The PGA TOUR has a BIG Problem on its Hands

PGA TOUR and LIV Golf viewership has plummeted in 2024, begging the question: can professional golf be saved, and if so, how?!

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at this point there is no way to deny
that professional golf is facing a
reckoning the Waste Management Phoenix
Open was down 35% in viewership versus
the year before the Arnold Palmer
Invitational which is a signature event
was down 30% in viewership versus the
prior year and the players for its
electric finish and everything that we
saw happen there Mike it was down 15%
from the year before we’ve seen these
every day it seems like new numbers come
in just showing how much casual viewers
something that we’ve kind of talked
about and warned here on the podcast
would be turning away from the game very
much appear to be doing so and here’s
the thing it’s not just like the answer
is that that viewers are now switching
away from the PGA Tour and towards live
this is a problem across the board for
professional golf the Associated Press
just reported this and they this is kind
of really sheds light on the fact that
it’s not simply a switch from one League
to the other they said it’s not like all
those lost viewers have simply switched
the channel to live the upstart circuit
which so far has failed to land a major
TV deal leaving it far down the dial on
the CW barely registers in ratings with
viewership numbers generally in the low
hundreds of thousands so this is what we
feared we feared the idea that casual
viewers are going to be put off by what
has happened over the past year or two
and can golf be really saved at this
point so we’re going to talk about
whether it can or not
okay where do we lead from here that’s
the million-dollar question yeah right
what’s concerned with concerning for me
I guess is the ratings for the Masters
weren’t hot either right I think they
were down 20 also down 20% so I think
that was a that was an event where both
tours came together you would think
ratings were equal or better or just a
little off but 20% I mean come on right
that tells me there
and I think what the bigger indication
of that was was the Masters is and and
and one I think it’s almost a red
herring in a way and we’re going to kind
of dissect
this but where people are saying that
the solution is that we’ve got to get
the best players in the world back
together playing together well arguably
you could say that the Masters was our
first opportunity to do that where we
had uh what was it 13 players from Liv
come over and we started to see the big
names playing together again
but there as you said we also saw
ratings drop so golf.com I I pulled up
an article they looked into this they
said the similar type of thing they said
the bigger issue is that golf’s ratings
are now down across the board even in
events when the best players come
together the issue isn’t as simple as
the PGA Tour dealing with bad weather
and the solution isn’t as simple as
reuniting the game’s best players more
often progolf seems to have lost more of
its viewership base and that is bad news
let me ask you this though is it
possible that they have a a scheduling
issue like are we busier as people on
weekend like are just people not being
able to tune in with what’s happening in
Life or or no like provve me wrong there
I don’t know has life always been the
same for year after year past decades I
don’t know there is definitely some
truth sitting in that because you and I
can’t watch golf on the weekends with
everything we’ve got going well what
we’ve seen is and and I I I don’t feel
like
my my viewership has has changed too
much I will still put it on on Sunday on
the television I will however say that
the other rounds Thursday through
Saturday I am migrating more towards
streaming yep um now what do I believe
that that 20% dip that we saw in the
Master’s viewership that 20% of the
people moved over to the app and just
weren’t accounted for there I don’t
think it was that significant I think a
lot of people and you guys let us know
what’s your viewership kind of
Tendencies let us know in the comments
of how you do it but for me the app is a
fantastic way for me to stay in touch
when I’m away from my television for
briefer periods of time I am not opening
up my iPhone and sitting in watching you
know the Masters for hours there I’ll
pop it open when I have to run outside
and walk the dog for a few minutes when
I’m at my kids ball game and I want to
you know kind of keep up to date what’s
going on but that’s not the same
viewership as sitting there in front of
it that every for me at least and I and
again I don’t characterize myself as a
casual viewer I’m a much more invested
viewer for me every opportunity I get I
sit down in front of a television and
put it on there right and and like you
said and you’re not like if you want to
find out how Scotty’s doing at the RBC
Heritage you’re not at a softball game
you’re not flipping that thing into lcap
mode and putting on live TV and watching
it you’re probably just checking the
leaderboard right yes and and and that
