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Fix the PGA Tour?

JB

JB

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You are made commissioner of the PGA Tour and taking the place of Tim Finchem. You are told at a press conference that you are going to have to give one good idea that you think will fix or better the PGA Tour.

What is your idea/change, and why? And is it realistic enough to be implemented?
 
Great thread! Here goes:

I've been thinking a lot about this and the first thing I would do as PGA Tour commissioner would be to require that in every 4 year period every pro plays each and every stop on the PGA Tour (except opposite field events) at least one time. Imagine the shot in the arm some of these events would get if they were guaranteed to have Tiger Woods every 4th year at minimum, heck this is completely discounting a lot of huge names on the TOUR like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and others. This would be HUGE for events! Not only is my idea realistic enough to be implemented I honestly feel that it should be, every 4th year, c'mon that's not that much but it would help the events tremendously.
 
Cheerleaders like Dallas Cowboys!
 
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Puttin4Bird said:
Great thread! Here goes:

I've been thinking a lot about this and the first thing I would do as PGA Tour commissioner would be to require that in every 4 year period every pro plays each and every stop on the PGA Tour (except opposite field events) at least one time. Imagine the shot in the arm some of these events would get if they were guaranteed to have Tiger Woods every 4th year at minimum, heck this is completely discounting a lot of huge names on the TOUR like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and others. This would be HUGE for events! Not only is my idea realistic enough to be implemented I honestly feel that it should be, every 4th year, c'mon that's not that much but it would help the events tremendously.
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This has been talked about for a while P4B. I agree that it should be in place. Events like Transitions (sandwiched between Bayhill & Doral) have no shot at top talent usually. This rule changes that.
 
whoa! good one.

we can only come up with one thing? that's tough.

the one thing that could really help the tour/viewership/increase dollars would be to make the top 25 top ranked golfers have to play more events.

edit: P4B pretty much beat me to it.

although i think a US vs. Euro all star game (same format as the Ryder Cup, as voted on by the fans) should take place during the ryder cup off years. the side that wins, gets home field advantage during the Ryder Cup.
 
Yeah exactly, I stole the idea from hearing rumblings of this for a while but nothing has ever been enforced so that would be my first official move as commissioner. Great example of Transitions, I'd love to ask one of their tournament execs what they think of the idea. They'd be giddy as a school girl if this rule would actually get passed.
 
Great thread... I can't come up with anything groundbreaking, but I was thinking along the same lines as P4B.
 
just one? that's tough. maybe creating more 'team events' like we just saw with the Shark Shootout and hold them in prime time. maybe pair players ranked at the top of the money list with those at the bottom and so on so not one team is 'stacked'
 
I would make the fairways more narrow, lengthen/thicken the rough, and make all the greens hard and fast. Bomb and gouge is boring golf.
 
I would move the two majors that can be moved around a little more. For example, Pebble Beach, yes it's great but it's been done to death. There are so many amazing courses in this country I don't see why The US Open is there so frequently, I think by taking it on the road to places it's never been before you would expose so many more people to the game. There is already an AT&T event held there, so either not hold that event in the years that the Open is at Pebble and have it somewhere else, or just go with the AT&T event.

For example, I remember years ago the US Open came back to Pinehurst for the first time in quite awhile, I had friends who didn't know the first thing about golf who were excited to go. It was crazy, the only thing I can remember that was close to the excitement levels is when the Panthers were announced as an expansion team. Not to mention the world of good that the influx of outside money had on the historically economically (outside of the Village) stressed region. Now it's coming back again in a few years along with the LPGA event, it's crazy to have both at one place. Spread the wealth around and show off more of the spectacular courses that we have and meanwhile maybe bringing in some new blood to the game.
 
I would mandate that every event let in kids under 16 for free. We need to open the game up to more american youth.
 
TC said:
whoa! good one.

we can only come up with one thing? that's tough.

the one thing that could really help the tour/viewership/increase dollars would be to make the top 25 top ranked golfers have to play more events.

edit: P4B pretty much beat me to it.

although i think a US vs. Euro all star game (same format as the Ryder Cup, as voted on by the fans) should take place during the ryder cup off years. the side that wins, gets home field advantage during the Ryder Cup.
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What about the Presidents Cup? It alternates years just like the RC.
 
