I used to be a sports fan, football, baseball, basketball. I stopped watching when it seemed that the profession was all about the money and screw the fans. Golf was the last sport I watched comfortably. Now, it’s all about the money and screw the fans. I’ll keep playing golf but screw the PGA.
Sports have always been such a big part of my life but the older I get the more it seems like business is taking over the sports world and making a "product" instead of a sport.
The tour has left a terrible taste in my mouth because I’m still a pro (not pga tour, but inactive pga and I still have pro status). I left the golf biz and have been working a 9-5 for 10 years and would play in a local Monday qualifier every year. More for fun, but you never know what will happen if you get hot. I was happy with doing that the rest of my life…now it’s done. All that’s left is the state open and US Open locals…far too much time and money investment every year if you play well and advance. Monday qualifiers were great because it was always the Wed/thurs pre qualifier and then the Monday. Everything in our world is getting worse every year, relationships, cost of living, cost of hobbies, hell even video games are fucked right now. Best of luck mate.
Such a shame, a lot of people like yourself liked the Monday Qs, it's such a huge opportunity for anyone to compete at golfs highest stage. No other sport has that option, I can't go to a Monday tryout and play WR for the Eagles in Sundays game. But anyone who got good enough could qualify for a PGA event any given week. It was one of the things that made golf so special.
@@benutahgolfEric Cole GOT HIS CARD because he Monday qualified at the Honda Classic at the famous Bear Trap course……….he got a top 5 or top 10 and he made Millions throughout the year after this tournament!!
@@tutteturunen6822 My name is Nobody then. Get used to it. The PGA sucks...and the numbers support my position. LIV is on the rise and will be here for the foreseeable future.
@@whateverittakes5580 your imaginary numbers? Show me these numbers. LIV broadcast viewers are usually 10k and its FREE. Nobody cares about winners or winning in there or even knows who is winning! Look what schefflers game is doing to pga tour. Everybody is exciting to watch that kind of play again after tiger
I'd say most of the best players left the PGA and what ever top names are left hardly play. I tuned in a week or two ago, shut it off because I thought it was the Kornferry tour. Tuned back in later on and realized, no it's the PGA tour, I just don't recognize the players any more, and don't care. I just watch the women and some times the old guys. The PGA can suck it.
Im thinking about starting to watch the Champions Tour and LPGA more, I've never really liked watching any golf but the PGA has particularly gone downhill as they chase LIV. They really hurt golf when they banned some of their most entertaining superstars from the PGA events, what a mistake that was.
Sorry but to most people outside the US whilst we acknowledge the good aspects of the PGA tour, growing the game hasn’t ever been its priority. It has systematically destroyed the other tours around the world. Understand that, cos money talks. This new move no different.
If the tour didn't give mickelson de shambro , Dustin Johnson and the others the shits and sat them down and became fair with advertising rights and understood the players are the product and not the pga tour there probably wouldn't have liv
@michaelg7904 I would still prefer to watch the pga tour, I can't stand the liv with their side panel of team data on the left hand side of the screen. It's hardly a team competition when it's an individual event with a side order of team, it's b.s.. On top of that I can't stand Greg Norman and I'm an Australian
PGA on the weekends is unwatchable. Watch 3 player shots, then it's off to 5 minutes of sponsor commercials. I've enjoyed LIV via their app. Camera time is spread across the field of players and not just the final group.
The nonstop commercials are mindnumbingly painful. The thing that really gets under my skin is the sponsor CEO or whatever exec, telling everyone how much they do for the community or how woke they are. So self-gratuitous it makes me ill. These people don’t care about the masses. Give me a break. Then you have to watch 800 commercials about pharmaceuticals and financial services. Most people just want to watch golf. The Masters streaming service is awesome. Limited interruptions, demure announcers/analysts. If I had my way, I’d have a streaming channel where you had no talking. Only ambient golf sounds. I don’t need every darn thing explained to me like I’m 3 either. Simplify some of the rules and for God’s sake let players drop if their ball lands in someone else’s divot. That is one of the dumbest rules in golf.
It would be one thing if the PGA had a more linear minor league system like pro baseball does but it's so individualistic that limiting ways to get to the PGA is harmful. At least in baseball you can get called up, the PGA is basically doing away with "getting called up" through Monday Qs and reduced cards to Korn Ferry Tour players.
I think it’s good to have less and make all the rest qualify. I think it should be the Top 50. All the rest have to qualify in some manner to get a spot for one season. If you don’t win a tournament, you go back to qualifying for a limited number of spots. I know you’re not going to like that. Sorry.
I’m gutted that this happened. My favourite players not in Majors is a travesty. Shutting down Monday Qualifying? Some golfers exist for those. Bad decisions, PGA.
The biggest mistake the PGA made was banning LIV players from playing PGA events, thats where this downfall started. Now they're just making one bad decision after another trying to save par, pun intended.
It’s turning into an elitist sport at every level. Start with equipment costs. If you go get a set of name brand clubs, it could set you back $3000 before you buy any clothes, gloves, balls, bags, shoes, etc. Then there’s the green fees. $60 is probably the minimum for a decent course on a weekend. That’s not including eating anything. I’ve seen even junk courses in the winter charging $50+ in the afternoon. I have a course by me that’s not all that great. It costs $24 to walk 9 holes at 4pm. Come on. Nearly every part of golf has been monetized. I feel fortunate that I make enough money to support my golf habit, but I can see where most people just can’t do it. Especially in today’s economy. Golf will end up being completely an elitist game within 5-10 years. It’s just getting way too expensive.
You just said the same things I would say. I live 15 minutes from the Valero open and that dream just died. PGA tour has become the elitist tour and the peasants get to watch how awesome they are.
Just look at the price of Ryder Cup Tickets, I know thats not a PGA Tour event but it's the same theme. Rich get richer, pricing out most of the fan base.
@ your 100% right I’m tired of all of that. PGA could have started a weekend series by states for the guys who have a good game but are regular blue collar guys with amazing handicaps but they choose to be an exclusive club. Some people go to college but that doesn’t mean you’re not smarter than a college grad from life experience. I think I’m keeping my eye on the Liv tour.
