PGA

[pacopete4]

The Match:

It’s been a fun day of watching golf and I don’t watch a ton. What will the PGA do when Tiger and Mick retire? They need stars with some personality to step up.

[sveumrules]

If baseball is in trouble with the younger generation, I can't imagine how bad golf is doing.

 

Tiger has won one Major in the last 12 years & he's still considered some kind of draw?

[JohnBriggs12]

The Match:

It’s been a fun day of watching golf and I don’t watch a ton. What will the PGA do when Tiger and Mick retire? They need stars with some personality to step up.

 

Golf was popular before there was a Tiger and Phil. The depth of talent has never been better. Rory is a big time star with a personality and he's in his prime. Justin Thomas, Rickie Weeks, have personality too. There's always been personalities in the game as well. The key is staying at or near the top over time. That's tougher than ever these days.

 

It was fun watching but it hardly qualified as a golf competition. All top pros have games that make amateurs look bad but I was embarrassed for Brady. I'm better on my worst days and I'm 67. He sprayed shots all over. Granted he was the blind squirrel finding an acorn on one shot, but his game was awful. In a perverse sense that's entertaining too. You got to listen in as mega stars poke fun at each other. That's entertaining. Of Tiger and Phil, Phil's the one with personality. Tiger dominated the game for a dozen years hence he's beloved much like Nicklaus was even though it was Arnie who had the personality.

[homer]

Golf was popular but a quick check of TV ratings when Tiger plays in a tournament vs doesn't play is all you need to know that golf won't be nearly the same when he's done.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2018/08/13/does-tiger-woods-still-boost-tv-ratings-make-that-a-resounding-yes/#1bcdb9e84005

[pacopete4]

I mean a weekend ago the PGA had 3 of their best players and 1 up and coming college star that’ll be on tour soon. They raised $5 million and had 2.35M TV viewers. Fast forward to yesterday and you broke a cable network rating at 5.8M and had a peak of 6.3M. On top of that, they raised $20M.

 

The PGA does have a bunch of really good players these days but they don’t have stars that people tune in for like they do for Tiger. Tiger is that guy still. When he’s done, it is going to change quite a bit for the PGA unless they get lucky enough to have an up and comer.

[LouisEly]

The depth of talent has never been better.

That's actually part of the problem - there's too many good players. There aren't 2-3 main guys you can promote to build up artificial rivalries. Jack vs. Arnie, Tiger vs. Phil, McEnroe vs. Connors, Lakers vs. Celtics. It's easier to promote and get fans to take sides where there are only two, max three, and they appeal to different bases of the fans.

 

Another part of the problem is that one of their biggest draws is a guy they want to keep quiet because of his past (Dustin Johnson).

 

That being said, predictability is the enemy of engagement. How many people started watching golf after John Daly burst onto the scene out of nowhere?

[superfly]

The depth of talent has never been better.

That's actually part of the problem - there's too many good players. There aren't 2-3 main guys you can promote to build up artificial rivalries. Jack vs. Arnie, Tiger vs. Phil, McEnroe vs. Connors, Lakers vs. Celtics. It's easier to promote and get fans to take sides where there are only two, max three, and they appeal to different bases of the fans.

 

Another part of the problem is that one of their biggest draws is a guy they want to keep quiet because of his past (Dustin Johnson).

 

That being said, predictability is the enemy of engagement. How many people started watching golf after John Daly burst onto the scene out of nowhere?

 

If he could ever find his game again Spieth was becoming the “new” Tiger, but his game really went to crap the past couple years...first he lost his putting and then began to find it last season, now the rest of his game died. hopefully he finds it again. Crazy that he’s only 26 years old.

[homer]

The depth of talent has never been better.

That's actually part of the problem - there's too many good players.

 

I'd be curious to see how short games/putting has changed relative to 30 years ago. Today's players obviously crush off the tee - I'm curious if that's where the bulk of the improvement comes from or if everything is better.

[jerichoholicninja]

I have a friend who works for the PGA. Financially, they are doing more than fine.