that way that viewership hasn’t really
changed for me I will when I’m when I’m
tied up I’m casually checking in but
then when I get home I’m putting it on
okay Saturday Sunday I’m
watching yeah Sunday primarily is your
day if I’m home if you’re home yeah I
again my viewership hasn’t changed I’ll
watch the Saturday and Sunday rounds as
often as I could possibly have and and
right now I don’t think where we are in
the season is he even conflicting with
anything major in other sports there’s
no right so getting back to like the
point that you brought up which I think
is is true is that we are witnessing and
the reports are showing that there’s
been a decline in viewership of live
sporting events across the board okay
okay so there’s B but it’s not enough to
account for how much and how drastic
we’ve seen in the game of golf these
numbers of 20 30% being downturned is
much more indic indicative to me of a
bigger underlying problem that needs to
be solved and one thing that I want to
dive into and really kind of wonder
is is Scotty Sheffer the person who’s
going to turn this around because
undoubtedly any sport and golf has been
evidence of this with Tiger Woods and
others in the past Jack Nicholas things
like
that a star really needs to emerge in a
lot of ways sure in order for you to get
that the real attachment of fans and the
real driving at the end of the day
sports is driven by Our Stars absolutely
no one know who Scotty shefer was about
two to three years ago well not a lot of
people and my question is this if Sports
is driven by stars is Scotty with his
incredible play the person to do it but
even more so this if we’re gonna put the
weight on Scotty’s back of being our
hero can he really be a hero without a
villain and just generally like it’s
just an existential question can a hero
exist without a villain and I want to I
want to break that apart in a few
minutes I want to talk about it because
you could arguably make the case that
the villains have left the building sure
by by going to live and moving over
there and think about the names you know
um who and and I’m not calling these
people villain in real lives but I’m
saying the role that they play stir the
pot and who have in the past have been
the counterpoints to some of the more
squeaky clean hero
so Bryson Des Shambo Bubba Watson you
could arguably put him in that way
Patrick Reed um Brooks Kea these are the
guys who were who who were the villains
that we loved yeah right absolutely and
in that way but the animosity between
the two still retains um and this is
evidence that the players are very aware
of the ratings issue so wondering what
some of the had to say about it one case
in point Ian polter who could also kind
of classify under one of those guy you
know villains we love to hate and and
we’re saying that from our side because
he was always the villain you know in
the Ridder cups and the US team he did a
lot of damage to our us teams and he was
the villain there but it made for
fantastic television sure to have that
no doubt so you know obviously he he
shares ack name with JT Poston the
postman you know Ian polter because the
postman delivers and okay so in the
early rounds of the RBC this week you
had JT Poston was in the lead yep yep
and a fan had had put the question to
Ian polter saying um there’s only one
Postman right to Ian polter and polter
responded saying if it helps their
ratings they can borrow it for
now so uh taking a very uh you know
opportunist spot there to take a shot at
the ratings do you think Liv guys are
rooting that the ratings go down in a
way validates their decision and all
that or
it tough to say because I think anyone
in their right mind if you’re if you are
in the world to professional golf to
root
against viewership in general is a bad
idea mhm I think what they should all
want is that there’s viewership across
the board on both sides especially if
they’re really going to come together
but the reality is and why I kind of
prefaced by saying those quotes earlier
is that it would be more of a bragging
point for the guys on live to say like
haha you know everyone’s leaving PG tour
to come watch us right the reality is
they’re just not watching they’re not
watching either tour right and these are
the real casual viewers of course and to
your point before about can there be a
hero without a villain I mean there’s a
lot of guys on tour that are just like
the side Feld line like she’s too good
you know they’re too good yeah they’re
too nice they’re too polite they’re too
gr of people well and I think you need a
little bit of sprinkle I mean think
about the housewives on Bravo if they
just hugged and they were friends no one
would watch the show they need the
fighting and the yelling I mean that’s
what brings you back I’m not saying we
need guys on tour fighting and yelling
but I’ll be honest when Brooks and
Bryson were bickering on tour it was
great TV it was fun it was entertaining
it was something different it’s like
WrestleMania why do you think that thing
has lasted so so long right and the
reality is every
week it seems like it’s it’s yet another
Feelgood story with with Scotty Sheffer
