why is the pga the least popular major?

[bwdial]

It also doesn't help that Omega - not Rolex - is the official timekeeper and they have a single, crappy ad.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Well, the field has about 20 club professionals who don't have a chance, so that harms its image.

I don't know about that. They still have the strongest field, even with those 20 guys, of all the four majors.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by iacas

I don't know about that. They still have the strongest field, even with those 20 guys, of all the four majors.

Agreed.

Masters - smaller field with former champs in their 60s & 70s with no chance to win

US & British Open - Qualifiers, some amateurs, with no chance to win

At least the PGA populates their field with pros.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by iacas

I don't know about that. They still have the strongest field, even with those 20 guys, of all the four majors.

"image" and image is everything to the unwashed public. Of course, maybe the unwashed doesn't know there are 20 club professionals in the field. They just hear about scores of 87 and 93, hear the names with those scores and say ?

:-)

Yes, they do have a strong field.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

"image" and image is everything to the unwashed public. Of course, maybe the unwashed doesn't know there are 20 club professionals in the field. They just hear about scores of 87 and 93, hear the names with those scores and say ?

:-)

Yes, they do have a strong field.

I agree.  The "popularity" of the tournament has more to do with the perception of the strength of field, not the actual strength of field, and to "the unwashed public" an over-the-hill Nicklaus or Watson or Stadler is certainly a bigger draw than Mr. no name club pro.  Even if Mr. no name club pro has a better chance of winning the PGA than Stadler has of winning the Masters.

My main guess is that the PGA doesn't have a recognizable "thing" like the other three.  The Masters has Augusta, familiarity and stodgy traditions.  The US Open is our National Championship and is notorious for its difficulty.  The Open Championship is links golf and GB's national championship.  And the PGA is .... the other one.  Not really the championship of anything, and not really known for anything.  They play at really nice courses - they have even used some of the same courses they use for the US Open.  And maybe that is part of its problem.  It most closely resembles a slightly less important, certainly less difficult, version of the US Open.

It also doesn't help (like somebody already said I think) that there is very little anticipation or build up to it like the others have.  It's been, what, 3 weeks since the British?

With apologies to Shorty ... I, personally, really like the PGA, and am extremely excited for this morning/afternoon's final round.

[uttexas]

Except sometimes the PGA's chice of venue's is poor. Atlanta Athletic Club was a snoozer of a course IMO.

Agree, AAC was a poor choice. Here's some I think would continue the momentum of identifying the PGA as the major with a non traditional US Open course with probability of wind/elements. Considering that the PGA Championship is in August, I favored more northern venues and moderate climates. Cypress Point--this is the Holy Grail, the golden goose. There's obvious sensitive political issues regarding this, but if those are settled, having a PGA Championship here would be amazing. Pine Valley--might not be enough room to sell tens of thousands of patron tickets, but who cares, take a bite on ticket sales. There's a huge demand to see pros playing the updated course on TV Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Old MacDonald and Sand Hills--difficult to get there, and not many hotels, but golf fans are a resourceful bunch. plenty of room for spectators. The inconvenient locations might keep away the "mashed potatoes" Arcadia Bluffs, The GC at Black Rock, Ballyneal

[jshots]

4 Majors is too many and people are bored by this time. There should be 2 Majors a year max. Maybe even just 1. The Masters and the PGA should just be more on the level of the Players rather than a major.

[uttexas]

4 Majors is too many and people are bored by this time. There should be 2 Majors a year max. Maybe even just 1. The Masters and the PGA should just be more on the level of the Players rather than a major.

I hear what you are saying, sure not all majors are equal. In tennis, no one thinks the Australian Open comes close to the importance of the other three. The cat is out of the bag on the four majors, and it'll be a battle to not recognize a fifth.

[LuciusWooding]

So help me, if Poulter wins this thing I'll like the PGA even less. I'm getting fed up with majors this year as it is, thank god for Ernie winning at least.

I agree about "major fatigue", maybe they ought to postpone the PGA until the autumn because there are no tournaments worth watching. I could care less about the Fedex cup, the Ryder Cup isn't every year, and everything after this point in the year lacks substance. 4 majors a year is fine, just please spread them out a bit more. Right now many players skip several tournament venues because they don't have a lot of time to prepare, and that makes the smaller venues suffer too.

[TourSpoon]

So help me, if Poulter wins this thing I'll like the PGA even less. I'm getting fed up with majors this year as it is, thank god for Ernie winning at least.

If Poults wins the PGA will be my favorite because that Cobra driver giveaway will be mine!

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by mvmac

It doesn't have the prestige of the other three majors.  Whether that is due to the history, course set-up, marketing, I don't know.  ...

WiseGeek gives a quick history of the golf Majors:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-four-major-tournaments-in-golf.htm

In the early 1900s, top-rate golf tournaments had a good mix of pros and amateurs. The pros at the time were considered working class, and were not allow inside the clubhouse of host courses which were country clubs. A popular photo from the 1920s shows Bobby Jones, an amateur, bringing two pros of the era cold bar drinks as they sat on the back porch of a tournament club.

