Golf... Without Tiger?

Like him or not, many believe that Tiger put Golf back on the "map." Be it from having bigger crowd draws or increasing prize money for the tournaments. Tiger and his dominance were so prominent over the years, that many put the two hand in hand; Professional Golf & Tiger Woods.

Do you think without the Tiger Woods era that Golf would be where it's at currently?

I don't think golf would be close to where it is, he changed not only the way we play the game but he changed how we prepare for it as well. He helped to introduce golf fitness and his practice regimen was something I think that rivaled Hogan, his quest for perfection was and is unmatched. I'm not sure how he affected the purses but I'm sure what everyone has said about them is true, but one area overlooked that he definitely affected is race in golf. When Tiger came on the scene there were still courses that discriminated golfers based on race and religion and wouldn't allow them, today that has changed. To me that may be his greatest accomplishment, he changed the way we look at each other.
 
Not the question I was expecting, but a good one nonetheless. No, golf would not be where it's at had the Tiger Woods era never occurred. Tiger not only drew huge TV ratings, bigger prizes, and huge crowds, but he also revolutionized golf. He made fitness a 'must have' thing for tour professionals. Due to the increase in money pouring into the golf industry as a whole, he probably helped speed up golf club advancement, and golf ball advancement......and we might as well throw golf apparel in there as well. Tiger grew up looking to beat Jack. Some of the young players today set their goals of beating Tiger's career (although we may not see a player who actually does that for another 20 years).

Love him or hate him, Tiger has done a lot for golf. My question is, and a topic for another thread, given Tiger's current small slump, are TV ratings worse when Tiger misses the cut or otherwise is not in contention?

~Rock
 
I think the most remarkable thing is how Tiger Woods is a household name even in non-golfing households. My wife has no idea who Messi, Henri, Brady, or LeBron are but she's always known who Tiger was.
 
Golf would not have had such a huge surge in popularity without Tiger. I draw similar parallels with how MJ revolutionized basketball - longer shorts (arguably), and turning it into a global game. Both are some of the most recognizable figures in the world for a reason. They both draw crowds, sell out events, and their names are now brands. I think TW made his competitors work harder and excelled the sport to levels that we would not see without them.
 
IMHO. Tiger created an unsustainable influx (The Tiger bubble) of interest and money into American golf that the industry over-all is starting to see subside. Tiger made it look easy and cool and was a manufacturer's marketing dream. People spent billions of dollars, only to discover how difficult it really is, and then they drifted away to easier and less time consuming endeavors. But, all of the infrastructure (courses, manufacturing facilities, ect.) that built up around the interest that Tiger generated are still there and need to be fed. What concerns me to some extent is how far the manufacturers and governing bodies might be willing to go to artificially sustain what was created by the Tiger Boom. Golf is a simple concept that can be experienced with 30 year old equipment as well as it can with equipment from 2014 and there are millions of sets of used clubs out there available to those who might be interested in trying the game. That doesn't bode well for manufacturers.

Anyway, the question seems to be what or who is going to sustain the Tiger boom. The only solution I can see is either a woman who can play with the guys, or some sort of professional couples tour where a set man/woman team plays together for the whole season against other man/woman teams in a professional competition. Or, we completely restructure the game for the sole purpose of sustaining the cash flow, which, in my opinion, will do more harm than good. Short of that, I definitely see the U.S. market contracting. Now China, India and Russia are another story. China especially. Can they artificially create their own golf boom? Stay tuned. I'm looking forward to golf in the Olympics. It will be interesting to see how these other countries perform and what kind of interest it generates here and abroad.
 
Well..in all honesty...being a tiger fan forever.. His skills are deteriorating,,, if he doesn't win a major this season..than I think his quest to chase the Nicklaus record is,over...IMO. He will still win events and such, but I personally think this year for him will make or break his quest to reach the Nicklaus record.

What exactly does this have to do with the question at hand.
 
I think the most remarkable thing is how Tiger Woods is a household name even in non-golfing households. My wife has no idea who Messi, Henri, Brady, or LeBron are but she's always known who Tiger was.

