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Thread: The Man Who Saved the PGA Tour

  1. #16
    Deity Bellhorn04's Avatar
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    Men's golf is not really a sport that needs any more interest generated. It is very healthy, as the $11.5 million total purse for this year's Masters will attest.

    Not to mention the 'FedEx Cup', the annual golf playoffs where the first prize is a cool $15 million.
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  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bellhorn04 View Post
    Men's golf is not really a sport that needs any more interest generated. It is very healthy, as the $11.5 million total purse for this year's Masters will attest.

    Not to mention the 'FedEx Cup', the annual golf playoffs where the first prize is a cool $15 million.
    Maybe today with today’s audience.

    But if MLB has pace of play issues that are too slow for today’s 5G Amazon Prime post-millennials, where does that leave golf, which moves at a comparatively glacial pace? After all, an MLB baseball game takes 3plus hours; a PGA golf tournament can take 4 days!!

  3. #18
    Leyenda Thunder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dgalehouse View Post
    Does the PGA test for steroids? You never hear about it. Tiger , in his prime, looked pretty jacked. Otherwise, De Chambeau seems like a colorful character. Nothing wrong with that. It might even help generate some interest in the sport.
    That's a good question. They definitely don't test to the extent that other sports do, as golf is a sport where any competitive advantage you might want to achieve may not be very easy to identify, or won't always show up due to the cyclical nature of the game. Dustin Johnson got busted for cocaine on multiple occasions a few years back, but I don't know about PEDs or other drugs.

  4. #19
    Deity Bellhorn04's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by notin View Post
    Maybe today with today’s audience.

    But if MLB has pace of play issues that are too slow for today’s 5G Amazon Prime post-millennials, where does that leave golf, which moves at a comparatively glacial pace? After all, an MLB baseball game takes 3plus hours; a PGA golf tournament can take 4 days!!
    Golf telecasts cut from shot to shot, so you don't get the impression of things moving slowly.

    Plus you have marquee players like Tiger that everyone wants to watch even if he's not in contention.

    Golf is a game that's made for TV. The Golf Channel is a big success.

    It's really women's golf that isn't as popular or lucrative as it should be.
    Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bellhorn04 View Post
    Golf telecasts cut from shot to shot, so you don't get the impression of things moving slowly.

    Plus you have marquee players like Tiger that everyone wants to watch even if he's not in contention.

    Golf is a game that's made for TV. The Golf Channel is a big success.

    It's really women's golf that isn't as popular or lucrative as it should be.

    Golf might be made for TV as you say, but I think “pace of play” is more related to not only frequency of action, but also intensity. No sports is worse for television than football, where a 3 hour game has 12-15 minutes of action surrounded by 2:45 of players standing in a huddle in between Cialis commercials. But those short bursts of actual football make it worth watching.

    So at what point do all the kids raised on Grand Theft Auto decide golf just lacks even those short bursts!

  6. #21
    Deity Bellhorn04's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by notin View Post
    Golf might be made for TV as you say, but I think “pace of play” is more related to not only frequency of action, but also intensity. No sports is worse for television than football, where a 3 hour game has 12-15 minutes of action surrounded by 2:45 of players standing in a huddle in between Cialis commercials. But those short bursts of actual football make it worth watching.

    So at what point do all the kids raised on Grand Theft Auto decide golf just lacks even those short bursts!
    If future audiences consist solely of kids raised on Grand Theft Auto, nearly all sports are in trouble.
    Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bellhorn04 View Post
    If future audiences consist solely of kids raised on Grand Theft Auto, nearly all sports are in trouble.
    Well in some respects they do.

    Golf will obviously have it's share of fans who play the game and love it. Or some who don't play the game and love it. But as baseball has the issue where people think watching a pitcher pitch is just too slow and bad for the game, how do you think watching a golfer drive and approach comes across to the casual fan?

  8. #23
    Leyenda Thunder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by notin View Post
    Well in some respects they do.

    Golf will obviously have it's share of fans who play the game and love it. Or some who don't play the game and love it. But as baseball has the issue where people think watching a pitcher pitch is just too slow and bad for the game, how do you think watching a golfer drive and approach comes across to the casual fan?
    Golf does far more to grow the game than baseball, and perhaps any other major US sport. It might not be the most entertaining thing to watch for an outsider, or somebody casually interested, but by expanding the amount of people that are interested, they really enhance themselves that way. Throughout the US, there are numerous First Tee programs that teach golf and life skills to kids, many in underprivileged urban areas. There is also the Drive, Chip, and Putt program (similar to Punt, Pass and Kick) that promotes the joy of the game to kids. The winners from each region throughout the US get to go to the National Finals at Augusta National every year the week before the Masters in April. The main governing golf body in the US, the USGA, has done a lot to promote both faster play and playing to have fun in recent years, with the PGA of America doing similar initiatives to a lesser extent. And then internationally, there will always be interest. South Korea, Japan and Latin America are huge emerging markets for golf, with the most of Europe (but especially the UK and Spain), South Africa, and Australia as the other predominant powers in the game in addition to the US

  9. #24
    Deity Bellhorn04's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by notin View Post
    Well in some respects they do.

    Golf will obviously have it's share of fans who play the game and love it. Or some who don't play the game and love it. But as baseball has the issue where people think watching a pitcher pitch is just too slow and bad for the game, how do you think watching a golfer drive and approach comes across to the casual fan?
    The difference is that there aren't really any golf fans who think the game is too slow. Unlike baseball the pace of the game hasn't changed over the years. Slow play did become an issue for a while, but that has been addressed.

    If anything golf has become more appealing to young people because of some of the things Thunder mentioned, and also because golfers have gotten bigger and stronger and hit the ball farther.

