PGA Tour China In Limbo, Golf's China Hopes Dimming

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Thanks to reader John for Wayne Ma's WSJ story on the latest blow to golf's China hopes.

PGA Tour China has struggled with the business practices of its China operations partner and has also been unable to get Chinese tournaments approved for its upcoming season, due to begin in May.

The game was banned by Mao Zedong as a bourgeois pastime, and more recently nearly 200 golf courses have been closed amid President Xi Jinping’s campaign against corruption by government officials and ostentatious displays of wealth.

The PGA Tour came to China with high hopes, seeking to expand the game’s popularity and perhaps find a breakout star who could do for golf what Yao Ming did for basketball.

And there was this from Shanghai University professor Liu Dongfeng on China's Olympic aspirations likely not including golf.

Seeing the potential for economic returns, China is now moving to make sports more of a commercial enterprise, he said, phasing out the old system where a government office is paired with a quasi-government association.

Liu said soccer was the first sport to abolish its government office in 2015 and basketball appears to be next, with Yao this year becoming the first head of the China Basketball Association not drawn from government ranks.

“In terms of priority, golf is absolutely not on the agenda,” Liu said. “The prospect for golf is not very bright, unfortunately.”

PGA Tour Ratings Streak Hits 12 Straight Final Rounds

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Take that, Byron Nelson!

No, this is no joking matter now as PGA Tour final round ratings dropped for the 12th straight week this year on CBS and NBC, with the Valero Texas Open joining the list.

According to Paulsen at SportsMediaWatch.com, the 1.3 final round rating was down 10% in viewership from last year and the lowest since 2013.

Ratings and viewership have now declined for twelve straight final round PGA windows on broadcast TV, a streak that dates back to Super Bowl Sunday. Nine of those 12 telecasts have hit a multi-year low in one or both measures.

At least lead-in coverage Sunday was unchanged!

Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 0.3 (-17%) and 385,000 (-23%) on Saturday and a 0.4 (flat) and 560,000 on Sunday (+4%).

This week there was good news on the round one/new format Zurich Classic front:

Lexi Fallout: Golf's Five Families Convene At Augusta...

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"How did things ever get so far?"

"This Lexi business is going to destroy us for years go come."

I'm paraphrasing of course, but it's fun to imagine the professional tours--which let their players play slow, mark their golf balls constantly (unless it's a backboard for a playing partners)--whining about the Rules of Golf not having addressed issues related to HD and DVR's.

But as Jaime Diaz reported in Golf World, the Corleonie's, Barzini's and Tattaglia's of golf got together to bark at each other about Lexi Thompson's penalty at the ANA Inspiration.

There were intense exchanges in which tour leaders, worried about the perception of their products, argued that rules changes were needed posthaste to stop situations that fans and even players found unfair and nonsensical. The most aggrieved party was the LPGA, and its commissioner Mike Whan, who had publicly called the Thompson ruling “embarrassing.”

“I understand Mike’s perspective,” USGA executive director Mike Davis said. “This was hard on Lexi Thompson, and hard on Mike Whan. But it was not bad for the game, because this is exactly the kind of dialogue that good change comes out of.”

Something tells me that did not give Commissioner Whan a warm, fuzzy feeling.

And this is why we still have cause for concern, just as we did in the days after the Lexi situation.

Golf’s leaders hope that the public will come to regard the rules as better reflections of common sense and fairness. But ultimately, it’s unavoidable that they will be applied on a case-by-case basis.

In Thompson’s case, even under a new standard of intent and reasonable judgment, it’s not clear that she would have not been penalized. As the video shows, Thompson missed replacing on the correct spot by about half a ball. Half a ball doesn’t seem like a lot, but especially on a short putt, it constitutes a pretty bad mark.

Closed circuit cameras caught the meeting:

 

 

Meet The PGA Tour’s Biggest Social Media Point-Misser To Date: Grayson Murray

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Golf has been very fortunate to have players use social media largely for the purposes of highlighting sponsorships, thanking tournaments and sharing little glimpses into the life of a tour pro. The LPGA's players were ahead of the curve and remain so, while PGA Tour players have caught up in some regards.

So while I saw some of the chatter on my feed, it wasn't until G.C. Digital put together the musings of Grayson Murray, world no. 155, that I realized we have our first Grade A, All-Conference PGA Tour Social Media Point Misser.

