Does the Tour need an offseason

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Over saturation of golf, or anything for that matter, devalues it for me. Golf for me is done till a couple weeks before The Masters.

 

Honestly the only thing that keeps golf somewhat on my mind during the off season is my participation in WRX.

[andrieddle]

I just watch the end of Race to Dubai on the Euro Tour! And there is a true off season in December so that's enough

[ExTrumpet]

It's college football season...I'll tune back in at Kapalua.

[Rangeballz]

I simply don't watch much golf from now until Kapalua.

 

Bingo! The season starts for me at Kapalua, where we get to listen to Mark Rolfing wax eloquent on the islands' culture and watch endless footage of whales...with some golf thrown in here and there.

 

I used to like the silly season events. These days I might watch the father/son tourney if nothing else is on, but that's pretty much it.

[SullGolf]

Echoing others, I don't watch much after the Ryder Cup and before Kapalua. I love the courses in that Hawaii/California swing. Kapalua, Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach. There's something mentally refreshing in watching those courses in January and February, when I'm in the depths of the winter golf doldrums and getting excited about golfing again.

 

After the west coast swing, I also don't watch most of the Florida/Texas swing before the Masters, with the one exception being the WGC Matchplay event. Though that will change now that the Players is in that earlier slot in the year.

[i*windows]

YES

[Hellstorm]

I'm not hating on golf in the fall or anybody that wants to watch it....but I agree with the guy who said how it is marketed poorly. I would also be more into it if they did some different things like match play or team events. I'd like to see an event with tour pros that team up with other tour pros from the same college for bragging rights.....or a coed type thing under that format. I would watch every minute of that.

 

Because this is WRX, I'm sure everybody here watches all the Web.com tour stuff and know these players that are playing in the fall.....but the PGA Tour could market the guys better and build interest. And by marketing, I don't mean just saying the guy can drive it 330 yards so we gotta watch.

[MidwestGolfBum]

I'm not hating on golf in the fall or anybody that wants to watch it....but I agree with the guy who said how it is marketed poorly. I would also be more into it if they did some different things like match play or team events. I'd like to see an event with tour pros that team up with other tour pros from the same college for bragging rights.....or a coed type thing under that format. I would watch every minute of that.

 

Because this is WRX, I'm sure everybody here watches all the Web.com tour stuff and know these players that are playing in the fall.....but the PGA Tour could market the guys better and build interest. And by marketing, I don't mean just saying the guy can drive it 330 yards so we gotta watch.

 

It could absolutely be marketed better! To the average golf fan, there's typically not enough big or recognizable names in the field for you to care about tuning in. Tell the story about the Web guys who are playing, talk more about what it took for them to get there, how it happened, let people buy in to their success. Instead, we get nothing of the sort, and the hard core golf fan will either learn about them on their own or watched them play on the Web already.

 

The part in bold is even better when you actually show him hitting shots from time to time. I had it on in the background at work last week and, while I admit that I didn't see every shot, I don't remember much of seeing CC.

[cinnepa]

YES.

[taporsnap17]

No gun to your head OP forcing you to watch. If you don't want to watch it, don't. I'm sure even the sponsors and hosts know so the prize pool/sponsorship dollars etc will be lower at this time of year too

[ago33]

well lets see, Raiders are 0-4 Niners are 1-4 A's are out and so are the Giants. So that leaves the wrap around season for which I am grateful . There's a lot of good talent that moved up from Web.com tour and frankly I play year round so my season never ends why should theirs.

 

I would feel bad for you if the Warriors didn't start their season so soon

[Jordan Speeth]

Re-posted comment from the Safeway Open thread:

 

 

I feel a real lack of interest in golf lately after the non-stop onslaught of event after event. Today in Napa, there were about 30 people following the lead group. That's pretty pathetic considering: A gorgeous day in the Napa Valley, Safeway, Johnny Miller, and oh yeah...Phil, and that was how many fans in the SF Bay Area gave a crap about our only PGA Tour event. I'm watching the replay now and there are two people watching Aaron Baddeley, who's currently in second.....there's just nobody there, like a Web.com event. It'd be a good idea for the PGA Tour to be wise regarding the idea of overkill with this wraparound season. Sometimes, a break is a good thing. It refreshes peoples' passions for things, including golf. I used to really look forward to the TOC at Kapalua just because it marked the beginning of a golf season and it showed sunshine and beaches to a country buried in snow and winter weather. It worked (not great, but it worked). Now, it doesn't work at all. Nobody cares about it either. Just some food for though.

