PGA Tour 2007 changes - THE FEDEX CUP

DemolitionMan · November 2, 2005

Other than employees of the PGA Tour and the 'yes-men' who play on the tour, does anyone think that the changes for 2007 are going to make the PGA Tour more exciting? Bring in more fans?

Golf is a niche sport, always has been, always will be. Even with the rise of TW, the PGA will never be the NFL, it will never be even close to NASCAR, so why the FedEx Cup? Like anyone will really care. I can see it now, late-Sept 2007, having a cold one from the tap in the 19th hole, chatting about the round that day and some goof ball says, "wow, did you see that putt VJ made to win the FedEx Cup? That was a $1M putt!" Whoooopppppeeeee!!!!!

I think the PGA Tour fails to realize that to the serious golf fans, we long ago stopped caring about the prize money, the bonus money and the endorsement money. Yes we know, Tiger is f'g rich, so is PM, but why should we care about the tour making the rich richer when they do not even care? With more money on the line is PM going to show up to a Tour Championship? And we know Tiger does not play for the money, so will he make more birdies with the FedEx Cup in his sights?

What a waste of time and money looking for ways to give even more money to the top 10 players. The real action is with first time tour winners and NW Tour graduates. Getting younger, better players rewarded with their good play at the NW Tour and putting less emphasis on Q-school was a great idea. More trophies? Wow.

nickc445 · November 2, 2005

I thought this quote was the most telling....

"...tour officials have been tweaking the concept since. They still are unsure how the points system will work, and Finchem said there was much work left.

"I've met with Tim five times, and I've heard five different things," Tiger Woods said Tuesday."

--- My two cents - it sounds like Tiger is not comfortable with the current dialogue. Also, this seems to confirm the rumors that Tim & Company were passing every revision of the plan to Tiger, Phil, Vijay (et al). IE, they wanted to make sure that any change would not alienate the big draw guys. If Tiger's quote is accurate, Mr. Finchem still has some work to do behind the scenes.

icemakr · November 2, 2005

It sucks that TV is going to mess up what I like about the PGA Tour. Different courses and different players every week.

Now you only have to play the courses or places you like. In 07 they are going to force the Top 30 guys to play like 6 or 7 weeks in a row at the end of the season. Wanna bet Tiger does even better with this new system? Everyone else starts to get tired and he just keeps on going like the energizer bunny.

alcap26 · November 2, 2005

I think it is utterly ridiculos in Nascar and it is even worse of an idea for golf. I have all but quit watching NASCAR and I was raised on it. The only races I watch are Bristol, Darlington, and Charolette. Now it looks like I will be watching the majors and thats about it. Terrible idea!!!

golfr03 · November 2, 2005

It has a lot of downsides, but I do still think

it will add a lot more action, I mean, the only

thing you could call exciting is the guys around

125 on the money list trying to scrammble

for their card. I myself like the idea but I am

not dogging on other people who think it is a bad

idea.

DemolitionMan · November 2, 2005

It has a lot of downsides, but I do still think
it will add a lot more action, I mean, the only
thing you could call exciting is the guys around
125 on the money list trying to scrammble
for their card. I myself like the idea but I am
not dogging on other people who think it is a bad
idea.
59382[/snapback]

I see what you are trying to say, but I wonder, who watches golf for the bigger picture rankings or money lists? Even if I was interested in watching a mad scramble for the top 125 by the players on the bubble, is TV going to allow me to enjoy that? How much TV coverage did the bubble players get at the Chrysler Championship? Almost none.

I watch golf for primarily one thing - great shotmaking. When the TV coverage has too much putting, I get bored. When TNT lays it on thick for the majors with all the side stories, I get bored. When Kostis over analyzes a swing, I get bored. So how will a points chase or more money at stake change this? It won't.

It's ironic that the effort by the tour to bring some more excitement to a low-key game for fan benefit could end up hurting the fans. After all, these ideas cost money, who pays that? The fans. So Tim Finchem, don't ask Phil Mickelson what he thinks, of course he is all for playing less for more money, but ask the fans what they think, are they all for paying higher ticket prices, higher costs of goods to offset increased advertising costs?

ce_me_golf · November 3, 2005

It sucks that TV is going to mess up what I like about the PGA Tour. Different courses and different players every week.

Now you only have to play the courses or places you like. In 07 they are going to force the Top 30 guys to play like 6 or 7 weeks in a row at the end of the season. Wanna bet Tiger does even better with this new system? Everyone else starts to get tired and he just keeps on going like the energizer bunny.
59328[/snapback]

When you live by television revenue you also let it dictate how you present your product and that's exactly what happening to the PGA Tour. Big television contracts allow the tour to have bigger purses. The last several years have seen a decline in television viewers for golf. And let's be honest aside from Tiger and maybe a handful of other players the PGA Tour really doesn't have a lot of exciting charismatic guys that will not only get hard core golf fans watching but the casual golf fan as well. Therefore the PGA is boxed into a corner where it has to find a way to get it's biggest stars in some kind of tournament format that will create some hype.

What the PGA Tour and the Championship REALLY NEEDS is more exciting and ANIMATED golfers who happen to be very talented as well. And at some point as the demographics change in this country the PGA Tour is going to need more hispanic and black golfers to broaden it's appeal. But that's much easier said than done and probably a topic for another thread.