Do you credit that to what he's done on the course or off the course?
 
I think golf really struggled in the first year of Tiger's absence following the scandal. But, I also think that it was a blessing in disguise. Lots of players, especially European players, became household names when that wasn't exactly the case in the early 2000's. Tiger has done so much for the game that I think once he does hang em up, the game will be in the hands of the younger generation and they will keep it going.
 
Do you credit that to what he's done on the course or off the course?

I asked my wife and she said she knew who Tiger was prior to the scandal and prior to meeting me, so I'll say 'on the course'.
Tiger is synonymous with Golf and that is a mind blowing accomplishment.
 
I really think it's because of tiger that guys like Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler play the game. The new, more athletic golfer can, in some way, be credited to Tiger and how visible he made the game of golf.
 
I really think it's because of tiger that guys like Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler play the game. The new, more athletic golfer can, in some way, be credited to Tiger and how visible he made the game of golf.

Yup, otherwise they'd all look like Craig Stadler.


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Scandal??? The guy cheated on his wife reportedly with 90 different women, that is NOT a scandal. It's not like he took an improper drop at a major tournament...oh wait.
 
IMHO. Tiger created an unsustainable influx (The Tiger bubble) of interest and money into American golf that the industry over-all is starting to see subside. Tiger made it look easy and cool and was a manufacturer's marketing dream. People spent billions of dollars, only to discover how difficult it really is, and then they drifted away to easier and less time consuming endeavors. But, all of the infrastructure (courses, manufacturing facilities, ect.) that built up around the interest that Tiger generated are still there and need to be fed. What concerns me to some extent is how far the manufacturers and governing bodies might be willing to go to artificially sustain what was created by the Tiger Boom. Golf is a simple concept that can be experienced with 30 year old equipment as well as it can with equipment from 2014 and there are millions of sets of used clubs out there available to those who might be interested in trying the game. That doesn't bode well for manufacturers.

Anyway, the question seems to be what or who is going to sustain the Tiger boom. The only solution I can see is either a woman who can play with the guys, or some sort of professional couples tour where a set man/woman team plays together for the whole season against other man/woman teams in a professional competition. Or, we completely restructure the game for the sole purpose of sustaining the cash flow, which, in my opinion, will do more harm than good. Short of that, I definitely see the U.S. market contracting. Now China, India and Russia are another story. China especially. Can they artificially create their own golf boom? Stay tuned. I'm looking forward to golf in the Olympics. It will be interesting to see how these other countries perform and what kind of interest it generates here and abroad.

Don't worry. The USGA is doing everything possible to make the game harder and have an even narrower scope.
 
I think more damage has been done by promises of ease than by enforcement of difficult. Once again, just my opinion.

Don't worry. The USGA is doing everything possible to make the game harder and have an even narrower scope.
 
I think more damage has been done by promises of ease than by enforcement of difficult. Once again, just my opinion.

What governing body has promised ease?
 
The manufacturers promise ease.

But the governing bodies are adding difficulty. Doing everything they can to infuse difficulty. OEMs and governing bodies are butting heads often and the OEMs are at the mercy of the USGA. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a revolt of sorts with the OEMs.
 
I really think it's because of tiger that guys like Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler play the game. The new, more athletic golfer can, in some way, be credited to Tiger and how visible he made the game of golf.

I also that because of the athleticism that Tiger brought we will be hard pressed to see another dominant golfer like him for a long time. There are some good young players on tour now and every golfer now has a workout routine and a stength trainer. While im sure golfers pre-Tiger did things to stay in shape, not many were gym rats like he was. Golfers used to be skinny guys who became medium sized guys who became large guys. Now it's well built athletes coming in and and competing with each other every week with no true dominant player.

I guess what my point is, Tiger's influence on the game created a whole different type of golfer. They are athletes now.

And yes, I know Sam Snead, Player and a handful of athletes were all great athletes before Tiger came along.

Tapping away on my Galaxy 2 Note
 
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