Golf is slowly being turned back into the Elitist game, how it started, a game for the rich and privileged, in the US. It is frustrating to watch. The PGA Tour also invested so much money into the "PGA Tour University" or whatever they call it to groom college kids to be prepared for a move into the Pro circuit, and damned sure they will be stopped from getting those privileged few to make it to the Tour after all the work they put into training those kids, with a huge focus on making sure they are taking care of "Americans" to make it, because they also saw that if they kept it "Open" with qualifying from all over the place, then the Tour will end up being filled by foreigners and they became afraid of that, even though the other Major sports leagues in the US are starting to be filled with foreigners also (except for the NFL, a game nobody else in the world gives a shit about, of course), because those in power of the game of golf in the US believe that golf is an American sport. Why do you think the DP World (Euro) is more lenient to the LIV guys? I can guarantee you, the LIV guys will end up owning the Euro Tour, and THAT will become the WORLD TOUR, with the LIV Tour as an extension where guys who want to play there can also play there if they want. And once that happens, the Ryder Cup will be no more. But the powers that be in Europe will wake up and realise that you know what, they don't need to bow down to the US any more, that they had been shortsighted and blinded by history and "tradition" or whatever that was, dictated by the US, which was 20th century, sure, but nonetheless not the correct forum or the focus for the WORLD in the future of golf.
Recently, the PGA tour has become year round which means the star players are only playing a fraction of the available events. So when I turn on golf in the fall especially, I'm watching good golf but I don't know the players so I'm not invested. I'll take quality over quantity. It's ok to have an off season.
I agree that it's okay to have an off season and the PGA basically does with the big stars taking the fall off but the fall series is really important for a lot of guys careers. A lot of the "no names" are grinding it out to keep their jobs and keep making a living. I think it's filled with interesting story lines but it's so poorly marketed that no one cares.
100% agree with you. I've been watching the PGA Tour for over 40 years. Getting smaller is not conducive to better competition. My complaint always was and has been the PGA Tour is top heavy and they cater to that. With reduced fields, a guy like Scottie Sheffler may not have gotten a chance to get there.
I appreciate your logic, position, and the moxie to put it out there for all to see. Best of luck to you, and know that many agree with you. Count me in.
Thanks for the support! I hate that I had to say it but from what I've seen a lot of other people agree, and yet despite the fan pushback the PGA approved these changes with resounding applause the other day. Like I said, "they'll continue to do what's best for them and tell us it's whats best for us".
Great Video. I agree with you. Tour needs to expand and have a qualifying for every event and not a 4 spotter on Mondays. 100 spots available for qualifying each tournament. Let give everyone the chance.
Maybe you can do a Monday qualifier with LIV ? PGA tour doesn’t make the kind of money other sports do. That’s why liv is smashing them with their deep ( don’t have to make a profit) pockets. And that’s why PGA will try this and other things just to survive basically. So you should blame golf for just not making enough money as an “entertainment “ product “
Ben, glad your video popped up in my feed. I agree with many of your points. As fans, our only recourse is to stop watching PGA Tour events on TV. When ratings plummet, sponsors will drop off and the Tour will have to reevaluate. Rival leagues/tours just don't work. How many rival leagues for the NFL have come and gone? Where's the NBA rival? What about MLB? NHL? LIV certainly disrupted things, but to the detriment of the sport long-term. The response by the Tour is to protect, which is possibly going to drive away fans. Good luck on your path to the Tour. If you make and the Tour exists, I'll be able to say, "I remember when I saw that dude on RUclips. Look at him now, a Masters Champion." :)
You're right, The LIV tour has taken a lot of the star players. I for one, rarely see most of them. Also, because there are so many tournaments (year round) now, any given tournament has fewer players that we know and who we root for. The product is watered down and people will lose interest.
At the beginning of the PGA Tour, the exempt size was fairly small, around 60 players and the field expanded through Monday qualifiers, past champions, sponsors exemptions, etc. Then player rep Gary McCord proposed the all exempt 125 player membership which against the big names on the tour passed. It turned out well because it gave more opportunities at Q School. Now, the PGA Tour has reverted back so that only the big names get the big money, as if they don’t have enough already.
I have a good change for the PGA Tour. Go to 3 rounds, except for majors. There will be a cut after 2 rounds. Anyone not within 10 strokes gets cut. Weight the purse more to the Top 5. In the cases where 1 or 2 players are way ahead, have some sort of minimum 3rd Round players. Mainly most money going to Top 5 and the winner gets most of that. Every course in the schedule should have very tight fairways and 4-6” overseed rough. Make every round as difficult as possible. Select tees that limit the effect of driving distance. Nearly every course played should be set up at US Open difficulty. People are sick of boring courses where the winner is -24. I want to see 3 rounds, with the winner at -5 max. I also think that the max driver size should be 350cc with a length limit. All players must use forged blades and no broomstick or arm lock putters. Only traditional putting allowed. Anyway, these are just ideas for people to tell me I’m an idiot. Haha.
They were absolutely blind-sided by LIV. Every method to deal by the PGA was prefaced by "How do we keep our books closed to scrutiny while trying to manage this?" I predicted merger when it happened. Now, as if on cue, PGA agrees LIV can "buy" a position on the PGA Tour. Never once allowing a look into the books. PGA is a small elite club run by WASPY east coaster Ivy types. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Recall they goosed the purses, paid through last, etc. Keep the peasants quiet. They put out whispers about "blood money" all the while sponsoring tours in China and HUGE SPONSOR FEDEX has huge hubs in deep ME. So here they sit: no names on Sunday, LPGA dominated by well you know...great players. PGA has to be hemorrhaging viewers and woke Golf Channel is hard to watch as well. Good luck, buddy. Hint: some smart, good players with some savvy are making good on the alternate YT golf channels making good dough...did I mention good?
Totally agree. I would rather see every tournament have 50 spots available to the top 50 players and then 100 spots available to Monday qualifiers. Then the cream will rise to the top
Pga downfall started with the restructure of its season with the top 50 playing elevated events , why copy LIV when pga had its own platform for decades on decades that worked
PGA golf on Sky TV in the UK is 10 mins of adverts then 5 minutes of golf, how dare they interrupt the advertising stream! LIV with no adverts, or commercial smacks is such a breath of fresh air I cancelled SKY, all sports need commercial sponsorship but in golf I think its taken over the actual sport.