and there’s there’s nothing wrong with
that it’s it’s it’s fantastic and I’m
enjoying watching and rooting him on
he’s he’s a he’s a great guy he’s he’s
an incredible how his dominance right
now incredible Unstoppable but like I
said Can Can you ever achieve that true
hero status without without a villain
without something on the other side of
that so what are some of these other
players saying right um and and now
players are becoming more and more aware
of it and they’re becoming aware of it
because they’re being asked the
questions by reporters reporters are
putting these ratings in their face and
saying it’s dropping what do you think
so recently Peter Milady who also sits
on the player Advisory board so he’s an
important voice there he said people are
just sick of the narrative in golf about
uh being about you know contracts on
live purses on the tour they want to see
sport they want to see people who are
the best in the world at what they do do
it at a high level and celebrate that
celebrate the athleticism celebrate the
achievement so he’s saying that people
are sick of it we don’t want to hear
this anymore and it it’s not something
that all the blame can just be placed on
the Liv side either with the purses
because the PGA Tour has responded in
kind by by raising its purses and not
just raising their purses but shouting
it from the roof rooftops y they’re not
quietly doing it right no right and
again I and I’ve said this countless
episodes now on the podcast because I
continue to try to raise the alarm of
this is where we’re going this is the
trouble that we’re seeing is you can’t
have these two things going in opposite
directions you can’t have viewership and
ratings going down and is going up and
and those purses being contingent upon
sponsors so now we’re seeing um sponsors
dropping out of of of uh events it would
be a different story if you said to the
sponsor hey uh I want you to be a
sponsor of a signature event you’re
going to get the most we’re gonna have
this great field and it’s the rating is
going to be through the roof but then
you look at like the API now as a
sponsor I’ve paid some up upward 30%
more this year to have 30% less
viewership business standpoint we’re
going in the opposite direction that
doesn’t work that doesn’t work so you
think that their scramble right now to
get these outside funds these investors
is to avoid the Snowball Effect that if
you start losing ratings you start
losing sponsors then all of a sudden
you’re down to four Signature Events now
everyone on tour is like h i it what
makes me worry that these reaching out
for this funding whether come strategic
Sports Group the PF whatever instead of
becoming a sound you know kind of
investment at one point does it become a
bailout
because now we can no longer make the
case for sponsors to have these big big
purses right you know that the players
continue to get richer as casual
droppers fall casual viewers drop out
more and more that’s the concern that I
have so max H another guy you know who
will he’ll give it to you straight right
and he was they asked him the question
of whether fans should feel fatigued by
The Narrative that’s been golf over the
last couple of
years yeah and he said they probably
should have fatigue I don’t know why
they’d want to care about how much money
we’re making and how much more money we
want to make it’s quite nauseating I
mean you can’t be more direct than that
yeah you can’t and in a lot of ways I
that’s what I’m saying is is that the
players are starting to see it and feel
it and the people who we’re never going
to hear from cuz they’ll just quietly
drop off are those casual viewers yeah
and what like I said as we start to look
towards this big picture of you
know what’s happening week in and week
out with the PGA Tour uh the confusion
around schedules and who’s playing where
it’s just painting a bleak picture do
you think you can live with events being
eliminated like do you need golf week in
and week out do you need the Zurich next
week do you need the as a fan so what
you’re I mean basically saying is like
uh if something was more scarce would I
be more ready to tune in when it’s there
yep I don’t know little absence makes
the heart grow fonder right I don’t know
but I don’t think it works I don’t think
so I I just don’t I think when you come
to again I I don’t want to address this
from the standpoint of me as a as a
viewership case right because I’m not
this important demographic that golf is
losing which is the Casual viewer I
think for the Casual viewer more at bats
is actually better I think more weeks
where there’s fireworks and there’s the
best players playing together and
there’s story lines to be driven that’s
when you start to see something I mean
one of my theories just looking at the
last four years from covid I think the
boom of social media like think about it
like you can wake up on a Monday open up
Instagram M open up Tik Tok maybe even
open up yeah YouTube you can find out
who won you can find out how they won in
3 minutes 1 minute 30 seconds you know I
just think like if we’re consuming of