    Golf is just a game that's in great shape. Nobody is worried about golf the way they are about baseball.
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  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bellhorn04 View Post
    The difference is that there aren't really any golf fans who think the game is too slow. Unlike baseball the pace of the game hasn't changed over the years. Slow play did become an issue for a while, but that has been addressed.

    If anything golf has become more appealing to young people because of some of the things Thunder mentioned, and also because golfers have gotten bigger and stronger and hit the ball farther.

    Golf is just a game that's in great shape. Nobody is worried about golf the way they are about baseball.
    Golf will probably survive, and they are clearly doing some good promotional work.

    It just strikes me as odd that someone can watch a baseball game and think "this is too slow" but then watch a golf match and not think the same thing. I've just never been able to watch golf. and the only thing less enjoyable to me than watching golf is playing golf.

    However, I suppose golf does have the appeal for a lot of people in that it is one sport you just don't outgrow physically, at least not for a long time. And I think a big part of the reason for that is there is no need to run. My baseball days are behind me at this point. Assuming I could even hit a decent pitch at all with my aging eyes, if I ever managed to run to second base, I'd have to have myself taken out of the game on a stretcher with an oxygen mask. As much as I don't like golf, there is no part of the golf game that is going to just remind me how old I am like running the bases will. There are plenty of golf-related activities that will remind me how awful I am at golf, but that's not the same thing.

    I think that is the appeal of baseball but also the downfall. Baseball is a game most of us grew up playing and learned to pay a certain way, starting out in Little League where we learned the basics from a coach whose biggest qualification was he did not want to pay for his son being on the team. And it's really funny how many people cling to those teachings from their Little League coach like he was an omniscient authority on baseball. But many of us went on to play in other venues, like high school, college or even just an abandoned neighborhood lot. Unlike golf, baseball became ingrained in our childhood, and that is probably also a big part of why a lot of people hate to see changes in the game, including but not limited to overwhelming analytics or a universal DH or weird college football gimmicks translated for use in extra innings. The game itself goes from being a primary pastime that filled our youth to a stern reminder we are getting older. And we see this in not only our inability to keep playing, but also in the way the game itself keeps evolving...

  11. #26
    Deity moonslav59's Avatar
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    I didn't watch a single moment of this.

    (I'm not a golfing fan, but I usually watch some of this tournament every year.)

    If somebody "saved it," I missed it.
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  12. #27
    Leyenda Thunder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by notin View Post
    Golf will probably survive, and they are clearly doing some good promotional work.

    It just strikes me as odd that someone can watch a baseball game and think "this is too slow" but then watch a golf match and not think the same thing. I've just never been able to watch golf. and the only thing less enjoyable to me than watching golf is playing golf.

    However, I suppose golf does have the appeal for a lot of people in that it is one sport you just don't outgrow physically, at least not for a long time. And I think a big part of the reason for that is there is no need to run. My baseball days are behind me at this point. Assuming I could even hit a decent pitch at all with my aging eyes, if I ever managed to run to second base, I'd have to have myself taken out of the game on a stretcher with an oxygen mask. As much as I don't like golf, there is no part of the golf game that is going to just remind me how old I am like running the bases will. There are plenty of golf-related activities that will remind me how awful I am at golf, but that's not the same thing.

    I think that is the appeal of baseball but also the downfall. Baseball is a game most of us grew up playing and learned to pay a certain way, starting out in Little League where we learned the basics from a coach whose biggest qualification was he did not want to pay for his son being on the team. And it's really funny how many people cling to those teachings from their Little League coach like he was an omniscient authority on baseball. But many of us went on to play in other venues, like high school, college or even just an abandoned neighborhood lot. Unlike golf, baseball became ingrained in our childhood, and that is probably also a big part of why a lot of people hate to see changes in the game, including but not limited to overwhelming analytics or a universal DH or weird college football gimmicks translated for use in extra innings. The game itself goes from being a primary pastime that filled our youth to a stern reminder we are getting older. And we see this in not only our inability to keep playing, but also in the way the game itself keeps evolving...
    There's something called speed golf that has gained popularity in niche markets recently. You run to your ball in between shots. 18 hole rounds take no more than 90 minutes if you're making good contact. I really want to try it. You have to carry your entire bag at the same time

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thunder View Post
    There's something called speed golf that has gained popularity in niche markets recently. You run to your ball in between shots. 18 hole rounds take no more than 90 minutes if you're making good contact. I really want to try it. You have to carry your entire bag at the same time
    There are a lot of variations of golf for niche clientele. I used to work with a guy who was an avid disc golfer and used to travel around playing in tournaments in some of the weirdest venues, incl;using one that was inside a cave.

    Speed golf will probably have some appeal, but people my age will probably just continue to play the same game we always knew. The one with no running. And those of us who don't like golf will climb even further down the Physical Activity Ladder and take up fishing. And those who hate fishing or don't live anywhere near fish will climb even further down the PAL and watch marble racing on YouTube.

    But no one will ever make a version of fishing where you run from lake to lake and catch as many fish as possible.

    Or not...

  14. #29
    Deity Bellhorn04's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moonslav59 View Post
    I didn't watch a single moment of this.

    (I'm not a golfing fan, but I usually watch some of this tournament every year.)

    If somebody "saved it," I missed it.
    Max was being tongue-in-cheek with the 'saved' thing. It's sort of equivalent to someone sarcastically saying that analytics are saving baseball.
    Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1

    The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.

  15. #30
    Golf is actually a " niche" sport. But it is a pretty good sized niche . And a niche that has money. Not that it is only for the country club set , but most of those who play are pretty well off. And as noted before, you can play it even as you get too old to play other sports. Very difficult to compare it to baseball , which definitely has some problems of it's own.

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