Is the PGA Tour Good for Golf?

[Herkimer]

On 2/20/2020 at 9:33 AM, iacas said:

Big disagreement from me there. The Tour visits like two great golf courses, and the rest… meh.

This is the strangest reply I've ever read!!

[DaveP043]

3 minutes ago, Herkimer said:

This is the strangest reply I've ever read!!

I'm not sure I agree with only two great courses, I haven't studied them all, but they do visit a whole lot of relatively recent TPC courses that are definitely meh at best.  And they do that at least in part to keep as much money as possible within the PGA Tour coffers.

[Groucho Valentine]

I dont know. I know its good for me on a saturday or sunday afternoon when i have nothing else to do...

[Wally Fairway]

I find this a fascinating topic, actually a small subset of the larger question would sports be better without professional leagues?

It actually harkens back to a time before professional sports leagues dominated the landscape, and were overtake with sponsorships, billion dollar arenas, and multi-billion dollar broadcast rights.

Are we better off with the sports brands - Nike, Adidas, Acushnet, etc. Sure it has made a few billionaires (owners) and the players have an opportunity to become millionaires or mega-millioinairs (Tiger, Lebron, etc). But is this like the Romans going to the Colosseum, and is it sustainable?

Sports was around for quite a while before it became a money making franchise; I certainly don't have the answers.
But I feel certain that if it were not for the PGA Tour, and the broadcast TV showing of events that there would be far fewer courses, that technology would lag where it is today, both in equipment and course maintenance. It would be a more exclusive sport, with elitism at the country club core. 

But to address the question posed in the poll - I think it depends on how you define "good for golf"

[3jacker]

Because the Tour that happened in reality is the PGA Tour, it is good for golf in the sense that it brought more interest in the sport and gave some sort of indication as to how the game is supposed to be played.  God knows average folks would have never had an inkling left to their own devices. 

I don't think it's the best version of itself, but it is the best we have and the benefits to the game far outweigh the shortfalls the Tour seems to have.  

Edited February 24, 2020 by 3jacker

[iacas]

3 hours ago, Herkimer said:

This is the strangest reply I've ever read!!

Two is a bit of an exaggeration, but… name them?

1. Riviera.
2. Harbour Town?
3. Pebble (but then they have the celebrities out there for that one, so meh, plus Pebble is overrated).
4. Uhm…
5. The Greenbrier? Maybe?
6. Yeah, I'm about done.

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View the complete tournament schedule of the PGA TOUR.

 

[Elmer]

I think the PGA is both good and bad for the game.
Good in the regard that it makes the game visible. It provides an advertisement for courses and exotic locations other than the local muni!

I have to imagine there are a few people who were brought to golf because of the PGA on TV? Not all of us were brought to the local muni by our Henry Vardon loving Irish grandfather!
It also provides a great example of the game played by the rules (most the time). I have had my share of experience with golfers who don’t play out of bunkers or behind trees because “I paid $100 for this round, I am going to hit from where I want to”.
I think the PGA showcases some of the best golfers, and allows us to view their triumphs and mistakes. I think being able to see a world class golfer shank one into the drink is a excellent example to all golfers, that this stuff happens.

The bad-
I think the PGA also sets a bad example for amateurs, by setting up unrealistic expectation.
I know plenty of hackers who walk off 20 ft putts at the muni, like they are trying to win the masters. When you are a bogey golfer or putting for a double bogey, lets not spend all day viewing the put from every angle.

How many hackers and better than hackers, buy the newest gear when they could play just as well with their 30 year old McGregor Irons?
How many hackers us Prov 1s or tour balls, because they see a guy on TV?

I think without the PGA golf would not be where it is today.

However, I think the PGA does not do its best to grow the game. Golf being as expensive as it is, tends to have a very elite and high end advertisers and viewers, and I don’t see that changing.

I don’t think the PGA is doing a good job diversifying its audience, but I also don’t think it intends to.

Just my $.02

[mcanadiens]

Probably most of you know a lot more about the courses than I do, but ...

Aren't Olympia Fields, Muirfield Village, Colonial, Sawgrass and Kapalua well thought of.

Maybe I just think so because I hear so much about them.

[DaveP043]

2 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

Probably most of you know a lot more about the courses than I do, but ...

Aren't Olympia Fields, Muirfield Village, Colonial, Sawgrass and Kapalua well thought of.

Maybe I just think so because I hear so much about them.

I think you're right, in that the exposure these courses get, and the compliments from the media, probably give us an inflated idea of their quality.  

[3jacker]

I've played Colonial and Sawgrass. 

Colonial is cool - old school, very well thought out.  

TPC at Sawgrass is garish and unoriginal to me.  Gimmicky.  But hard.

[tehuti]

I voted #3. The Tour definitely promotes the game and certainly helps the golf equipment industry. But I also have played with a lot of golfers who don't watch or follow the PGA at all, so in their case it probably has no impact.

That being said, if issues like the current distance controversy that really only affect the pros will cause changes to equipment performance for average golfers that's a problem.

So the answer can be yes AND no.

[leftybutnotPM]

On 2/25/2020 at 2:37 AM, Herkimer said:

This is the strangest reply I've ever read!!

in response to Iacas saying:

Quote

Big disagreement from me there. The Tour visits like two great golf courses, and the rest… meh.

Again - Herkimer's comment kind of proves one of the points that people are trying to make.

The average golfer seems to think that the courses they see on TV are "great courses".

Many are superbly conditioned. Some are excellent. Few are better than very good.

A couple might be great, but no PGATour event is played on a truly great golf course.

Edited February 27, 2020 by leftybutnotPM

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, leftybutnotPM said:

A couple might be great, but no PGATour event is played on a truly great golf course.

OK, I’ll bite then. What do you define as a ‘truly great course’ that the PGA Tour has skipped over?

[StevenB]

I voted yes... For the shear entertainment value  the PGA Tour is an awesome show.  We get to see truly great athletes showing the human potential of skill and ability.  True, they have slow play issues, and other pain points on display in the public eye, but all in all; this is a great show week in and week out.  Honestly, how many golfers out there can personally identify with airing out a driver 350+, or hitting a 180 yard 9 iron?  this is a athletic spectacle, with drama and cool story lines weaved in.  I look forward to watching and these guys make me want to improve.

 

[iacas]

4 hours ago, leftybutnotPM said:

A couple might be great, but no PGATour event is played on a truly great golf course.

Riviera is great. Pebble may be.

[CarlSpackler]

2 minutes ago, iacas said:

Riviera is great. Pebble may be.

Thoughts on Jack's House in Dublin? I would give my left one to play there. Kidney that is.

[DaveP043]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

OK, I’ll bite then. What do you define as a ‘truly great course’ that the PGA Tour has skipped over?

Congressional CC is a pretty well-respected courses, I don't have enough expertise to call it "great", but maybe it is.  Its certainly good enough to have hosted the US Open a few times.  For a long time, the Kemper Open was played at Congressional every summer.  Then the tournament was moved to newly built TPC Avenel, which was clearly NOT anywhere near a great course.  But it was a good move for the PGA Tour, they no longer had to pay Congressional for the use of their facilities.

[iacas]

47 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

Thoughts on Jack's House in Dublin? I would give my left one to play there. Kidney that is.

No.

And were it not Jack's place, it'd be rated lower than it is.