What an asinine decision. This is yet another reason why I don’t watch golf on TV nor care about the PGA or Liv, and their battle for players. They both can disappear and amateur golf will still exist and thrive. Cheers.
Yeah, something new needs to happen, gotta change up the golf world, coverage has gotten stale and the PGA banned its most entertaining players becuase they went to LIV.
I can watch major winners in Bryson and Rahm play golf with the president or eat tacos while giving us insights into the game. Wes Bryan bickering with his brother and now Phil, w Grant, challenging other pros to 2v2s. RIP PGA and LIV.
Iiv is unwatchable. The pga going to 100 players is ridiculous. Bye! The Masters, British Open,and US OPEN will be the only watched tournaments. How many of those are PGA events?
Great point. The old boys club (which I would be part of) also does not see the threat youtube golf is. I watch probably 20 hours of youtube golf and podcast and maybe 1 day of a big pga tourney/major. Content creators are taking over. Period.
I don't understand the problem. If you want to play on tour, elevate your game to be able to compete for a spot. This is how it's always been. Your complaint is like wanting the NFL to increase the number of teams to 64 so more people can be "pro" football players.
I think one facet not mentioned is that the PGA Tour is looking for the next "dynasty" What I mean by that, is they want another player/handful of players that define a generation. Arnie, Jack, and Tiger did this for decades. They became "golf", and it was good for the game. Like it or not, dynasties are good for sports. Think Lakers/Celtics, Yankees, Patrtiots/Chiefs -- love them or hate them it's good for the league. I believe the fields are just too deep for anyone to take the torch from Tiger. The tour tried hard to market guys like Rory, Spieth, DJ, Koepka, but none of them could sustain it. It's not great for viewership when a casual golf fan turns on the tournament Sunday afternoon and they can't even recognize the guys on the leaderboard. As a former mini-tour golfer, I love to see it -- but guys like us are the exception. Now, how do you solve this problem? I'm certain I have no clue. But I agree with you that this ain't the answer. Nerfing the field seems like a lazy and potentially harmful way to go about it. One of the beautiful things about golf is how closely amateurs can mimic the pro's, and also how anyone can grind hard and try to become pro. Monday qualifying was probably the coolest thing in all of sports.
Agreed, Monday Qs are one of the coolest things in all of sports. And yeah, it just seems like a lazy answer to a complex question. My answer has been and will continue to be: maybe don't ban your most entertaining personalities??? There was no need for the PGA to ban guys like Koepka and Bryson for playing on LIV, they brought such dynamic personality to the game. They are certainly looking for the next dynasty but like most corporations they are trying to manufacture it, and you simply cannot manufacture Arnold Palmer.
I used to be an absolute sports junkie. I started watching less and less after they made sports one dimensional. MLB became HR derby NBA is a 3 point contest CBB is almost unwatchable it’s so bad I’m down to CFB which is killing itself with greed and unchecked NIL and golf. Golf became one dimensional too with 350 drives and wedge every hole. Thus, I now only watch the majors.
There will be the same number players or more trying to get less spots. What about the LIV tour and their very limited fields ? How do they figure into this ?
“We’re not that dumb” Well, you are if you think the money losing LIV has anything to do with growing golf. You’re worried that the PGA is shrinking while supporting a league that has already lost over a billion dollars and is only alive due to oil revenue. 🤦♂️
I used to be an absolute sports junkie. I started watching less and less after they made sports one dimensional. MLB became HR derby NBA is a 3 point contest NFL was pass only plus defensive penalties CBB is almost unwatchable it’s so bad I’m down to CFB which is killing itself with greed and unchecked NIL and golf. Golf became one dimensional too with 350 drives and wedge every hole. Thus, I now only watch the majors.
Just have the world top 20 players compete in 20 events worldwide called the BIG league. Each player plays alone with a caddie. Winner take all of $20,000,000 other 19 nothing. Top 15 move on each time. Last place guy gets castrated. Have no spectators on course. 2 announcers keeping tabs. Have secondary league field of events for 80 next level players where each guy gets $20,000 for playing and winner gets $100,000. The 5 last place guys from the BIG league event 5 move to the 2nd league tournament next time out. Next 100 players are in the minor league. They get $10,000 each week and 5 move to secondary.league the next event. Most of the guys will make their living from endorsements. If they stop performing, no endorsements and they get a real job. If they really love golf they will play regardless. If they are only playing for money good riddance.
It was bound to happen buddy. As soon as the Arabs get involved they are not interested in the fans, heritage or even the sport itself. They are only interested in somewhere to park their huge wealth. That will change, golf will become a distraction to them just like soccer is becoming. And, if they don’t like the rules they will change them, just like they are starting to do in Formula 1 racing. They’ve sacked most of the senior managers and now gonna run the thing on the say so of two very rich guys, one Arab and one controlled by same Arab. Best of luck in your struggle.
To be fair, the fields were too large making payouts less. Im ok with smaller fields or larger cuts. I dont wanna see dudes out there shooting 8 over when the leaders are 25 under. They dont play high school teams vs the nfl.
If they dont increase the winner’s prize, all the best players will go to liv sooner. Pga tour was dead once liv decided to pay the top guys whatever it takes.
Honestly the PGA dug their own grave when they banned those guys from competing. They all said they still wanted to play PGA events, the PGA just had too much pride to share.
Absolutely! Golf is not a fantastic TV spectator sport. Too many commercials, too much waffle, too many boring putts and not enough actual golf shots. Who is specifically paying a subscription just to watch that?
I have YT tv and I’m over 40. It comes with a PGA Channel. I only watch the college kids. And then it’s the Ladies Tournaments because they’re competitive. Other than that no thanks.
After the 4 Majors there only 4 or 5 additional tournaments I care to watch anymore. Maybe there is just too much golf on TV. As far as LIV goes I think I have watched maybe 1 hour of their stuff since they started. If you like to watch LIV golf ... great but there's something about it that just is not click for me
superstars gonna superstar. won't matter for them getting on the pga tour. gonna be guys who grind like wyndham clark that gonna get shafted. took him a while to climb the ranks.
All the recent changes are all part of the bigger picture that's coming next year or the year after. PGA tour will be just fine and so will liv. They all want to make money and they will find away to make sure that they all get their piece of pie.