Due to the presence of so many amateurs in big events, the four majors in the early 1900s were the (British) Open, the British Amateur, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur. Bobby Jones won these four all in 1930 to capture his "Grand Slam."

Others of the era considered the Western Open (second-oldest U.S. pro tournament) and the North-South Open as majors, along with the Masters which arrived in 1934. The North-South was discontinued in favor of the Masters after 1951, and the Western and the Masters were the four majors for a decade. Some also considered the PGA Championship to be a jamor.

Circa 1960, the PGA Championship bumped out the Western to prune the professional majors to four. (Never has an official agency proclaimed what the majors are. The major tag has largely been determined by sportswriters and popular opinion.)

A Wall Street Journal article on golf majors gives additional info:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204119704574236950942071182.html

----------------------------------------------------

For a debate solely on what constitutes a Grand Slam, see this piece from BeachReport:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/596859-the-lost-career-grand-slams

Quote:

Originally Posted by brocks

I guess it's not hard to understand why the PGA is behind the US and British Opens, since they have been around longer. But the British almost dropped off the map after WW II, and most US pros didn't bother to play it until the early 70's or even later, after Arnie made it a major again, and then Jack made majors the new standard of greatness. ...

The Open drew few Americans after WWII because of the infancy of long-distance airline travel. A time-filler on The Golf Channel explained that an ocean liner ticket to and from England circa 1950 cost $1,500. The Open first-place prize money, however, was only about $500. Thus, rich amateurs could better afford to play in the Open than could pre-1960s U.S. pros.

Cheaper airline travel of the 1960s helped break this barrier, as did the incentive of rising prize purses.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by jshots

4 Majors is too many and people are bored by this time. There should be 2 Majors a year max. Maybe even just 1. The Masters and the PGA should just be more on the level of the Players rather than a major.

So if you win them all in the same year, what would they call it?  A ground rule double?

[TomK82]

well to update my thoughts after the championship it ended up being ok but i wish an american would have won. That was a great course for a major and i hope they go back soon.  The PGA is getting better.

[Mr. Desmond]

The weather did not cooperate with Tiger in either the British or the PGA -- he doesn't go that low but does well in poor conditions - and except for one day, conditions were great.

[MSchott]

Originally Posted by uttexas

Agree, AAC was a poor choice.

Here's some I think would continue the momentum of identifying the PGA as the major with a non traditional US Open course with probability of wind/elements.

Considering that the PGA Championship is in August, I favored more northern venues and moderate climates.

Cypress Point--this is the Holy Grail, the golden goose. There's obvious sensitive political issues regarding this, but if those are settled, having a PGA Championship here would be amazing.

Pine Valley--might not be enough room to sell tens of thousands of patron tickets, but who cares, take a bite on ticket sales. There's a huge demand to see pros playing the updated course on TV

Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Old MacDonald and Sand Hills--difficult to get there, and not many hotels, but golf fans are a resourceful bunch. plenty of room for spectators. The inconvenient locations might keep away the "mashed potatoes"

Arcadia Bluffs, The GC at Black Rock, Ballyneal

All great choices but there is no way that Cypress Pointe or Pine Valley will ever consent to hosting a major. They don't want or need the business. The others are too far off the beaten track and infrastructure in terms of local hotels is required so Bandon, Sand Hills, Ballyneal are out of the question. Arcadia Bluffs is in the boonies too.

[ClayHbg]

I think the biggest challenge the PGA face is its placement on the calendar.  It's just WAY too close to the British for the average viewer to care.  Viewers simply aren't "dying to see the next major" the way they are in anticipation of the other three.

The fact that they change courses every year doesn't help, but that's far from the biggest issue this tournament faces.

[uttexas]

I think the biggest challenge the PGA face is its placement on the calendar.  It's just WAY too close to the British for the average viewer to care.  Viewers simply aren't "dying to see the next major" the way they are in anticipation of the other three.

Agree. Way too close the Open. I'm sure people smarter than I have studied the scheduling. My guess is that they are avoiding college football and NFL seasons.

[uttexas]

All great choices but there is no way that Cypress Pointe or Pine Valley will ever consent to hosting a major. They don't want or need the business. The others are too far off the beaten track and infrastructure in terms of local hotels is required so Bandon, Sand Hills, Ballyneal are out of the question. Arcadia Bluffs is in the boonies too.

Yes, Cypress and Pine Valley don't currently need the business. However, there's the issue of "if there aren't any pictures, it didn't happen." Because people don't see the best golfers playing these courses on television, some are starting to wonder if these two courses truly are the best in America. Institutions flush with cash feel more pressure when their reputation is in question. The courses I listed are in the Boonies, but "it you build it, they will come" Some of the British Open rota courses are in difficult to get to locations with a lack of big infrastructure, but they are never short of patrons.