Barking_Mad
Well-known member
It needs packed courses, plenty of the top 10 players and paying spectators to be successful. TV isn't interested in paying big money for lower ranked players in front of empty galleries.
Mentioned yesterday, the course itself looked a lot tighter that your typical PGA event. Often it appeared one side of the fairway was just dense trees and out of bounds.
Would this be a reason for limited spectators? It is a lot easier for tens of thousands of spectators at huge courses and lots of areas for spectators to stand, coupled with many grandstands.
Furthermore, how many regular golf fans truly know much about it yet? We've talked about it to death in this forum, but outside of here it is not a regular big event fans know about for months, and plan their schedule in advance to attend. The guys in my golf whatsapp chat didn't know much about it, but sort of started asking questions a few days ago when it hit the main news headlines. When DJ entered it probably became big news, but not early enough for many to plan a visit.
Pros start playing very very young. When did one lengths become a proper alternative this time round what 2016? So you won't see many more pros coming through using them for a few more years yet ..
I doubt a very good pro would change unless they are a "freak" like you say about Bryson
In regards to them capping the event
1) I don't think there was anywhere near 8k there yesterday
2) That seems like a convenient press release when they were literally giving away tickets for free. I assume this was because they had barely sold any, as most of the people I spoke to at the event were in the same boat as me - they got free tickets with a code online
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Saw this on twitter. Yes the viewers are more but sky have this on TV so will be wrong
However Liv golf on YouTube has more subscription numbers than skygolf on YouTube
Was looking into the American viewing figures for pga tour events… Charles shwaab so bog standard event on the Calendar this year… on a Thursday 368k on the Golf Channel
Rose to 2.43 million on the Sunday
I don't think Liv will get above 250k this Saturday
All of them are a loss to the tour, take away Bryson and you take away the rivalry with "Brooksy", and that's just one element. All these players, Phil, DJ, Sergio and his tantrums, Poulter and his trousers, Kevin Na and his slow play - it all generates talking points which add to the appeal.
The PGA tour has lost out big time, and it's their own doing.
Unless the R&A, USGA, Masters and PGA of America come out and stand alongside the PGA Tour, these guys will in the main still get in to the some or all of the majors, so the PGA have left themselves with a bunch of events that make up the numbers, with a lot of the big names in golf banned by them, from participating in.
Im going on Sat - what was the parking stuff like?
Food readily avaliable?
Think you are going a touch overboard in regards how much the PGA Tour has currently lost - the only two that have any sort of impact are DJ and Phil Mickleson and even then DJ hasn’t been a highlight player for a year or so at the moment and Mickleson is very much marmite
If the likes of Rory , Morikawa , Smith , etc who are the future of golf moved across them it may well change things but until then the players going over won’t have too much of an impact
The R&A and USGA will allow anyone to qualify but without the ranking points the players will need to go through all stages of Qualfiying to gain entry - the Masters it’s normally top 50 world plus past winners and a few others , they don’t give out other invites so they won’t gain entry into The Masters unless a previous winner , the US PGA will work on ranking points again , same with WGC
So for the Tour to really get viable beyond a big pay day then it’s going to need to get ranking points but then the events are a different format so the level available might not be sufficient- until then it’s going to be as much mates said yesterday more like a very rich exhibition event
Think you are going a touch overboard in regards how much the PGA Tour has currently lost - the only two that have any sort of impact are DJ and Phil Mickleson and even then DJ hasn’t been a highlight player for a year or so at the moment and Mickleson is very much marmite
If the likes of Rory , Morikawa , Smith , etc who are the future of golf moved across them it may well change things but until then the players going over won’t have too much of an impact
The R&A and USGA will allow anyone to qualify but without the ranking points the players will need to go through all stages of Qualfiying to gain entry - the Masters it’s normally top 50 world plus past winners and a few others , they don’t give out other invites so they won’t gain entry into The Masters unless a previous winner , the US PGA will work on ranking points again , same with WGC
So for the Tour to really get viable beyond a big pay day then it’s going to need to get ranking points but then the events are a different format so the level available might not be sufficient- until then it’s going to be as much mates said yesterday more like a very rich exhibition event
