Improving the Olympic Tournament with Team Play

[cutchemist42]

Not my original thought, as this idea comes from the Fried Egg Podcast, Episode 102 on 5 Changes on Improving Golf.

The host and ESPNs Kevin Van Valkunberg discussed the topic on how MEH the Olympic tourney was for intrigue by being simply individual strokeplay. They also mentioned on how the Presidents Cup is also pretty meh because the comaderie of the rest-of-world team isnt there unless playing your with your fellow countrymen.

What they proposed instead was a team format as there are about 30 countries with 4 players in the top 1000 in the world. I frankly loved the idea as the Olympic tourney was really easy to ignore as a normal strokeplay event. You would get to see amped up country comaderie that you usually see in the Olympics.

 

[HJJ003]

11 minutes ago, cutchemist42 said:

Not my original thought, as this idea comes from the Fried Egg Podcast, Episode 102 on 5 Changes on Improving Golf.

The host and ESPNs Kevin Van Valkunberg discussed the topic on how MEH the Olympic tourney was for intrigue by being simply individual strokeplay. They also mentioned on how the Presidents Cup is also pretty meh because the comaderie of the rest-of-world team isnt there unless playing your with your fellow countrymen.

What they proposed instead was a team format as there are about 30 countries with 4 players in the top 1000 in the world. I frankly loved the idea as the Olympic tourney was really easy to ignore as a normal strokeplay event. You would get to see amped up country comaderie that you usually see in the Olympics.

 

I remember that podcast. I’m an avid listener and that was a good “episode”. I actually like the idea of the Olympic format being something similar to the collegiate format. A stroke play division and a team match play division. That way you have a chance for someone with a country that doesn’t have a lot of depth to win a medal, but the team match play format also allows for plenty of drama as well as country members to band together for competition. 

[cutchemist42]

6 hours ago, HJJ003 said:

I remember that podcast. I’m an avid listener and that was a good “episode”. I actually like the idea of the Olympic format being something similar to the collegiate format. A stroke play division and a team match play division. That way you have a chance for someone with a country that doesn’t have a lot of depth to win a medal, but the team match play format also allows for plenty of drama as well as country members to band together for competition. 

Yeah it was last week that I listened to it but I believe they mentioned that as being a workable model.

I just thought it makes too much sense and I dont see how the golf federations could have liked the appeal that the tourney had.