The 19^th Hole

May 14, 2006

Where Are The Answers?

Ok, so, it looks like lots of people have flocked away from the PGA Tour this season.  The ratings are in for the first third of the nearly year-round Tour season, and a lot of tournaments have seen staggering drops in their audiences on the tube.  As an initial proponent of the Fed Ex Cup, I should be saying that this is all going to turn around next year when the Cup revolutionizes golf and somehow inflates the status of the game into the A-tier of sports.  But, if I said that, I would be out of my mind.

Professional golf has some serious problems right now in attracting audiences.  And it does not seem to be limited to television either.  Is it just me or do the crowds at Tour stops this season look somewhat thinner?  As someone who has been balding for the better part of eight years, I know what a thin patch looks like.  That’s an aside, though.

The point is this – the PGA Tour has to figure out what in the world is going on here and turn around ratings that are sagging despite the dominance of its two best players…when they actually play.  It looks more and more like a quick fix, like the Fed Ex Cup (which is STILL yet to be officially unveiled), will not fix the woes of the PGA Tour.  That means that it is time for people from all sides of the golfing spectrum to put their ideas out there and hope that a few will resonate.  Of course, I have to chime in a few ideas of my own.

First, I have to reiterate what I have been saying for a couple of years now.  Someone, please, cut the schedule!  I know that there has been talk of a Quest for the Card series of tournaments to air exclusively on The Golf Channel in the new television contract.  Don’t waste your time airing that rubbish.  If corporate America does not want anything to do with those tournaments (see Booz Allen Hamilton), it is because they are fairly certain that golf fans want no part of the action either.  Tournaments thrive today when they have a support network of local fans, media, and corporate sponsorship.  For these B-tier events on the schedule, only one of the three will likely be there.  Just forget that Quest for the Card.

Second, the Tour needs to get some guts and try some tournament ideas that are outside the scope of traditional golf.  You may be familiar with the term “gimmick.”  I know that the PGA Tour is.  Just look at the World Golf Championships and the President’s Cup.  I am asking to go one step further and actually secure a space to air a meaningful golf tournament live in primetime.  The public seemed to appreciate the Tiger Woods-ABC primetime specials for a few years, but then turned on the events when they realized that they were boring and pointless.  So, how about having the Accenture Match Play final played in primetime (in 18 holes)?  It could be a great opportunity to spotlight the game on national television.  And, if you get a dud final match, at least the lit up golf course would be fun.

Moving on to idea number three – let’s try promoting more players in professional golf than just Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.  Don’t try to feed me this Big Five stuff, either.  Hardly anyone outside of the game knows anything about the Big Five other than Vijay Singh is supposedly sexist and that Ernie Els is tall.  I’m not even sure Retief Goosen is on the sports radar of many fans.  I will bet that more people could tell me Udonis Haslem’s line from the Nets-Heat game than how well any of the Big Five did in their last start.  That’s sad because golf is better than Udonis Haslem.  The PGA Tour suffers from the same problem that the NBA did after Jordan retired for the second time – they have no real backup superstars in the waiting.  If Tiger is not around, then interest in tournaments drop significantly.  But, if you can create public interest in other characters by developing their story and marketing them, then you’re in business.

I have another suggestion – more like a request.  Would the Tour please stop trying to extend its brand to a ridiculous line of clothing and the PGA Tour café near my hometown?  I received a PGA Tour polo shirt as a gift and I cannot wear it without an undershirt because the material is so thin!  If you’re going to make golf apparel, at least do me a favor and don’t skimp on the material.  The golfing public should not have to see my chest hair through my golf shirt.  And I have absolutely no interest in eating Commissioner Finchem’s Cross-Branded Salmon Steak.

I could come up with a host of ideas that might improve the pro golf product.  There are many other good ideas out there as well.  The point is not that these four ideas I have are the best, or even good.  Rather, the idea to take away is that something has to be done in the long-term to make golf more interesting to the sporting public. 

The sad part is that the Tour has known about this since the last television contract in 2001 and is yet to effectively respond.  They have been paying the price with sagging ratings for the past five years and will continue to see viewership drop if they insist on doing nothing.  The Tour needs to take time to stop cross-branding and finding corporate exploits for a moment and actually step back to review the product.  Something has to be done because doing nothing is not working.

Ryan Ballengee is host of The 19^th Hole Golf Show, found at The Golf Newsnet.com.  You can also get The 19^th Hole on the go through podcasting by clicking here Feedburner.com - The 19th Hole Golf Show.  Contact Ryan via e-mail at the19thholeshow@hotmail.com.

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