 

I also remember some fairly epic play at Kapalua a few times. The first one that comes to mind would be the playoff between Ernie and Tiger....one of the best of all time with the two of them eagle-ing and birdie-ing the 18th hole over and over. That made it watchable and if Tiger plays this year, it'll be watchable again. Other than that, it's pretty hard to get too excited about much between now and the Masters.

[FIRs&GIRs&3-Putts]

I like these events but they shouldn’t be part of the regular season, I don’t get what was wrong with having the “Fall Series” and then starting at Kapula. I don’t watch much until Florida anyway, I need my sleep and the time zones in the West Coast swing are not friendly.

[doublehans]

I like these events but they shouldn't be part of the regular season, I don't get what was wrong with having the "Fall Series" and then starting at Kapula. I don't watch much until Florida anyway, I need my sleep and the time zones in the West Coast swing are not friendly.

 

a significant reason for the change was "fall series" events didnt get their winners into the masters. making the fall series full credit events, fedex pts etc, changed that and now a masters invite comes with the events. of course, the sponsors of fall series events like all this too.

[aarbro]

I dislike it. This is October, baseball playoffs, football, looking forward to college basketball. No interest in the wrap around season. Golf season is over unless you play the Australian tour, Sunshine tour or the Asian tour. I think it’s cool to see the top players compete in the Australian Open and the PGA.

 

I enjoyed the occasional skins game or shootout event, I really don’t miss it till Pebble.

 

As an Aussie, our tour is getting less and less big names as the years progress. The Australian Masters which used to be played on a lot of Melbourne courses is now gone. The Aus Open gets a few big names (most likely on massive appearance fees, we've had Spieth a few times, and he's won twice, Tiger almost 10 years ago now, Rory). Jason Day rarely comes, Adam Scott is always here though.

 

With Fedex Cup points on offer, larger purses stateside and the WGC in China, the Aus Tour is going to continue to struggle. Add in the timing around Christmas and the large distances as well.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

It's always better to leave the audience wanting more rather than give them so much that people tire of it. Unfortunately they've done the latter.

[umassgolfer]

It could absolutely be marketed better!

 

Honestly, the fall events to me are marketed fine. I think "marketing it better" would mean making tournaments too gimmicky, more visible, or both - which takes away credibility of the event & creates the viewer fatigue already mentioned by so many posters already.

 

If you're a golf nut and want to watch, you know where to find them. The Shriner's Open is never going to compete with the NFL or attract the casual/new fan, but there is a certain set of people (and golf pro shops, corner TV's in the bar, gamblers, etc.) who will tune in, even if it's just to kill time during commercials of the NCAA/NFL game du jour.

 

Last point for now - I cannot believe so many on this board are advocating for FEWER tournaments. How many people who are saying there are too many events also got upset when Romo or Steph Curry got invites to play because it took away playing opportunities from pros who are "more deserving" of sponsors' invites?

[cinnepa]

It's always better to leave the audience wanting more rather than give them so much that people tire of it. Unfortunately they've done the latter.

 

love that IPA! they make plenty of great beer.

[Hawkeye77]

I like these events but they shouldn't be part of the regular season, I don't get what was wrong with having the "Fall Series" and then starting at Kapula. I don't watch much until Florida anyway, I need my sleep and the time zones in the West Coast swing are not friendly.

 

a significant reason for the change was "fall series" events didnt get their winners into the masters. making the fall series full credit events, fedex pts etc, changed that and now a masters invite comes with the events. of course, the sponsors of fall series events like all this too.

 

That's actually a little backwards. Fall series getting FedEx Cup points, etc. and disappearance of Q school were because the sponsors were threatening to quit sponsoring the fall series events. So those changes were made and as a result the players benefitted. So the reason was pacifying sponsors and fitting things to the Tour's vision of the FedEx Cup being the ultimate.

[Vindog]

well lets see, Raiders are 0-4 Niners are 1-4 A's are out and so are the Giants. So that leaves the wrap around season for which I am grateful . There's a lot of good talent that moved up from Web.com tour and frankly I play year round so my season never ends why should theirs.