Nobody tunes in to watch the annual tour bottom feeders eek out their 124th place spot on the money list. There are too many journeymen who are just perpetual field fillers, have two or three decent weeks per year and just keep getting invited back to the table. Ratings? When have ratings for golf ever been anything but awful? Oh yeah, when Tiger is on TV. Other than that, the only people who give two hoots about golf are golfers. LIV can’t even give their product away. So, the Tour is trying to deliver more premium content. Will it work? No, probably not because golf is at its core a niche sport with a niche following compared to other pro sports. If the Tour goes away, it certainly won’t be because there will be fewer journeymen in fields. It will be because the sports consuming public has decided it just doesn’t care enough about golf.
Selfish liv golfers ruined golf ill never watch liv with their overpayed players playing club golf. The pga maybe boring but at least its a legitimate tour.
The PGA Tour is interested in money and it prizes money over all else including its own product. This why it fails to understand that it's a pro golf tour but mostly it's about human stories and this policy will reduce the number and frequency of human stories and it will become even duller than it is now with interminable adverts breaking into the play, out of sequence golf shots and truly awful commentary.
Well you probably don’t watch the worst NFL team. I don’t watch off season PGA matches. Nobody plays that I’m interested in following. I like DP world, Asian tour, and LPGA. Like LlIV too. Format is great and have lots of favorites. It’s play well or leave. Personally believe the ranking system needs to be changed.
Sorry to tell you but we're already into the downfall and we have been for a year or two nobody watches anymore nobody cares nobody knows who the people are that are playing
Golf is fractured because of Greg Norman and LIV and yet people are constantly blaming the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour HAD to react. If they had done nothing, the top 50 players would be playing on LIV right now. People are getting upset with the smaller field sizes and yet LIV has 54 players. If you're a player trying to make it as a pro, you have WAY more opportunities now than you did 5 years ago. LIV has created probably 30 openings on the PGA Tour by stealing their players and now they remove a few spots and you're complaining? 137 players made over $1million on the PGA Tour last year. 25 Players made over $300k on the KFT last year. Sounds to me like a lot of people want participation trophies.
Less players mean you will get to know those left better. This will get you more interested in “your” player. With so many on the tour we don’t know, the tour itself is less interesting to fans. It’s why they don’t have 100 football teams in the nfl. A limited set is better to generate hardcore fans that see their player win more often.
But, how big of limited set equates to most faithful followers? Not saying I completely disagree with limiting the field; after all, these pre-sunrise to post-sundown tournaments have become unbearable. But, I also hate for a chance for an unknown to break-thru in an event and become the talk of the town if even for a while. The Monday Qualifier concept always seemed to encompass the American dream. Viewers tune in to watch their favorites (which for me is easier via watching the Champion’s tour where I’m familiar with every player’s name); but, they also like to occasionally see an underdog stage a miracle. If he can do it; maybe this week I can beat the others in my foursome finally.
@@KevinBrown-v4j You have good points and I don't know the exact number that makes it right, but I think there is a decent reason for them to bring the size of the field down. Maybe they can highlight players better. I'm really just spit balling ideas more than anything.
If ratings go down it will be because it's unwatchable with all the commercials, not so much these changes which don't seem unreasonable. The stated reasons for smaller fields seems to be logical and I don't think it's because they're afraid guys like you might show up and beat them. Greg Norman, LIV and the guys who took the money are forcing all these changes. Take it up with them.
I don't think you quite know HOW competition works. To put it in the most simplest form, in hopes that you'll understand, the harder it is to get in the more competitive it's going to be simply because the competition around you is better... that's pretty much common sense.
part of the reason for shrinking the field sizes is so that rounds early in the year can be completed before darkness. how about this instead PLAY FASTER.
I don't think you understand Bill. When you've played golf your whole life since you were a kid, and now you're a young man with a wedge in your hand and you have a 100 yard shot, you need to have very long and detailed conversations with your caddie about the 2 mile an hour wind coming in off your right.......or is it your left? Then if that massive wind affect reduces to one mile an hour you need to re-group, it's very important........
Agreed, the "pace of play" has been the biggest thing they're hiding behind be we all know thats not it. If they cared about pace of play they would enforce pace of play rules, which they currently dont.
4 дня назад
After LIV started I haven't watched PGA anymore, too boring.
This sort of bullshit isn't just on the PGA its in regular clubs all around the world with certain groups of people trying to keep the game for themselves, the professional and amateur labels need to go and it should be based around handicap and the best players anywhere deserve a shot professional or not.
I used to be a sports fan, football, baseball, basketball. I stopped watching when it seemed that the profession was all about the money and screw the fans. Golf was the last sport I watched comfortably. Now, it’s all about the money and screw the fans. I’ll keep playing golf but screw the PGA.
Sports have always been such a big part of my life but the older I get the more it seems like business is taking over the sports world and making a "product" instead of a sport.
They got pissy about Liv, and then started to copy Liv.
Exactly what I thought
The tour has left a terrible taste in my mouth because I’m still a pro (not pga tour, but inactive pga and I still have pro status). I left the golf biz and have been working a 9-5 for 10 years and would play in a local Monday qualifier every year. More for fun, but you never know what will happen if you get hot. I was happy with doing that the rest of my life…now it’s done. All that’s left is the state open and US Open locals…far too much time and money investment every year if you play well and advance. Monday qualifiers were great because it was always the Wed/thurs pre qualifier and then the Monday.
Everything in our world is getting worse every year, relationships, cost of living, cost of hobbies, hell even video games are fucked right now.
Best of luck mate.
Such a shame, a lot of people like yourself liked the Monday Qs, it's such a huge opportunity for anyone to compete at golfs highest stage. No other sport has that option, I can't go to a Monday tryout and play WR for the Eagles in Sundays game. But anyone who got good enough could qualify for a PGA event any given week. It was one of the things that made golf so special.
@@benutahgolf Amen
@@benutahgolfEric Cole GOT HIS CARD because he Monday qualified at the Honda Classic at the famous Bear Trap course……….he got a top 5 or top 10 and he made Millions throughout the year after this tournament!!
Do not watch PGA tour anymore after years and years.
Me too. LIV, YT Golf, and Majors. That is where I'm at. I don't miss the PGA and will not return until Monahan gets the Greg Norman treatment.
