LIVing Large

Now let me say right off the bat-or in this case right off the face of the club, that I am not here to knock the LIV tour. As a matter of fact, that would be contradictory or contradictive, whichever word you'd rather use, to how I feel about why the PGA players decided to play for LIV golf as opposed to the PGA tour.

Over the past 10 years, golf fans have become increasingly disillusioned with the PGA tour and how it runs it's day-to-day operations. Fans have become not too sure as to what it is exactly the PGA tour promotes. Do they promote just the players? Do they promote the courses? Do they promote the manufacturers? Is it a combination of trying to please all of them? So if the fans were confused, imagine how the players felt. This is how they make their living. They try and put out a product that fans enjoy watching and will support.

By contrast, the PGA makes millions of dollars a year as opposed to the players who are daily hires and have no guaranteed income. The players try very hard by staying in shape, by helping develop new technologies, by coming up with better shot selections with longer drives, better accuracy. This is all in an effort to try to create a uniform, fun, product for the people who enjoy watching it. The PGA Tour meanwhile, counters with trying to reign back the technology so the clubs can't hit the balls as far in an effort to bring scores down thinking that's what fans want to see. Meanwhile, they offer nothing more to the pros other than longer, tougher courses under seemingly harder conditions.

Something had to give.

So the Saudis decided to start a golf league of their own. Their concept is to hire the best players they can hire at competitive salaries, then create a more fun environment for the patrons who come to watch the professionals play. So from the professional perspective, how can you pass up competitive pay in a fun environment with great weather on great courses around the world? And, you don't have to change your equipment or worry about how far you hit your ball ?

Something had to give.

So acts of discrimination aside ( We know what the Saudis have done and it took an act of congress for the PGA to change their rules), you can't blame the players for either changing or staying pat. We as the fans also have a choice and if we decide that we like the LIV format and it's more entertaining for us, then that's where we will watch our golf. If we decide we like the PGA form of golf and it's competition, then we will stay with the PGA Tour. For now, the fans have two different styles of PGA product that we can entertain ourselves with. The professionals also have two different styles that they can choose from to make a living.

But if golf starts getting more restrictive and those restrictions trickle down to us as fans and weekend players...

Something will have to give.