Golf, Without Tiger or Phil, Is in a Good Place - Agree or Disagree?

[iacas]

Do you agree or disagree?

[No Mulligans]

There are so many great players now, it's really entertaining. Tiger still gets as much or more media attention than any of the other players, even when he's not playing. I find that annoying.

[Huddo]

Times change and players come and go, so golf will still be in a good place, but I do hope that Tiger's and Phil's form does return. They are both great to watch when they are bullying the field!

[DeadMan]

I think it's in a good place, competition-wise. There are a lot of good golfers out there, and it looks like Rory could be the next all-time great. I really enjoy watching the PGA tour right now. A lot of exciting finishes.

But, I don't think it's in a good place, business-wise. There isn't a lot of true star power out there at this moment outside of Rory. Tiger and Phil's careers are clearly waning, and they are the big stars still. While we might get excited over Reed and Spieth, I don't think they are (yet) household names like Phil and Tiger are. And I think you can see this with the ratings the PGA Tour has had, even though the competition has been great this year.

So, I guess the answer is that it depends?

[David in FL]

Absolutely agree.  Seems to me that the same questions were being asked as Arnie and Jack were fading.  Such will always be the case.

Watching the Tour so far this year, seeing the quality of play, and witnessing the drama and playoff heroics really under-scores that for me.  Am I ready for Phil and Tiger to fade into the sunset?  Hell no!  But eventually they will, and I won't be crying in beer when it happens.  I'll be watching a 21 year-old drain a 30 foot putt on the 3d hole of a 3-man playoff to win his second tournament, just like yesterday.

[cipher]

Times change and players come and go, so golf will still be in a good place, but I do hope that Tiger's and Phil's form does return. They are both great to watch when they are bullying the field!

I agree.  It is probably just coming back to reality a bit on the business side, but the game is fine.  The business side will adapt.

[SavvySwede]

I think professional golf is in a good place, I would say it is better than it was 5 years ago. Bubba is the new Phil, Rory is the new Tiger, and there is a greater depth of challengers for those top spots. There have been so many great tournament finishes so far this year I've been tuning in on Sundays nearly every week.

[Shindig]

Agree. Even if Tiger or Phil themselves don't return to form (and I think they both will), their influence has helped to create the excitement we're witnessing today.

[Patch]

I think the game is just fine with out Woods, or Mickelson. Another person will eventually take their places, and remind us again, of all the good, and bad things in pro game.

[Kieran123]

In a good place? Yes, for sure.

Could be in a better place if Tiger and Phil were part of the picture though.

[dkolo]

It'd be in a better place with Tiger and Phil also competing with these younger upstarts. I think it's hard to argue against that. But there's no lack of drama and good competition right now. It would just be even better if the two legends were more competitive. On a weekly basis, though, this year, the Tour has been outstanding.

[colin007]

i would only say that its in an "ok" place.  i dont think its good.  think of what it would be if tiger doesnt play any majors this year?  the game needs Rors to go bananas.

[tristanhilton85]

I think that golf is in a good place right now. It's not in as good of a place as it was when Tiger was at his peak, but by no means is it bad. With young players like Spieth, McIlroy, and Reed, there is going to be no shortage of great players for a long time.

Also, for the few people who have said that it isn't in a good place, why? Obviously there are people who voted that way... share your opinion.

[nevets88]

From a corporate sponsorship perspective it seems like that's going okay. Big corporate in general is doing well and still think it's good value proposition to get their name in PGA tournaments. Also the game is more international. So that helps stabilize rapid drops in viewership were say big name stars were to lose popularity or just drop out of the tour. It's the grassroots perspective I'm not so sure about and that has more to do with the economy. Is depth of the field another way to generate eyeballs rather than to hang it all on one guy? I dunno. Unrelated but I'm psyched for possible head to head combos in the LPGA. It would be great to see some of the top names battle against each other every weekend. Like Wie vs Ko.

[turtleback]

Do you agree or disagree?

Golf as a game I play is just fine.  The level of golf on at the professional level is just fine.

The popularity of professional golf, however, is declining and will probably continue to decline.  Just look at the length of the ValSpar thread here, among the fanatics.

[GolfLug]

After yesterday's tournament finish, I absolutely agree. I am loving these kids.

Would love to see Tiger flourish again and Phil get his US Open, but I am thankful for services received. Time to move on. Waiting hurts.

[Wally Fairway]

Golf (and all sports) are always moving on to the next young faces - so yeah it is in a good place.

Rory, Bubba & Jordan, currently, seem like the faces of the game; with lots of push from a whole contingent of others (Rickie, Moore, Reed, etc).

Sure there will always be a brief moment when a star from the past has a shining moment (Jack in 86, Ben in 95, etc) and although they are memorable, they are and will be just a glimpse at the past.

As they cannot hold off the future.

[Ferguson]

I watch only 50% of the golf I used to watch.

Go Tiger!