yes they 'pony up' the cash to make events happen, but how many events have dissappeared from the rota due to sponsors pulling out? The connection? Most of them are sponsors who advertise solely on the US Tour. If sponsors could potentially reach a global market with the same amount of cash up front, then why wouldn't they? Who in Asia cares about the John Deere Classic? - not many. Would John Deere like to reach potential markets in Asia? - absolutely. It seems that the big name sponsors seem to have a pretty good worldwide brand identity too - coincidence? Buick certainly doesn't mean much to anyone in Europe, for example.
Point 3 - Yes, the players are all freelance and will naturally chase the biggest pay checks. At the moment it's in the US. Why not somewhere else? Why can't the worlds top 30 or so players compete at a limited number of events (say 15) in different countries across the globe, exploiting the big name sponsors who wish to target exposure in specific areas, for enhanced purses to please the players? Certainly better than the current Fed-Ex rubbish. The USPGA don't have to have any interest in it at all. That's what they're afraid of, I guess - someone else stealing their cash cow.
Point 4 - Variety. As an outside observer, I find the majority of events on the USPGA tour pretty similar. Same format, same type of courses, same, same...boring. Not an anti - American rant ( I'm actually half American myself) but I do find the same number of tricked up target-golf venues to be a little bit tedious. If that's what tournanment sponsors want to make players shoot uber low scores on a monotonous basis, then fine. I myself would prefer to see players compete at a wider variety of courses and climates across the world to truly capture the attention of the worldwide fan. "Tiger's winning at my home event!" - who wouldn't want that?
Fans, sponsors, local businesses, everybody. Is that such a bad thing?
Until somone tries to change things though (G. Norman, for example) then a lot of players will continue to sit in their own back yards and watch the easy dollars roll in - who wouldn't? But a few people need to push the boundaries once in a while. It's what keeps it fresh and exciting.