@@whateverittakes5580Agreed…..I haven’t watched much since the evil pga retained jay m 🤡
@@whateverittakes5580Do you seriously watch LIV? Nobody can actually sit and watch that 😂
@@tutteturunen6822 My name is Nobody then. Get used to it. The PGA sucks...and the numbers support my position. LIV is on the rise and will be here for the foreseeable future.
@@whateverittakes5580 your imaginary numbers? Show me these numbers. LIV broadcast viewers are usually 10k and its FREE.
Nobody cares about winners or winning in there or even knows who is winning! Look what schefflers game is doing to pga tour. Everybody is exciting to watch that kind of play again after tiger
Over the last couple of years I've enjoyed ytube golf more than stale pga golf
And this is why TW commanded that everyone stop watching RUclips golf. Because RUclips golf IS a better product!
Same. Watching Bryson and others like Grant is refreshing and better entertainment
I'd say most of the best players left the PGA and what ever top names are left hardly play. I tuned in a week or two ago, shut it off because I thought it was the Kornferry tour. Tuned back in later on and realized, no it's the PGA tour, I just don't recognize the players any more, and don't care. I just watch the women and some times the old guys. The PGA can suck it.
Im thinking about starting to watch the Champions Tour and LPGA more, I've never really liked watching any golf but the PGA has particularly gone downhill as they chase LIV. They really hurt golf when they banned some of their most entertaining superstars from the PGA events, what a mistake that was.
Better off watching the college kids play. At least they still care until NIL ruins it there too
Golf is growing PGA tour is dying …🤷♂️
Sorry but to most people outside the US whilst we acknowledge the good aspects of the PGA tour, growing the game hasn’t ever been its priority. It has systematically destroyed the other tours around the world. Understand that, cos money talks. This new move no different.
If the tour didn't give mickelson de shambro , Dustin Johnson and the others the shits and sat them down and became fair with advertising rights and understood the players are the product and not the pga tour there probably wouldn't have liv
Ex-act-ly. Now they’re in damage control still trying to increase their bottom line. 🙄
@michaelg7904 I would still prefer to watch the pga tour, I can't stand the liv with their side panel of team data on the left hand side of the screen. It's hardly a team competition when it's an individual event with a side order of team, it's b.s..
On top of that I can't stand Greg Norman and I'm an Australian
PGA on the weekends is unwatchable. Watch 3 player shots, then it's off to 5 minutes of sponsor commercials. I've enjoyed LIV via their app. Camera time is spread across the field of players and not just the final group.
Yeah the PGA has much bigger problems than just having more players than they used to. The play is so slow and the coverage is stale.
The nonstop commercials are mindnumbingly painful. The thing that really gets under my skin is the sponsor CEO or whatever exec, telling everyone how much they do for the community or how woke they are. So self-gratuitous it makes me ill. These people don’t care about the masses. Give me a break. Then you have to watch 800 commercials about pharmaceuticals and financial services. Most people just want to watch golf. The Masters streaming service is awesome. Limited interruptions, demure announcers/analysts. If I had my way, I’d have a streaming channel where you had no talking. Only ambient golf sounds. I don’t need every darn thing explained to me like I’m 3 either. Simplify some of the rules and for God’s sake let players drop if their ball lands in someone else’s divot. That is one of the dumbest rules in golf.
MLB has roughly 1000 players. PGA tour is set to have roughly 100. Ridiculous.
It would be one thing if the PGA had a more linear minor league system like pro baseball does but it's so individualistic that limiting ways to get to the PGA is harmful. At least in baseball you can get called up, the PGA is basically doing away with "getting called up" through Monday Qs and reduced cards to Korn Ferry Tour players.
I think it’s good to have less and make all the rest qualify. I think it should be the Top 50. All the rest have to qualify in some manner to get a spot for one season. If you don’t win a tournament, you go back to qualifying for a limited number of spots. I know you’re not going to like that. Sorry.
No Monday qualifying benefits no one but the establishment…Monday golf was the “Everyman” aspect of the pga
I’m gutted that this happened. My favourite players not in Majors is a travesty. Shutting down Monday Qualifying? Some golfers exist for those.
Bad decisions, PGA.
a travesty is a lie..... please explain the lie?
The biggest mistake the PGA made was banning LIV players from playing PGA events, thats where this downfall started. Now they're just making one bad decision after another trying to save par, pun intended.
@@benutahgolf still don't see where the travesty fits in, unless shawn is talking about aspects of where lov money comes from.
LIV players can play majors.
It’s turning into an elitist sport at every level. Start with equipment costs. If you go get a set of name brand clubs, it could set you back $3000 before you buy any clothes, gloves, balls, bags, shoes, etc. Then there’s the green fees. $60 is probably the minimum for a decent course on a weekend. That’s not including eating anything. I’ve seen even junk courses in the winter charging $50+ in the afternoon. I have a course by me that’s not all that great. It costs $24 to walk 9 holes at 4pm. Come on. Nearly every part of golf has been monetized. I feel fortunate that I make enough money to support my golf habit, but I can see where most people just can’t do it. Especially in today’s economy. Golf will end up being completely an elitist game within 5-10 years. It’s just getting way too expensive.
You just said the same things I would say. I live 15 minutes from the Valero open and that dream just died. PGA tour has become the elitist tour and the peasants get to watch how awesome they are.
Just look at the price of Ryder Cup Tickets, I know thats not a PGA Tour event but it's the same theme. Rich get richer, pricing out most of the fan base.
@ your 100% right I’m tired of all of that. PGA could have started a weekend series by states for the guys who have a good game but are regular blue collar guys with amazing handicaps but they choose to be an exclusive club. Some people go to college but that doesn’t mean you’re not smarter than a college grad from life experience. I think I’m keeping my eye on the Liv tour.
Golf is slowly being turned back into the Elitist game, how it started, a game for the rich and privileged, in the US.
It is frustrating to watch.
The PGA Tour also invested so much money into the "PGA Tour University" or whatever they call it to groom college kids to be prepared for a move into the Pro circuit, and damned sure they will be stopped from getting those privileged few to make it to the Tour after all the work they put into training those kids, with a huge focus on making sure they are taking care of "Americans" to make it, because they also saw that if they kept it "Open" with qualifying from all over the place, then the Tour will end up being filled by foreigners and they became afraid of that, even though the other Major sports leagues in the US are starting to be filled with foreigners also (except for the NFL, a game nobody else in the world gives a shit about, of course), because those in power of the game of golf in the US believe that golf is an American sport.
