LIV Tour Discussion Thread (*** NO POLITICS ***)

[jimecherry]

5 minutes ago, Louis_Posture said:

Today I watched some LIV Tour golf for the first time. The players wearing short pants, music playing on the course, and low-budget feel of the broadcast team was not compelling.

way to say the golf doesnt matter without saying the golf doesnt matter ;}

[woahnelly]

32 minutes ago, jimecherry said:

the 150 - 200 category on the pga tour were supposed to help fill in the gap of losing 10 guys for a whole season but this early in and i'm not sure any pga tour players in that category have traveled to the middle east to play.

 

Dylan Frittelli won the DP event this week, he fits that category. 

[stinger_gc]

57 minutes ago, jimecherry said:

the 150 - 200 category on the pga tour were supposed to help fill in the gap of losing 10 guys for a whole season but this early in and i'm not sure any pga tour players in that category have traveled to the middle east to play.

If I was in that category I would try to play in the LIV promotion events. One hot week could be life changing 

[woahnelly]

7 minutes ago, stinger_gc said:

If I was in that category I would try to play in the LIV promotion events. One hot week could be life changing 

 

Some guys tried and failed like Chris Stroud, Kevin Chappell, Jason Dufner

[freeze16172002]

Rahm and  Hatton still couldnt sell out. Maybe they should sign Taylor Swift to a billion dollar three year deal to date one of the players. Pat Perez is single

Edited February 5 by freeze16172002

[Frankensteins Monster]

How bad must one be playing when they finish second to last in a three round exhibition event, Micke’lol’son?

[Chopper Dave]

1 hour ago, Frankensteins Monster said:

How bad must one be playing when they finish second to last in a three round exhibition event, Micke’lol’son?

let’s go one better and ask Dunlap

[grm24]

15 hours ago, stinger_gc said:

2 of the 3 Co-Sanctioned events are alt field events and have the SOF of a KFT event lol. I’m no way propping up exhibition golf but wouldn’t you agree that the dp world tour is more like KFT Europe most weeks

No. The DP Tour still has the best and top players that have not come to the PGA Tour. Not sure you are aware but the DP/ET Tour has their own version of the KFT. It's called the Challenge Tour. 

[grm24]

8 hours ago, CBarns92 said:

When was the last time a field of top players visited these markets? 

The exhibition tour isn't a field of top players. Some great players sure. You can't look at that roster top to bottom and say it's a field of top players. Names that are recognizable sure but are well past their playing prime.

[jdl]

 

[Murphy76]

 

I watch a fair amount of golf on TV.  

 

I read a lot of forums.

 

I play as much as I can.  So,....

 

I watched some LIV today, and it made absolutely zero sense.  They quickly flashed back-and-forth between different players putting on different greens while a spartan crowd looked on.  It felt like they had a chimp manning the "Next Camera" button.  And fed it crank.

 

There was no story, no continuity, no interest.  Even the players looked bored. 

 

And what are they competing for other than money?

 

Don't get me wrong:  Having money is just super.

 

But this had no Shine to it.  It felt more like watching a plumber replacing a wax-seal on a toilet-base. 

Someone (or anyone) hoisting an anonymous black obelisk over their head isn't entertaining.

 

Viva la Masters.  

 

 

 

Edited February 6 by Murphy76

[Titleist99]

6 minutes ago, Murphy76 said:

 

I watch a fair amount of golf on TV.  

 

I read a lot of forums.

 

I play as much as I can.  So,....

 

I watched some LIV today, and it made absolutely zero sense.  They quickly flashed back-and-forth between different players putting on different greens while a spartan crowd looked on.  It felt like they had a chimp manning the "Next Camera" button.  And fed it crank.

 

There was no story, no continuity, no interest.  Even the players looked bored. 

 

And what are they competing for other than money?

 

Don't get me wrong:  Having money is just super.

 

But this had no Shine to it.  It felt more like a plumber replacing a wax-seal on a toilet-base. 

Someone (or anyone) hoisting an anonymous black obelisk over their head isn't entertaining.

 

Viva la Masters.  

100%......more shots without context do not enhance any telecast.

 

The college format doesn't work for me.

 

I can't believe world-class players would ever be associated with something like this.

[Titleist99]

19 minutes ago, jdl said:

 

One more win and WC can demand and get $300M. The Saudis are so gullible.🤣🤣🤣

[idrive]

Phil - Stinking it up - Not bad after signing for $200 million.

 

T51st Place

Mickelson P.

 

T51st Place

Perez P.

224

 

T51st Place

Uihlein P.

224

 

54th Place - Last

Varner H. III

227

[Cactus Jack]

47 minutes ago, jdl said:

 

Let’s be honest, LIV didn’t pay his asking price. 

[NV825]

I also gave LIV a shot today because my local ABC station owns the CW and aired it. My thoughts:

 

- The top players are still amazing golfers even when playing in shorts. The setting made me jealous as we got a foot of new snow today.

 

- The graphics were a bit more wild and reminded me of an online first-person shooter video game leaderboard.