 

Start watching SJ Sharks!

[Hellstorm]

Re-posted comment from the Safeway Open thread:

 

 

I feel a real lack of interest in golf lately after the non-stop onslaught of event after event. Today in Napa, there were about 30 people following the lead group. That's pretty pathetic considering: A gorgeous day in the Napa Valley, Safeway, Johnny Miller, and oh yeah...Phil, and that was how many fans in the SF Bay Area gave a crap about our only PGA Tour event. I'm watching the replay now and there are two people watching Aaron Baddeley, who's currently in second.....there's just nobody there, like a Web.com event. It'd be a good idea for the PGA Tour to be wise regarding the idea of overkill with this wraparound season. Sometimes, a break is a good thing. It refreshes peoples' passions for things, including golf. I used to really look forward to the TOC at Kapalua just because it marked the beginning of a golf season and it showed sunshine and beaches to a country buried in snow and winter weather. It worked (not great, but it worked). Now, it doesn't work at all. Nobody cares about it either. Just some food for though.

 

I also remember some fairly epic play at Kapalua a few times. The first one that comes to mind would be the playoff between Ernie and Tiger....one of the best of all time with the two of them eagle-ing and birdie-ing the 18th hole over and over. That made it watchable and if Tiger plays this year, it'll be watchable again. Other than that, it's pretty hard to get too excited about much between now and the Masters.

I thought the same thing watching it. Where are all the people? For a PGA Tour event, the galleries were remarkably thin. In fact, I might have seen as many spectators for a high school invitational here in Ohio. They even advertised for tickets and all of the free concerts that were part of the event on Sunday during the telecast.

 

I think its funny that all these people just say to change the channel.....that's missing the point. I am a golf fan and in most cases, I will watch golf regardless of what the other options are. My issue is that its just hard to get excited about it a week after a string of big tournaments. Not to take aim at Snedeker, but watching to see if he would blow a 5 shot lead once it was in doubt was the only thing exciting about it for me. I just found it really boring that the 52 week long season opened with so little fanfare that the main story line for the whole tournament was the fire that almost destroyed the course a year ago.

[Vindog]

Re-posted comment from the Safeway Open thread:

 

 

I feel a real lack of interest in golf lately after the non-stop onslaught of event after event. Today in Napa, there were about 30 people following the lead group. That's pretty pathetic considering: A gorgeous day in the Napa Valley, Safeway, Johnny Miller, and oh yeah...Phil, and that was how many fans in the SF Bay Area gave a crap about our only PGA Tour event. I'm watching the replay now and there are two people watching Aaron Baddeley, who's currently in second.....there's just nobody there, like a Web.com event. It'd be a good idea for the PGA Tour to be wise regarding the idea of overkill with this wraparound season. Sometimes, a break is a good thing. It refreshes peoples' passions for things, including golf. I used to really look forward to the TOC at Kapalua just because it marked the beginning of a golf season and it showed sunshine and beaches to a country buried in snow and winter weather. It worked (not great, but it worked). Now, it doesn't work at all. Nobody cares about it either. Just some food for though.

 

I also remember some fairly epic play at Kapalua a few times. The first one that comes to mind would be the playoff between Ernie and Tiger....one of the best of all time with the two of them eagle-ing and birdie-ing the 18th hole over and over. That made it watchable and if Tiger plays this year, it'll be watchable again. Other than that, it's pretty hard to get too excited about much between now and the Masters.

I thought the same thing watching it. Where are all the people? For a PGA Tour event, the galleries were remarkably thin. In fact, I might have seen as many spectators for a high school invitational here in Ohio. They even advertised for tickets and all of the free concerts that were part of the event on Sunday during the telecast.

 

I think its funny that all these people just say to change the channel.....that's missing the point. I am a golf fan and in most cases, I will watch golf regardless of what the other options are. My issue is that its just hard to get excited about it a week after a string of big tournaments. Not to take aim at Snedeker, but watching to see if he would blow a 5 shot lead once it was in doubt was the only thing exciting about it for me. I just found it really boring that the 52 week long season opened with so little fanfare that the main story line for the whole tournament was the fire that almost destroyed the course a year ago.

 

Well, this post is full of your opinion on what you find interesting and exciting and noteworthy. So it seems that you changing the channel, or doing something else that you find noteworthy is exactly the point.