Why do you think the DP World (Euro) is more lenient to the LIV guys? I can guarantee you, the LIV guys will end up owning the Euro Tour, and THAT will become the WORLD TOUR, with the LIV Tour as an extension where guys who want to play there can also play there if they want. And once that happens, the Ryder Cup will be no more. But the powers that be in Europe will wake up and realise that you know what, they don't need to bow down to the US any more, that they had been shortsighted and blinded by history and "tradition" or whatever that was, dictated by the US, which was 20th century, sure, but nonetheless not the correct forum or the focus for the WORLD in the future of golf.
Recently, the PGA tour has become year round which means the star players are only playing a fraction of the available events. So when I turn on golf in the fall especially, I'm watching good golf but I don't know the players so I'm not invested. I'll take quality over quantity. It's ok to have an off season.
I agree that it's okay to have an off season and the PGA basically does with the big stars taking the fall off but the fall series is really important for a lot of guys careers. A lot of the "no names" are grinding it out to keep their jobs and keep making a living. I think it's filled with interesting story lines but it's so poorly marketed that no one cares.
100% agree with you. I've been watching the PGA Tour for over 40 years. Getting smaller is not conducive to better competition. My complaint always was and has been the PGA Tour is top heavy and they cater to that. With reduced fields, a guy like Scottie Sheffler may not have gotten a chance to get there.
The PGA is about ready to lose three good players right now to liv
I appreciate your logic, position, and the moxie to put it out there for all to see. Best of luck to you, and know that many agree with you. Count me in.
Thanks for the support! I hate that I had to say it but from what I've seen a lot of other people agree, and yet despite the fan pushback the PGA approved these changes with resounding applause the other day. Like I said, "they'll continue to do what's best for them and tell us it's whats best for us".
Great Video. I agree with you. Tour needs to expand and have a qualifying for every event and not a 4 spotter on Mondays. 100 spots available for qualifying each tournament. Let give everyone the chance.
Maybe you can do a Monday qualifier with LIV ?
PGA tour doesn’t make the kind of money other sports do. That’s why liv is smashing them with their deep ( don’t have to make a profit) pockets. And that’s why PGA will try this and other things just to survive basically. So you should blame golf for just not making enough money as an “entertainment “ product “
Ben, glad your video popped up in my feed. I agree with many of your points. As fans, our only recourse is to stop watching PGA Tour events on TV. When ratings plummet, sponsors will drop off and the Tour will have to reevaluate.
Rival leagues/tours just don't work. How many rival leagues for the NFL have come and gone? Where's the NBA rival? What about MLB? NHL? LIV certainly disrupted things, but to the detriment of the sport long-term. The response by the Tour is to protect, which is possibly going to drive away fans.
Good luck on your path to the Tour. If you make and the Tour exists, I'll be able to say, "I remember when I saw that dude on RUclips. Look at him now, a Masters Champion." :)
You're right, The LIV tour has taken a lot of the star players. I for one, rarely see most of them. Also, because there are so many tournaments (year round) now, any given tournament has fewer players that we know and who we root for. The product is watered down and people will lose interest.
At the beginning of the PGA Tour, the exempt size was fairly small, around 60 players and the field expanded through Monday qualifiers, past champions, sponsors exemptions, etc. Then player rep Gary McCord proposed the all exempt 125 player membership which against the big names on the tour passed. It turned out well because it gave more opportunities at Q School.
Now, the PGA Tour has reverted back so that only the big names get the big money, as if they don’t have enough already.
I have a good change for the PGA Tour. Go to 3 rounds, except for majors. There will be a cut after 2 rounds. Anyone not within 10 strokes gets cut. Weight the purse more to the Top 5. In the cases where 1 or 2 players are way ahead, have some sort of minimum 3rd Round players. Mainly most money going to Top 5 and the winner gets most of that. Every course in the schedule should have very tight fairways and 4-6” overseed rough. Make every round as difficult as possible. Select tees that limit the effect of driving distance. Nearly every course played should be set up at US Open difficulty.
People are sick of boring courses where the winner is -24. I want to see 3 rounds, with the winner at -5 max.
I also think that the max driver size should be 350cc with a length limit. All players must use forged blades and no broomstick or arm lock putters. Only traditional putting allowed.
Anyway, these are just ideas for people to tell me I’m an idiot. Haha.
They were absolutely blind-sided by LIV. Every method to deal by the PGA was prefaced by "How do we keep our books closed to scrutiny while trying to manage this?" I predicted merger when it happened. Now, as if on cue, PGA agrees LIV can "buy" a position on the PGA Tour. Never once allowing a look into the books. PGA is a small elite club run by WASPY east coaster Ivy types. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Recall they goosed the purses, paid through last, etc. Keep the peasants quiet. They put out whispers about "blood money" all the while sponsoring tours in China and HUGE SPONSOR FEDEX has huge hubs in deep ME. So here they sit: no names on Sunday, LPGA dominated by well you know...great players. PGA has to be hemorrhaging viewers and woke Golf Channel is hard to watch as well. Good luck, buddy. Hint: some smart, good players with some savvy are making good on the alternate YT golf channels making good dough...did I mention good?
I agree with everything you've said! As a former PGA Professional, I can't watch the PGA, or LIV. Money and greed has taken over.
Totally agree. I would rather see every tournament have 50 spots available to the top 50 players and then 100 spots available to Monday qualifiers. Then the cream will rise to the top
Pga downfall started with the restructure of its season with the top 50 playing elevated events , why copy LIV when pga had its own platform for decades on decades that worked
PGA golf on Sky TV in the UK is 10 mins of adverts then 5 minutes of golf, how dare they interrupt the advertising stream! LIV with no adverts, or commercial smacks is such a breath of fresh air I cancelled SKY, all sports need commercial sponsorship but in golf I think its taken over the actual sport.
Excellent video!! 👏👏👏 Well said.
What an asinine decision. This is yet another reason why I don’t watch golf on TV nor care about the PGA or Liv, and their battle for players. They both can disappear and amateur golf will still exist and thrive. Cheers.
golf needs the USGA for the game to continue. The same cannot be said for the PGA.