 

- The whole team aspect is not that intriguing. Beyond wearing the same outfits, it just seems forced when the product is still a stroke play tournament just like a PGA Tour event. I don’t see how that current team format will ever captivate fans because it’s just window dressing with no real purpose. I think it could make it even more confusing to a non-golfer checking it out for the first time. I’d want to see some two-man team pairings and format where they are actually playing and interacting with their team members. But then we have the issue of what’s the purpose of each team if they aren’t even based on something specific, like nationalities or equipment manufacturers.
 

- The whole thing felt a lot less prestigious and the background music was annoying and contributed to it. It was still great golf being played, but the wrapper cheapens the viewing experience. I can see how they are trying to go after the bro crowd that goes out and gets hammered every time they golf, but I’m not sure that demographic even cares enough to watch golf. 

[jimecherry]

18 hours ago, stinger_gc said:

2 of the 3 Co-Sanctioned events are alt field events and have the SOF of a KFT event lol. I’m no way propping up exhibition golf but wouldn’t you agree that the dp world tour is more like KFT Europe most weeks

dp world tour's second tier events have purses that are 2x that of the kft. i know american caddies think very little of the dpwt due to how they fill out the bottom of those lesser events but as we've seen over time the vast majority of the dpwt's best are dual members making it hard to measure the strength of the tour alone when it comes to talent.

[aenemated]

5 hours ago, freeze16172002 said:

Maybe they should sign Taylor Swift to a billion dollar three year deal to date one of the players.

 

Ya mean they should hire whoever runs Tay Tay's empire because she makes more in one show than LIV has in its entire existence. 

 

Granted, my band makes more in one show than LIV has 😂

[Buddon _Burn]

I watched a bit today and have done so here and there since the first season and am not biased either way re LIV's existence/as a product, but one thing that struck me is the coverage seems to have got worse in various respects over time. A prime example is the electronic putting line - to me, it looks ridiculous/like the viewer is playing an arcade game rather than watching golf, but I'd accept it if it was just shown during setup, but it stays there during the entire putt so that I had absolutely no idea whether the putt was tracking/correct speed, or anything. It was ridiculous during one of the playoff holes - a make or break putt where I felt I had to just listen for whether to ball dropped or see where it had stopped to know if the putt had been made or not.

[ewaldbeukes]

On 2/3/2024 at 6:13 PM, bscinstnct said:

 

Let’s see how this shapes up this year

 

That big spike is when LIV first was announced and took BK DJ etc in 2022

 

But interest just keeps falling lower and lower each year

 

Will signing Rahm get interest on the upswing? We will see

 

For comparison, that’s an overlay of “Tiger Woods” as a search term in Google trends compared to LIV golf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little bit misleading...

 

 

if you look across all searches then its all tailed off. I would say % wise the PGA has lost the greatest share of interest over the past 12 months. 

 

Also Michael Blocks story at the PGA Champs was the biggest driver for PGA Tour and Tampongate the biggest driver for Tiger Woods. 

 

I think its fair to say all interest / searches is down across the board. People need a good compelling story and not just a scandal. Maybe also says something about the world today that scandals are the most newsworthy...

Edited February 5 by ewaldbeukes
Pic

[Tinkerer]

A few weeks back media heavily promoted a 4th round Dubai clash between Fleetwood and McElroy on the DP World Tour. It was a good watch, but it's now rare. I watch much less golf because the best players are not competing, broadcasters will start to pay less and the game will quickly be worse off across all aspects from revenue loss and interest loss.

 

On current path the majors will soon be irrelevant for the same reasons, the best players will not be competing. The current product is well off, the strategy by failing administrators to announce 'updates and yet to be agreed ideas' is meaningless because the product continues to lose appeal. None of what we currently see is sustainable. 

[dcmidnight]

I tried it again for the last hour or so last night because there was nothing else on - and I want to try and be objective.

 

As always, these are in my opinion and TO ME...

 

0 - Just stop it with the music being heard on every single hole. If it was a party hole or something...OK, golf but louder, I get it. But its so distracting to hear it ALL the time. Definite turn off.

 

1 - The cheerleading is *still* exhausting. I dont need to hear from the announcers all the time about how great LIV is and how great the atmosphere is. Stop it. Foltz was the worst, just...enjoy the tournament for what it is, stop trying to pretend the crowd is amazing. During the playoff he had the cajones to say "these guys arent out here for the money, they just want to win"...and thats probably when I tapped out.

 

2 - Norman makes me want to punch the screen every time. Just stop - we've already tuned in, you dont have to sell me on how great you are. I could do without him altogether.

 

3 - I like the focus on the caddie/player conversation and how most of them - other then Foltz - would shutup and let it play out. Wish the PGAT would steal this.

 

4 - Of all the graphics they cram onto the screen, I didnt see one graphic of the drive distance or distance remaining to the hole. They had total hole distance but absolutely no other breakdowns of the shots themselves. If Sergio is getting outdriven by 50 yards, show me or tell me that.

