Stars or Stars?

Greetings Golfers,

So the PGA Tour is making some changes to hold onto its star players.

I get it. They can’t lose their stars.

But, are they making it a better product?

Obviously, I love golf. But I also love other sports. And, I’ve basically stopped watching professional sports. Why? Because I don’t like all of the surrounding “stuff”.

Am I some kind of crazy purist? I don’t think so … sports should be fun … they’re just games … not life-or-death. Yet, I love the skills and the strategy. And the human drama. 

However, they shouldn’t be a carnival.

I guess what really bugs me is that they feel too money driven. They don’t feel like a labor of love.

When I was a kid … they had “Bat Day” at the old Met Stadium in Bloomington. Every kid got a baseball bat. It was a mad-house. When Harmon Killebrew came up to bat … every kid pounded the floor with his bat … it was fantastic! It was genuine, not contrived … just a bunch of kids showing their love and respect for one of their heroes.

That’s an example of having fun at a professional sport without it feeling cheesy and manipulated. It doesn’t have to be pure … it just doesn’t have to be an embarrassment.

People think that because I don’t like the LIV Tour that I love the PGA Tour. Wrong. 

I love golf. I want to watch the best players in the world … whether on television or in person. But I want to watch them play the game. Why do the tv directors cut to guys making meaningless putts? That’s about as interesting as that NFL Redzone show … just showing random teams scoring in the redzone. Really that’s interesting? Only if you’re playing Fantasy Football and caring about your guys’ stats. 

Talk about caring … do you care about the FedEx Cup? I bet you can rattle off all the past winners … sort of like past winners of the Masters. We have a whole room devoted to former FedEx Cup winners.  Not really … actually it’s in a mental institution. 

The PGA Tour hypes-up how much money the winner will get. I can see why it’s a big deal for the players … but I don’t care how much money they’ll win. How is that interesting?

Maybe it’s for the best. I’ve spent too many beautiful days - especially in the Fall - inside the house watching sports on television. I should have been on the golf course.

Well, I guess the bottom-line is that sports are made to be played. Most of us waste too much time in front of the tube. 

I just hope the PGA Tour doesn’t think “stars” means celebrities instead of great players. I wouldn’t want to see the Kardashians playing in Tour events.

Cheers!

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com