our golf that way that’s definitely
going to hurt ratings like I don’t have
to tune into the RBC but I know today
this morning I’ll know who won who came
in second what the player St like I get
it but I don’t know I to me I I don’t
feel
like the accessibility of highlights
yeah is is what was hurting here because
think about it you could go back a
hundred years ago I could pick up the
newspaper and read whether the Yankees
won last night that’s not going to tell
me whether I tune in or not you know
what I’m saying uh if anything like I’m
just I’m just get the I’m getting
information it’s not the entertainment
of actually watch ing the product for me
more so it’s how we’ve been consuming it
and just how you get those video
highlights not a newspaper but yeah
you’re right but no matter what you’ll
always be a separate of highlights and
versus watching but again why do people
tune in a lot of people tune in to see a
star and if you think about this this is
this is across Sports there are in the
NFL yeah there are probably 20 to 30
active names that drive a lot of
attention yeah right um you think about
even the best teams like Kansas City
winning yeah think about the number of
people who are tuning in to watch momes
or Kelsey play right so does golf then
have a star problem and this is
something that I just was reading the
other day golf.com brought this up and
it was it was a fantastic point they
said Rory marroy hasn’t won on the uh on
the PJ tour in 10 months Jordan spe
Justin Thomas Xander schaet and Patrick
Klay haven’t won in two years the rest
of golf Stars they went out to say
Bryson Rah Brooks are spending most of
the year playing on live a tour that in
recent weeks has struggled to clip
200,000 average viewers on the CW per
neelen that uh for the non- ratings
inclined is less than a third of the
audience averaged by the WNBA last
season on ABC W so you remove a guy like
like Rah who was winning mhm right there
goes a star goes over the the to to live
for whatever reasons we mean these we’ve
done countless episodes just on this but
the idea the fact is Liv is still
fighting an uphill battle to get people
watching as evidenced by that and I get
it depending on where you’re listening
to the show or watching the show there’s
more viewership
opportunities in Europe uh there’s
streaming there’s ways you can get it so
you can make that argument but let stick
to the problem that needs to be solved
and the reality is like I said the
Casual viewer I don’t believe that the
Casual viewer are the ones who are
downloading the live app and sitting
there and watching it like that right
I’m talking about the people we need to
continue to drive the general popularity
of the sport which is somebody who will
flip on their television and they have a
couple other sporting events to choose
from and they choose this right they’re
choosing it because of a star I think
you nailed it I think in a large part
they’re that that star driven you had
chef going Windam Clark you had aberer
again who was hot the Masters you I saw
those names on leaderboard like I’m
staying around you don’t see those names
and you see seven names you’ve never
heard of you might be moving on to
sporting event number two right and well
and that’s what a lot of people said
some of the the non household names that
had won early on
tour
so what what I’m driving at here and
what we’re kind of kind of looking at is
in order for a Star to emerge and
substituting That Word Hero mhm I think
there are a couple components that are
missing I think the one component that’s
missing is the fact
that we need a a level kind of regularly
occurring battlefield for our hero to
emerge from and I don’t think that four
at bats which is the four majors which
is are right now the only time that that
the best players in the world all
together m is enough to have someone
rise to that stardom that we’re talking
about right because I think what we need
is to start with a baseline of finding a
way that you can get the the players on
a regular basis coming together more
often now there there are countless
theories floating out there about what
this is going to be but we’re all in the
dark still with the agreement some
people are saying that they as if the
tourists come together then the best
players on live will be able to come
over and play in The Signature Events
whatever it may be you got to get more
than four occurrences per year where
people are are are the best players in
the world are all playing yeah right
definitely that’s step one then I think
step two is you you have to get back to
a natural it’s it’s tale’s old as time
what makes a good story is a hero and a
villain right
and who’s a hero and who’s the villain
may may vary depending on the viewer
exactly somebody might be my hero and
your villain or vice versa Phil vers
tiger all those years right
but having top level players going
battling it out head-to-head and having
a little bit of that diversity of of who
you know what the personalities are
Scotty Sheffer is is an amazing golfer
and he’s a he’s a just a great from
everything I can derive from a great
