Home Sweet Home
Greetings Golfers,
Well, I’m back in Minnesota. We didn’t see snow until northern Iowa … seriously. But Minnesota made up for that lack of snow. Wow! Rumor is (from knowledgeable sources) that it will probably be a late start for local golf courses.
We got back Sunday night, and I’ve spent the week in the Clubhouse. In fact, it went so fast that I hadn’t thought about my blog until Thursday night.
The natural topic seemed to be that I’m back home … and how does that relate to Deer Run? Seems easy enough … we want Deer Run to feel like home even though you travel to other courses, etc.
My wife said it sounded boring.
Ok … what’s not boring? The LIV Tour is always a hot topic. And this week the PGA Tour announced that it’s going to have smaller, no-cut tournaments in 2024. Hmmmm … does that sound like a reaction to LIV? … even a copy of LIV?
Reacting is usually not as good as being proactive. I wish the PGA Tour was consistently improving the product. Obviously they need to keep 3 different groups happy:
Star players
Sponsors
Fans
But to just pander to each group does not build a good product. What about building a BETTER product … wouldn’t that naturally appeal to those 3 groups?
I love golf … and even watching golf. But the PGA Tour has a lot of boring tournaments. We all love the Majors because they’re meaningful.
Is the FedEx Cup meaningful? Maybe if you’re a player. But why would anyone else care?
Probably the best thing about tournaments is the cut. Half the field goes home after 2 rounds. The players have to earn it.
The basic appeal of golf is its brutal simplicity: Hit it, find it, deal with it.
We don’t like golf junked-up.
The Masters is pretty pure. And so are the other Majors like the US Open and the British Open. The PGA - not as much. Thus its place as the bottom rung of the Majors.
Yet the Phoenix Open is fun. Sort of the perfect tournament the day of the Super Bowl.
The PGA Tour needs to figure out how to get better. Not just try to make everyone happy. And it sure doesn’t want to seem like it’s copying the cheesiness of the LIV Tour.
Do I have it figured out? No. But give me time. I just got home and have a lot to do … but I’ll start thinking about this … send me your ideas if you’ve got it figured out.
It’s good to be back home!
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com
Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351