Sean said:
I would make the fairways more narrow, lengthen/thicken the rough, and make all the greens hard and fast. Bomb and gouge is boring golf.
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I really like this idea, probably not what a lot of people would say but definitely a great change!
 
Free drop if your ball ends up in somebody else divot mark, it seems unfair you have to play from another players mess. Afterall, in the sand the previous player is able to rake the bunker to tidy up.
 
I'm going to echo most of the comments here already. Making the top players more of the "smaller" events would be huge for the game in terms of eveything. Getting Tiger and Phil so show up would be a huge shot in the arm for some of these tournaments and would ultimately increase the game all around. More people would like to see Tiger and Phil (just to name a few) compete more. I'm sure in lots of cases, the average joe doesn't watch all of the events, but if those guys were playing, more would tune in and even go to the event itself which would equal more revenue, and who doesn't like some extra cash?
 
While P4B's idea is the best one, I would also like to see them put microphones on all the players every week (even if there has to be a five-second delay - if there is not already). This does a couple of things. If the player knows he is mic'd, they might tone down the profanity and tempers. Also, it would humanize the players to the fan base. It would also provide direct insight on the course management/decision making process that the players use every day, which is something most average golfers woudl benefit from.
 
adwillingham said:
While P4B's idea is the best one, I would also like to see them put microphones on all the players every week (even if there has to be a five-second delay - if there is not already). This does a couple of things. If the player knows he is mic'd, they might tone down the profanity and tempers. Also, it would humanize the players to the fan base. It would also provide direct insight on the course management/decision making process that the players use every day, which is something most average golfers woudl benefit from.
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Great idea! Swearing would increase as you said, but I love to hear the players talk with their caddies. Adds a interesting element to the game.
 
adwillingham said:
While P4B's idea is the best one, I would also like to see them put microphones on all the players every week (even if there has to be a five-second delay - if there is not already). This does a couple of things. If the player knows he is mic'd, they might tone down the profanity and tempers. Also, it would humanize the players to the fan base. It would also provide direct insight on the course management/decision making process that the players use every day, which is something most average golfers woudl benefit from.
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i like it!

and put shot tracker on everything that's not on the green. i like watching these guys work the ball.
 
to me, this is one of the coolest things about attending a golf tournament in person
9-Iron Man said:
Great idea! Swearing would increase as you said, but I love to hear the players talk with their caddies. Adds a interesting element to the game.
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Hanks, I went to the US Open at Pebble and the place was so crowded I could never get close enough to a player and caddie to here any chatter. I do think it would be cool to see on tv.
 
No more 1 hole playoffs. Match-play 18+ holes.
 
I would do the play every 4 years thing as well. Maybe 5, but at any rate, have everyone available for a tourney every so often.

I would eliminate a few tournaments through the year. Some may be nice locally, but there are so many that I don't think anyone cares about. It would make the remaining events more special and more in demand. Maybe if a tournament is eliminated it could go on an every other year rotation with some others so they are not completely gone, but it wouldn't need to be every year. Dollars might be a factor, but you could probably focus in more on the remaining events and get more out of them to make up for a potential loss.

I like the idea of the FedEx Cup but I would make one change. The Tour Championship would be the final with a 32 player match play so that anyone who qualifies would have a chance to win. Maybe make it so that everyone plays each day regardless if the get eliminated to maintain some interest if it gets stale. I know there are a bunch of potential problems with a match play final, but they need to figure out some way to make is so anyone who makes the final tournament has a chance to win. Too often it is wrapped up, or only a handful of people have a chance.
 
GREAT THREAD!!!

I like P4B's idea. I would love to see the bigger names play more events.

I would also love to see shorts. Let these guys be comfy. I feel so bad for them when I see them just sweating like crazy
 
One-T said:
I would also love to see shorts. Let these guys be comfy. I feel so bad for them when I see them just sweating like crazy
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Forgot about this. This has been one of my pet peeves about the pro tours. Let them wear shorts if they want to.
 
Get rid of 3-4 of the community based events that suck the life out of the season and replace with 1-2 co-sanctioned events somewhere in Asia.
 
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