 

Viewers: Don't like it? Don't watch.

Players: Don't want to play in as many events? Don't enter them if you don't have to.

 

 

I blame The Fry's for this whole thing, to be honest

[golfandfishing]

Re-posted comment from the Safeway Open thread:

 

 

I feel a real lack of interest in golf lately after the non-stop onslaught of event after event. Today in Napa, there were about 30 people following the lead group. That's pretty pathetic considering: A gorgeous day in the Napa Valley, Safeway, Johnny Miller, and oh yeah...Phil, and that was how many fans in the SF Bay Area gave a crap about our only PGA Tour event. I'm watching the replay now and there are two people watching Aaron Baddeley, who's currently in second.....there's just nobody there, like a Web.com event. It'd be a good idea for the PGA Tour to be wise regarding the idea of overkill with this wraparound season. Sometimes, a break is a good thing. It refreshes peoples' passions for things, including golf. I used to really look forward to the TOC at Kapalua just because it marked the beginning of a golf season and it showed sunshine and beaches to a country buried in snow and winter weather. It worked (not great, but it worked). Now, it doesn't work at all. Nobody cares about it either. Just some food for though.

 

I also remember some fairly epic play at Kapalua a few times. The first one that comes to mind would be the playoff between Ernie and Tiger....one of the best of all time with the two of them eagle-ing and birdie-ing the 18th hole over and over. That made it watchable and if Tiger plays this year, it'll be watchable again. Other than that, it's pretty hard to get too excited about much between now and the Masters.

I thought the same thing watching it. Where are all the people? For a PGA Tour event, the galleries were remarkably thin. In fact, I might have seen as many spectators for a high school invitational here in Ohio. They even advertised for tickets and all of the free concerts that were part of the event on Sunday during the telecast.

 

I think its funny that all these people just say to change the channel.....that's missing the point. I am a golf fan and in most cases, I will watch golf regardless of what the other options are. My issue is that its just hard to get excited about it a week after a string of big tournaments. Not to take aim at Snedeker, but watching to see if he would blow a 5 shot lead once it was in doubt was the only thing exciting about it for me. I just found it really boring that the 52 week long season opened with so little fanfare that the main story line for the whole tournament was the fire that almost destroyed the course a year ago.

 

Well, this post is full of your opinion on what you find interesting and exciting and noteworthy. So it seems that you changing the channel, or doing something else that you find noteworthy is exactly the point.

 

Viewers: Don't like it? Don't watch.

Players: Don't want to play in as many events? Don't enter them if you don't have to.

 

 

I blame The Fry's for this whole thing, to be honest

 

Who are the Fry’s?

[mtg]

Its really just semantics - though i agree that the PGA tour should stop calling these official events. They're glorified web.com at best - I happen to think thats a great tour so I don't want to demean it. There are going to be pro tournaments this time of year - there are going to be some great sticks playing in them (not the top 50 or 100 okay, but some damn good golfers trying to earn a living). The Golf channel will cover them - fine, watch if you want. The tour wants to be the one administering these events and making the money. But it has a cost - it dilutes the product they're trying to sell - the greatest golf tour on Earth. Personally the extra money they make by labeling these events "official" hurts the product somewhat. We're operating on the margins here - not make or break. I wish they'd not call them PGA tour events. Its good golf, watch if you need to. I'll rarely tune in - probably Tiger's event in the Bahamas is the only one I watch for more than 20 minutes until Hawaii.

[marmooskapaul]

I was done by the Tour Championship...the Ryder Cup was too much five days after the TC. College/Pro football for several months..then may catch some more golf. So yes...it does need an "off season" but like others not really complaining...just not watching.

[nsxguy]

Ever notice how all they show on the Golf Channel is golf?

 

 

 

 

 

[OldTomMorris]

Dark winter nights in Scotland the PGA Tour coverage Thu thru Sun evenings are essential, OK the wrap around events don't have the same pull but still very watchable.

[Dave230]

The best tournaments until the end of the season are almost all European Tour tournaments, mostly in Asia.

[Pepperturbo]

No need for offseason. As long as PGA tour required events are met, tour players can choose when to play and when not to or vacation.

[Jacked_Loft]

After the ET RTD final, I'm off until a week before the Masters.

 

Let the boys play all year round if they want.