kind soul yeah right but his interviews
aren’t exactly electric right you know
you can you can tell you and and I
understand I respect that and I I’ll
give him that the last place he wanted
to be after he won the Masters was there
giving interviews and he said that I
just want to get home to my wife right
my wife’s pregnant I want to get home
and see her right
right it’s a feel-good story it’s not
the best television necessarily totally
right uh if you saw an interview like
that ahead of a title fight be like yeah
I’m looking forward to fighting him but
like I I gotta get home you know
whatever it’s not so what I’m saying is
as we get these guys back together and
playing
more bring the villains back yeah
totally because in the in the reality is
what would you say is the closest thing
we have to a villain right now and by
that I mean who’s even Garners enough of
a an emotional response from viewers in
one way or the other on the PGA tour to
even make you care enough to root
against him I think right now Zack
Johnson
sorry pretty hard you been taking it
hard lately but he’s also not playing on
the PG we week out I think if you had to
label some of that I think like people
start to dig more into the hood of JT
and seeing like a little bit of uh love
him want to want to support him hope he
wins again hate that he’s struggling
versus the other side of the coin saying
like kind of glad he’s been a little bit
of arrogance and if anything that might
be a little bit of a Fallout from the
the Netflix full swing documentary where
he was kind of put on that same side as
Zach Johnson people were frustrated you
know but that was the kind of the
closest we thought beyond that maybe a
Patrick Klay I think about Hat Gate but
again none of these are at the level of
where we saw Brooks and Bryson the way
you know what I mean the way that that
was kind of kind of unfolding or any of
that type of stuff or or Bubba Watson
was always a big love him or hate him
personality I don’t think that the the T
really has the love them or hateem right
now there’s just the um that’s good for
him you know what I mean type of and and
great Golf and whatever it may be but
again I think that what the only way to
kind of solve this is to start to get
these
guys back together on a regular basis
where the natural storylines will emerge
of the personality driven this or that
yeah I’m thinking what about a golf Bad
Boy Rick vaugh from a major league like
a bad boy you know what I mean like do
you think person Al is always Drew Dr
you know what I mean but like I said was
just a rebel like kizner always felt
like that a little bit but he was like
the nice clean Rebel you know regardless
what I’m saying is in order to elevate
those stars to that Hero level there’s
got to be a counter point to it and I
find that I’m watching the PGA Tour week
in and week out I’m enjoying what I’m
watching I’m watching some great Golf
and at this point I’m just kind of
entertained by and rooting on good golf
right I just don’t know if that’s enough
for the Casual viewer and I think drives
back to this idea that the only way to
really solve this is to get everybody
back together right on a more regular
basis I also think that there’s one
other thing that was a continued kind of
black eye that’s been hurting the
attention and I think that the Masters
kind of really shed a big light on that
and it’s a topic that was hot and then
kind of quieted but there’s a lot left
unresolved with that so I want to talk
about that in a second let’s just’s
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commit to getting out there and getting
a great fitting we’ve had the
opportunity recently to go through a
fitting for the new Titleist T Series
irons as well as the new sm10 vogi
wedges and I’ve said this before for as
many fittings as we’ve gone through I
learn something new every time and
there’s never a time that I feel more
confident with the club that’s in my
hand than when I know that it’s been
properly fit and I’ve gone through that
fitting not only in a fitting do you get
the education as a great fitter will
take you through the hows and wise and
whens of hitting each individual Club
but you’ll also learn a little bit more
about why that club is best fit for you
and the cool thing that I’ve learned is
that
just knowing that across the Spectrum
there’s no one thing that’s right for
anyone you know what I mean and it just
really is it’s fitting it directly to
the player so again whether it be the
turf interaction that we experience with
the sm10 wedges or the ball speed and
the variation of distance and dispersion
and angle of descent that I was able to
get from putting those t-s series irons
in my bags no matter what it is there’s
always going to be an area where you can
really start to match up your own
performance with the great performance
of the clubs and there’s no better way
to get that than with a fitting so go to
titleist.com find out more about where
you can schedule your fitting and like I
said if if you do one gift to yourself
as a golfer this year it’s gift yourself
the experience of a proper fitting and
once you do you will just realize the