 

5 - The team thing, again to me, is still a joke and really distracts from the indivudal portion. I didn't want to hear 18 times about how Rahm would lose but he's still be popping bottles on the podium.

 

Its a leaderboard full of names you know - you cant deny that. But the product is still not compelling to me, at all, and I would never watch if there was anything else on. I already know that every single guy out there has made MILLIONS just to be there, they've already signed huge 8 or 9 figure deals and they are making a huge check just for being out there and breathing. Again its not compelling - to me.

Edited February 5 by dcmidnight

[vman]

2 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

I tried it again for the last hour or so last night because there was nothing else on - and I want to try and be objective.

 

As always, these are in my opinion and TO ME...

 

0 - Just stop it with the music being heard on every single hole. If it was a party hole or something...OK, golf but louder, I get it. But its so distracting to hear it ALL the time. Definite turn off.

 

1 - The cheerleading is *still* exhausting. I dont need to hear from the announcers all the time about how great LIV is and how great the atmosphere is. Stop it. Foltz was the worst, just...enjoy the tournament for what it is, stop trying to pretend the crowd is amazing. During the playoff he had the cajones to say "these guys arent out here for the money, they just want to win"...and thats probably when I tapped out.

 

2 - Norman makes me want to punch the screen every time. Just stop - we've already tuned in, you dont have to sell me on how great you are. I could do without him altogether.

 

3 - I like the focus on the caddie/player conversation and how most of them - other then Foltz - would shutup and let it play out. Wish the PGAT would steal this.

 

4 - Of all the graphics they cram onto the screen, I didnt see one graphic of the drive distance or distance remaining to the hole. They had total hole distance but absolutely no other breakdowns of the shots themselves. If Sergio is getting outdriven by 50 yards, show me or tell me that.

 

5 - The team thing, again to me, is still a joke and really distracts from the indivudal portion. I didn't want to hear 18 times about how Rahm would lose but he's still be popping bottles on the podium.

 

Its a leaderboard full of names you know - you cant deny that. But the product is still not compelling to me, at all, and I would never watch if there was anything else on.

Got to agree, I still like Feherty's quips, but they bang the, LIV is wonderful/life changing/groundbreaking, drum through 5hrs of commentary.....nauseating.

[bcjim]

2 hours ago, Tinkerer said:

A few weeks back media heavily promoted a 4th round Dubai clash between Fleetwood and McElroy on the DP World Tour. It was a good watch, but it's now rare. I watch much less golf because the best players are not competing, broadcasters will start to pay less and the game will quickly be worse off across all aspects from revenue loss and interest loss.

 

On current path the majors will soon be irrelevant for the same reasons, the best players will not be competing. The current product is well off, the strategy by failing administrators to announce 'updates and yet to be agreed ideas' is meaningless because the product continues to lose appeal. None of what we currently see is sustainable. 

4 out of 5 pga tour events do far have been compelling, entertaining tournaments.  Even this week was going well until the weather canceled the final round.  

[freeze16172002]

9 hours ago, Chopper Dave said:

let’s go one better and ask Dunlap

 are you grading on a Liv curve?

Edited February 5 by freeze16172002

[nosedive32]

80 Players 54 Holes winner gets almost 72 world rankings points. Winning a major gets you 100.

 

54 players (with 15 of the last 31 majors won by players in the field) 54 Holes 0 points. This totally makes sense.

 

I don't care if they reach some agreement to allow guys to cross compete or not but they have to fix the silliness with the rankings.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

12 minutes ago, nosedive32 said:

80 Players 54 Holes winner gets almost 72 world rankings points. Winning a major gets you 100.

 

54 players (with 15 of the last 31 majors won by players in the field) 54 Holes 0 points. This totally makes sense.

 

I don't care if they reach some agreement to allow guys to cross compete or not but they have to fix the silliness with the rankings.

They could have had Owgr if LIV simply complied with the owgr framework. Instead they went rogue, following Norman's arrogance driven empty promises.

[Louis_Posture]

12 hours ago, jimecherry said:

way to say the golf doesnt matter without saying the golf doesnt matter ;}

The golf does matter to me. But so do traditions, and to me professionals playing a tournament wearing shorts while listening to music is disrespectful to the game and its traditions.

I understand the premise of a LIV tournament is supposed to be fun, but to me casual does not necessarily mean fun.

[bcjim]

35 minutes ago, nosedive32 said:

80 Players 54 Holes winner gets almost 72 world rankings points. Winning a major gets you 100.

 

54 players (with 15 of the last 31 majors won by players in the field) 54 Holes 0 points. This totally makes sense.

 

I don't care if they reach some agreement to allow guys to cross compete or not but they have to fix the silliness with the rankings.

If only there was a way...lol.

[ilikegolf26]

This week could have been catastrophic for lying Jay and the PGA Tour. They have to shorten their “signature event” to the very length (54 holes) that they make fun of LIV for. Then the LIV event has a great finish. If only LIV was broadcast on a major network to get more viewers, this week couldn’t have gone better for LIV. 

Edited February 5 by ilikegolf26