I don’t watch golf anymore. And, I love golf.
Good PGA and LIV are both way past their expiry dates - very fringe TV.
Yeah, something new needs to happen, gotta change up the golf world, coverage has gotten stale and the PGA banned its most entertaining players becuase they went to LIV.
They are opening the door to a new tour based in internet golf. That is where the game is growing.
I can watch major winners in Bryson and Rahm play golf with the president or eat tacos while giving us insights into the game. Wes Bryan bickering with his brother and now Phil, w Grant, challenging other pros to 2v2s. RIP PGA and LIV.
I don’t need the PGA Tour for me to enjoy playing a round of golf.
The Tour may have originally been designed for players, but is now for spectators. Profit over meritocracy.
Iiv is unwatchable. The pga going to 100 players is ridiculous. Bye! The Masters, British Open,and US OPEN will be the only watched tournaments. How many of those are PGA events?
Greed, fewer players = more money for each player.
Great point. The old boys club (which I would be part of) also does not see the threat youtube golf is.
I watch probably 20 hours of youtube golf and podcast and maybe 1 day of a big pga tourney/major.
Content creators are taking over. Period.
I don't understand the problem. If you want to play on tour, elevate your game to be able to compete for a spot. This is how it's always been. Your complaint is like wanting the NFL to increase the number of teams to 64 so more people can be "pro" football players.
I think one facet not mentioned is that the PGA Tour is looking for the next "dynasty"
What I mean by that, is they want another player/handful of players that define a generation. Arnie, Jack, and Tiger did this for decades. They became "golf", and it was good for the game. Like it or not, dynasties are good for sports. Think Lakers/Celtics, Yankees, Patrtiots/Chiefs -- love them or hate them it's good for the league.
I believe the fields are just too deep for anyone to take the torch from Tiger. The tour tried hard to market guys like Rory, Spieth, DJ, Koepka, but none of them could sustain it. It's not great for viewership when a casual golf fan turns on the tournament Sunday afternoon and they can't even recognize the guys on the leaderboard. As a former mini-tour golfer, I love to see it -- but guys like us are the exception.
Now, how do you solve this problem? I'm certain I have no clue. But I agree with you that this ain't the answer. Nerfing the field seems like a lazy and potentially harmful way to go about it. One of the beautiful things about golf is how closely amateurs can mimic the pro's, and also how anyone can grind hard and try to become pro. Monday qualifying was probably the coolest thing in all of sports.
Agreed, Monday Qs are one of the coolest things in all of sports. And yeah, it just seems like a lazy answer to a complex question. My answer has been and will continue to be: maybe don't ban your most entertaining personalities??? There was no need for the PGA to ban guys like Koepka and Bryson for playing on LIV, they brought such dynamic personality to the game. They are certainly looking for the next dynasty but like most corporations they are trying to manufacture it, and you simply cannot manufacture Arnold Palmer.
I used to be an absolute sports junkie. I started watching less and less after they made sports one dimensional.
MLB became HR derby
NBA is a 3 point contest
CBB is almost unwatchable it’s so bad
I’m down to CFB which is killing itself with greed and unchecked NIL and golf. Golf became one dimensional too with 350 drives and wedge every hole. Thus, I now only watch the majors.
There will be the same number players or more trying to get less spots. What about the LIV tour and their very limited fields ? How do they figure into this ?
“We’re not that dumb”
Well, you are if you think the money losing LIV has anything to do with growing golf. You’re worried that the PGA is shrinking while supporting a league that has already lost over a billion dollars and is only alive due to oil revenue. 🤦♂️
I used to be an absolute sports junkie. I started watching less and less after they made sports one dimensional.
MLB became HR derby
NBA is a 3 point contest
NFL was pass only plus defensive penalties
CBB is almost unwatchable it’s so bad
I’m down to CFB which is killing itself with greed and unchecked NIL and golf. Golf became one dimensional too with 350 drives and wedge every hole. Thus, I now only watch the majors.
99% of golfers dream about having a swing that good. Your in the top 1%, tour or not.
PGA will be fine. Liv will not.
Just have the world top 20 players compete in 20 events worldwide called the BIG league. Each player plays alone with a caddie. Winner take all of $20,000,000 other 19 nothing. Top 15 move on each time. Last place guy gets castrated. Have no spectators on course. 2 announcers keeping tabs. Have secondary league field of events for 80 next level players where each guy gets $20,000 for playing and winner gets $100,000. The 5 last place guys from the BIG league event 5 move to the 2nd league tournament next time out. Next 100 players are in the minor league. They get $10,000 each week and 5 move to secondary.league the next event. Most of the guys will make their living from endorsements. If they stop performing, no endorsements and they get a real job.
If they really love golf they will play regardless. If they are only playing for money good riddance.
Only watch the majors now
Totally agree!
It was bound to happen buddy. As soon as the Arabs get involved they are not interested in the fans, heritage or even the sport itself. They are only interested in somewhere to park their huge wealth. That will change, golf will become a distraction to them just like soccer is becoming. And, if they don’t like the rules they will change them, just like they are starting to do in Formula 1 racing. They’ve sacked most of the senior managers and now gonna run the thing on the say so of two very rich guys, one Arab and one controlled by same Arab. Best of luck in your struggle.
To be fair, the fields were too large making payouts less. Im ok with smaller fields or larger cuts. I dont wanna see dudes out there shooting 8 over when the leaders are 25 under.
They dont play high school teams vs the nfl.
youtube golf is much better than PGA
If they dont increase the winner’s prize, all the best players will go to liv sooner. Pga tour was dead once liv decided to pay the top guys whatever it takes.
Honestly the PGA dug their own grave when they banned those guys from competing. They all said they still wanted to play PGA events, the PGA just had too much pride to share.
CLOSED SHOP
It’s always been a good ole boys club. I only watch the majors now and get the rest of my golf on RUclips.
You cannot even watch the PGA Tour unless you buy a television subscription. People under 40 do not buy television subscriptions.
Neither do people over 40.
Good point, you have to have ESPN+ and Peacock and I think next year they're changing it again to some other service, such a nightmare.