value of the fitting and I guarantee
you’ll never go back CU we never have so
go to ts.com find out about all the
fitting options and go get fit this year
uh there was one other thing that that I
I and it just kind of screamed at me as
I was watching the Masters this year and
I I’m trying my hardest to kind of put
myself in the shoes of the Casual viewer
I try to remove myself from being like
where we’re at now like we have a golf
podcast we’re watching week in and week
out all that type of stuff we’re not the
audience that we’re generally trying to
attract like we’re the guys who going to
watch it anyway what would put off the
Casual viewer
and this hit hard earlier this year year
and then it kind of lost the attention
you know of the the news cycle but I
guarantee as we get closer to the actual
date it’s only going to ramp up again
and that was the golf ball roll
back yeah I think the roll back put a
much more sour taste in the mouths of a
casual viewer than I think a lot of
golf’s governing bodies want to admit
and I think that it’s it’s they try to
kind of smooth it over or or walk past
it by saying oh it won’t matter that
much to your everyday golfers and and
Pros are going to lose 10 15 yards off
their drives whatever it may be and it’s
going to make the game more you know
entertaining in the long run but then I
look at the Masters yep and I say is
this further evidence that the roll back
was a was a solution you know looking
for a problem so to speak I think we had
when you looked at final leaderboard was
there what six guys under par yeah it
wasn’t many yeah there was there was a
handful it was the very top of the
leaderboard that were under par the cut
line I think was what plus
five it was proof to me that the golf
ball where it’s at is a not a problem
nobody went in there and overpowered
Augusta right and I full well get it
they they lengthened some of the te’s
and things like that that okay mhm but
it wasn’t a a a circus they didn’t run
away with it right we saw them struggle
we saw that that course humble the best
golfers in the world you know we saw
quadruple Bogies and I get it there was
some weather okay there it was windy
that’s going to happen sure right but
again I think from an entertainment
standpoint if we’re trying to make an
entertaining product and kind of looking
at this whole thing as a big picture if
we’re splitting up our Fields so we have
guys playing in different places if
we’re ripping apart the heroes and the
villains so they’re no longer playing
Side by Side Y if we’re taking the
excitement of that the long ball or at
least in the view of the Casual who
maybe doesn’t even fully understand what
the roll back change is right if that’s
becoming golf’s elevator
pitch well then guess what there no
surprise that that that more casual
golfers are going to see this as a less
entertaining product and tune out you
think that’s enough to drop the
viewership now CU if so what’s going to
happen when they do roll it back gez
that well that’s That’s My worry is what
but I think people even I think when
they that was the wrong time and the
wrong place for the for them to come in
and announce that roll back when golf
was already struggling with the Optics
of the fragmentation of the sport to
come in and kill the party yeah right
you know what I mean it’s like it’s like
literally mom and dad coming home and
saying all right guys everybody’s got
part’s over right and already waning
party in that way and I thought it was
evidence I I thought the Masters was
pure evidence that we don’t need a roll
back I would have no problem with if
they said that they wanted to freeze the
ball where it is and not allow any
further distance advancements you know
okay this we’re gonna forever conform
here freeze it whatever I think the like
I said I think the the the it’s a PR
nightmare to try to go out there and
tell the general public the general
viewership that the ball is no longer
going to go as far because I’m telling
you right now that’s what most people
are hearing they’re not hearing it’s
only a 5% change it’s going to matter
more for the guys who hit it further
because it’s kind of like a sliding
scale on the way that ball Speed Works
they’re not hearing that no your casual
golfers are like oh you know the guy not
going to hit I I likeed watching because
I I like those guys watching those guys
bomb it I can’t bomb it I like to watch
them do it right you know what I mean
yeah again maybe this is me just kind of
feeling like it’s one more thing piling
on but I I truly do feel like that was
one more thing that that hit hard this
year Y and I think a lot of your
everyday your guys who are going to like
just watch something on on Sunday might
be like let me just watch a different
sport because like H that’s that’s I
mean I could see that I mean I I tie
that in with the fact that like golf PGA
Tour was a very uh I think baby boomer
type sport I think like now these kids
are getting more the Baby Boomers are
are becoming more extinct I should say
they’re getting older they’re dying off
maybe they’re just losing viewership