Think you are going a touch overboard in regards how much the PGA Tour has currently lost - the only two that have any sort of impact are DJ and Phil Mickleson and even then DJ hasn’t been a highlight player for a year or so at the moment and Mickleson is very much marmite
If the likes of Rory , Morikawa , Smith , etc who are the future of golf moved across them it may well change things but until then the players going over won’t have too much of an impact
The R&A and USGA will allow anyone to qualify but without the ranking points the players will need to go through all stages of Qualfiying to gain entry - the Masters it’s normally top 50 world plus past winners and a few others , they don’t give out other invites so they won’t gain entry into The Masters unless a previous winner , the US PGA will work on ranking points again , same with WGC
So for the Tour to really get viable beyond a big pay day then it’s going to need to get ranking points but then the events are a different format so the level available might not be sufficient- until then it’s going to be as much mates said yesterday more like a very rich exhibition event
In terms of parking, you park at a showground and they shuttle you in on buses. Since the attendance was so low, this was entirely painless - the bus was immediately available and you didn't have to line up to leave (and we left pretty much right after the golf finished, so we were assuming we'd have to wait a bit).
In terms of food, there are plenty of independent food trucks in the main entertainment area, as well as scattered at a few other locations around the course. Again, you didn't need to wait long to be served. Also, if you're at one of the bars that's on an elevated platform looking at multiple holes, it will likely serve food (it doesn't look like these places serve food, but if you ask they have a menu and the food is actually decent).
Works for Bryson though, does it not. Stiff shafts are not for everyone, flexible shafts are not for everyone. Some like thick grips, other thin grips. Bryson has a fairly unique golf swing and body shape. He has probably evaluated his own swing and the golf equipment he uses more than most other people, and I am almost certain he knows what works best for him better than you know what works for him. Fair play for him thinking outside the box and coming up with something unique.Other flavours of one length, e.g. reduced change in length, have been around since at least the 80s. Adoption of new stuff is very fast these days. I doubt we will see any other serious players adopting them. They help what would otherwise have been longer clubs more, players don't use them so much, but they impair what would otherwise be shorter clubs and players use those clubs a lot more than they used to.
Bryson is a brand, and he has chosen this scientist/beast as his brand. No doubt LIV will choose some courses that suit his style of play. Phil is 51, so his role is only to kickstart LIV, but someone is needed to carry it forward. DJ has no personality, so it won't be him, so BdC is the putative figurehead and he will have to win stuff in that role. Expect to see lots of connections to US betting and probably CBD and other stuff that is on-brand for the demographic they are targeting.
Think you are going a touch overboard in regards how much the PGA Tour has currently lost - the only two that have any sort of impact are DJ and Phil Mickleson and even then DJ hasn’t been a highlight player for a year or so at the moment and Mickleson is very much marmite
If the likes of Rory , Morikawa , Smith , etc who are the future of golf moved across them it may well change things but until then the players going over won’t have too much of an impact
The R&A and USGA will allow anyone to qualify but without the ranking points the players will need to go through all stages of Qualfiying to gain entry - the Masters it’s normally top 50 world plus past winners and a few others , they don’t give out other invites so they won’t gain entry into The Masters unless a previous winner , the US PGA will work on ranking points again , same with WGC
So for the Tour to really get viable beyond a big pay day then it’s going to need to get ranking points but then the events are a different format so the level available might not be sufficient- until then it’s going to be as much mates said yesterday more like a very rich exhibition event
Losing Free to Air sport is disaster, there is quite a difference between having something aired on BBC1 for instance and something on YouTube. It is quite easy to stick on the TV and the golf come on, or there's not much good on and golf is the best option just have on in the background. YouTube may be free, but the person will have to deliberately go to the golf page in order to watch.
Are that many young people desperate to watch golf who cannot afford Sky that will watch it? I don't think so, the argument for losing free to air golf is that you lose the casual viewer who could potentially then become a fan