Absolutely! Golf is not a fantastic TV spectator sport. Too many commercials, too much waffle, too many boring putts and not enough actual golf shots. Who is specifically paying a subscription just to watch that?
I have YT tv and I’m over 40. It comes with a PGA Channel. I only watch the college kids. And then it’s the Ladies Tournaments because they’re competitive. Other than that no thanks.
thts why i dont even watch pga
Nuff said,
What say you, pga?
After the 4 Majors there only 4 or 5 additional tournaments I care to watch anymore.
Maybe there is just too much golf on TV.
As far as LIV goes I think I have watched maybe 1 hour of their stuff since they started. If you like to watch LIV golf
... great but there's something about it that just is not click for me
Where you serve your mission?
superstars gonna superstar. won't matter for them getting on the pga tour. gonna be guys who grind like wyndham clark that gonna get shafted. took him a while to climb the ranks.
I watch Liv now ever since PGA went woke
All the recent changes are all part of the bigger picture that's coming next year or the year after.
PGA tour will be just fine and so will liv. They all want to make money and they will find away to make sure that they all get their piece of pie.
Nobody tunes in to watch the annual tour bottom feeders eek out their 124th place spot on the money list. There are too many journeymen who are just perpetual field fillers, have two or three decent weeks per year and just keep getting invited back to the table. Ratings? When have ratings for golf ever been anything but awful? Oh yeah, when Tiger is on TV. Other than that, the only people who give two hoots about golf are golfers. LIV can’t even give their product away. So, the Tour is trying to deliver more premium content. Will it work? No, probably not because golf is at its core a niche sport with a niche following compared to other pro sports. If the Tour goes away, it certainly won’t be because there will be fewer journeymen in fields. It will be because the sports consuming public has decided it just doesn’t care enough about golf.
Selfish liv golfers ruined golf ill never watch liv with their overpayed players playing club golf. The pga maybe boring but at least its a legitimate tour.
I've stopped watching the PGA and the golf Channel except when it rarely shows the LPGA which im still a fan of..
I hate to say it but the Golf Channel is unbearable
The PGA Tour is interested in money and it prizes money over all else including its own product. This why it fails to understand that it's a pro golf tour but mostly it's about human stories and this policy will reduce the number and frequency of human stories and it will become even duller than it is now with interminable adverts breaking into the play, out of sequence golf shots and truly awful commentary.
Well you probably don’t watch the worst NFL team. I don’t watch off season PGA matches. Nobody plays that I’m interested in following. I like DP world, Asian tour, and LPGA. Like LlIV too. Format is great and have lots of favorites. It’s play well or leave. Personally believe the ranking system needs to be changed.
That's why more people are watching Liv golf now
sup ben!
Sorry to tell you but we're already into the downfall and we have been for a year or two nobody watches anymore nobody cares nobody knows who the people are that are playing
Golf is fractured because of Greg Norman and LIV and yet people are constantly blaming the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour HAD to react. If they had done nothing, the top 50 players would be playing on LIV right now. People are getting upset with the smaller field sizes and yet LIV has 54 players. If you're a player trying to make it as a pro, you have WAY more opportunities now than you did 5 years ago. LIV has created probably 30 openings on the PGA Tour by stealing their players and now they remove a few spots and you're complaining? 137 players made over $1million on the PGA Tour last year. 25 Players made over $300k on the KFT last year. Sounds to me like a lot of people want participation trophies.
Less players mean you will get to know those left better. This will get you more interested in “your” player. With so many on the tour we don’t know, the tour itself is less interesting to fans. It’s why they don’t have 100 football teams in the nfl. A limited set is better to generate hardcore fans that see their player win more often.
But, how big of limited set equates to most faithful followers? Not saying I completely disagree with limiting the field; after all, these pre-sunrise to post-sundown tournaments have become unbearable. But, I also hate for a chance for an unknown to break-thru in an event and become the talk of the town if even for a while. The Monday Qualifier concept always seemed to encompass the American dream. Viewers tune in to watch their favorites (which for me is easier via watching the Champion’s tour where I’m familiar with every player’s name); but, they also like to occasionally see an underdog stage a miracle. If he can do it; maybe this week I can beat the others in my foursome finally.
@@KevinBrown-v4j You have good points and I don't know the exact number that makes it right, but I think there is a decent reason for them to bring the size of the field down. Maybe they can highlight players better. I'm really just spit balling ideas more than anything.
If ratings go down it will be because it's unwatchable with all the commercials, not so much these changes which don't seem unreasonable. The stated reasons for smaller fields seems to be logical and I don't think it's because they're afraid guys like you might show up and beat them. Greg Norman, LIV and the guys who took the money are forcing all these changes. Take it up with them.
I don't think you quite know HOW competition works. To put it in the most simplest form, in hopes that you'll understand, the harder it is to get in the more competitive it's going to be simply because the competition around you is better... that's pretty much common sense.
You mean the USA PGA tour.
It's not all about the USA.
Look …. when the NFL expanded it definitely reduced the overall quality. Doesn’t make it right or wrong, it simply is what it is.
You anit making the pga tour
Maybe true but now neither will a lot of talented golfers who could.
Go woke up, go broke
Wow so original and is totally unrelated to the topic. Thanks for your intelligent comment.
part of the reason for shrinking the field sizes is so that rounds early in the year can be completed before darkness.
how about this instead
PLAY FASTER.
I don't think you understand Bill. When you've played golf your whole life since you were a kid, and now you're a young man with a wedge in your hand and you have a 100 yard shot, you need to have very long and detailed conversations with your caddie about the 2 mile an hour wind coming in off your right.......or is it your left? Then if that massive wind affect reduces to one mile an hour you need to re-group, it's very important........
@@kmrk4055 lol
i do know some folks i play with on occasion that do exactly what you describe .
Agreed, the "pace of play" has been the biggest thing they're hiding behind be we all know thats not it. If they cared about pace of play they would enforce pace of play rules, which they currently dont.
After LIV started I haven't watched PGA anymore, too boring.
I stopped watching the PGA tour a few years ago.
Most of the best players in the world are on the liv tour should be.
Easier to get on the p g a tour
This sort of bullshit isn't just on the PGA its in regular clubs all around the world with certain groups of people trying to keep the game for themselves, the professional and amateur labels need to go and it should be based around handicap and the best players anywhere deserve a shot professional or not.