that way the roll back it’s another
thing it’s an eyes sore on the sport
it’s make it putting people off I think
all that combined but think about it we
hit such a tremendous growth phase right
before all this went down Co no before
all everything happened with what do you
call it co hurt all sports you know as
far as viewership golf grew during Co in
generally but we’re talking here we’re
talking professional golf with the split
of golf right I’m saying the split of
golf and the roll back and all these
things golf will look back I think in
the history books and say man we
couldn’t have had a worse timing on this
because those happened when we were
bringing more youth into the sport more
youth
people were watching these these Inc
story lines of of of you know week in
and week out these great golfers some of
the best golfers the the sport has ever
seen dueling it out and and golf was
starting to like really launch then all
of a sudden in a way it’s hard to not
call these self-inflicted wounds cuz
golf comes in and splits itself in half
with Liv branching off as its own tour
right and then the golf’s government
bodies come in and kind of put the
hammer down even harder by saying we’re
going to you know roll back the golf
ball and we’re going to slow down the
equipment and make the game not as you
know entertaining of a product in that
way yeah so again I just thought I have
my own personal gripes with the idea of
the roll back but I I I couldn’t help
but in a way you know yelling at my TV
screen a little bit of saying like
where’s the problem where’s the problem
Augusta National it was a perfect proof
that g the best the best of the best
cream of the crop best golfers can still
absolutely be challenged even with the
equipment where the equipment is right
now yeah it’s the the the sport has not
become too easy for anyone right even at
the highest level and I thought that was
perfect evidence of that perfect
evidence I even love that one clip that
was trending where the guy was like if
you started on the green as like a 10
handicap at Augusta you might not win
right it’s hard and it just shows there
are ways if you want to challenge the up
the highest Echelon of golfers there are
ways to do that there are ways to do
that with course design there are ways
to do that with how fast and firm you
get them going there are ways to do that
you know there are ways to even do that
with scheduling and where they hold
events and hold events you know with
harder conditioned we weatherwise or
whatever it may be and then I think
there’s also a time and a place for to
have to hold events at golf courses that
are easier and that these guys can go 20
30 under and we could just watch them
just be a birdie Festival that’s
entertaining in a way too if if the MLB
came out today and said to tomorrow
night we’re doing a corked bat night
everyone’s allowed to use cork bats I
would watch it that’s awesome I’m going
to see 4,000 home runs it’s going to be
great but here’s the key you still got
to hit the home run right and then that
would be in a lot of ways very novel
right of course I get it no different
than saying like here
uh give all the guys long drive drivers
see what they do but what I’m saying is
it’s more so like using that MLB
reference it’s not like there’s 14 home
runs per game and we’ve got to make the
the ball not go as far right the Masters
was evident of that those guys struggled
playing with today’s ball their ball is
not yet rolled back and it just makes me
wonder like how much even more difficult
might it have been if we took 15 20
yards away from them yeah right and
would that if if you envisioned and
replayed the Masters in your mind would
you be at that much more entertained if
those if if the guys had to work that
much harder because they were hitting
the ball 15 yards less absolutely not
yeah we saw plenty of struggle out there
plenty and I I just I think it was clear
evidence and I and I’ll get off my soap
box after this but I think it was clear
evidence that that the roll back was a a
you know a solution looking for a
problem and the problem is just is just
not as as prevalent there there’s a
there was a million other ways that they
could have if they really wanted to have
guys less guys going low there’s ways
that you can do it that you don’t
require should punishing all of golf
yeah exactly us included right the last
people who need to lose distance is US
yeah
true I don’t care you want to make the
argument it’s just five
yards anything is too much to take away
from the everyday golfer anything I
agree with that anything M so anyway
that’s all we have make sure you
subscribe wherever you get your podcast
uh but no doubt there is there’s a
problem here and and every week that
goes by without some sort of clarity
about how this game can going to reverse
the fragmentation that’s happened I
think is important and I think it only
gets more important when we got to stop
the bleeding and not continue to lose
viewership that’s the key I think you’re
hearing from players you’re hearing from
fans you guys let us know your Tak in
the comments we’ll see you in the next
video