Though Murray's vowed to take a leave from Twitter following the hate he received for questioning the world ranking standing of foreign players--even when one made the semi-finals of the WGC Dell Match Play--Murray inexplicably crossed a line I never thought I'd see a player cross: his idea of a jab back at Ben An was to question the path he took to the tour, even though An is exactly 100 places higher on the world ranking list and certainly far more accomplished as the youngest U.S. Amateur winner...ever. 

Here is the full list of offending Tweets, which ends with a profession of love for the President.

And An's reply:

I'm not a fan of the PGA Tour fining players for merely being ignorant, nor do I support the secrecy of fines. However, Murray's disrespect for his peers and general need for attention certainly warrants a deduction from his PGA Tour account, or however that works. Though given his missed cut streak, there may not be sufficient funds. At least he opened with a nice round in Houston!

Players Try To Explain That (Pricey) Rangefinders Are Only Part Of Their Distance Measuring Process

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We should all applaud the PGA Tour for testing out how distance measuring devices look and play at some of their "other tour" events.

But as someone who has followed the issue from the day the USGA mysteriously started advocating for another costly device, I've always been a bit amazed at the lack of statistical backing for these devices as pace enhancers. So again, we must have good players kindly explain how the devices are essentially a backup tool to them in real championship conditions. Or when they blow one into the next fairway.

Will Gray surveyed players at the Shell Houston Open and only Bryson DeChambeau saw a pace of play improvement by introducing rangefinders. The rest, including Jon Rahm, don't see any change coming. There was this from Justin Rose:

“I don’t think it’s going to make any difference to speed of play,” Rose said. “We don’t play ‘one number’ golf. We want to know what it is to the back edge of the green; we want to know the distance over a bunker. We want to know what the distance is to a certain slope.

“So it’s not as basic as, ‘I have 179 to the pin.’ You kind of make decisions out on the golf course based on what’s around the pin.”

Rose’s sentiment was echoed by multiple other players, who added that the utility of rangefinders will hinge on how players choose to use them.

I'm happy to wait out the experiment, but unless the PGA Tour is willing to subsidize the cost for juniors, advocating these devices means they will encourage young and aspiring golfers to believe they need such pricey devices. And just like that, the entry barrier to golf that any sane individual says we must break down, become $300 more expensive.

I mean, that's money they could use to subscribe to PGA Tour Live! For seven years!

But back to the issue of pace, Brad Fritsch added this on Twitter with some fun back and forth after the initial Tweet:

PGA Tour Set To Test Rangefinders On Three Tours

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The good news? The PGA Tour is using the Web.com Tour to experiment with something new. The reluctance to do so has always been a surprise at how little this tour, the other satellite tours or the Champions Tour are not used to test formats or rule changes.

Allowing the use of rangefinders on such a stage will, once and for all, allow us to see if they speed up play on the professional level and how they "look" to a television audience. I suspect, as we've seen with other elite golf where players use rangefinders as a way to double check what they learn via traditional yardage books, that play will not speed up.

There will also be the dreadful optics of watching someone looking through a device, which is about as fun as watching people test virtual reality devices. Perhaps the rule will allow caddies to use them but not players?

But now we'll have data and visuals so that we can remember how rangefinders really only help when a player hits their tee shot into the other fairway.

For Immediate Release: 

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (March 28, 2017) – The PGA TOUR has announced that it will begin testing the use of distance measuring devices during competition at select tournaments this year on the Web.com Tour, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica.

Each of the three Tours will allow use of the devices by players and caddies at four consecutive tournaments, including Monday qualifiers. For these events, the PGA TOUR will temporarily enact a Local Rule in accordance with Decision 14-3/0.5 of The R&A/USGA Rules of Golf, which stipulates the device can be used to measure distance only (use of functions to measure slope, elevation or wind will not be allowed).

The Web.com Tour tournaments are: the BMW Charity Pro Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation, May 15-21 in Greenville, S.C.; the Rex Hospital Open, May 29-June 4 in Raleigh, N.C.; the Rust-Oleum Championship, June 5-11 in Ivanhoe, Ill.; and the Air Capital Classic, June 12-18 in Wichita, Kan.

PGA TOUR Latinoamérica will do its testing at the last four tournaments of the schedule’s first segment: the Essential Costa Rica Classic, April 20-23; the Quito Open, June 1-4 in Ecuador; the Puerto Plata DR Open, June 8-11 in the Dominican Republic; and the Jamaica Classic, June 15-18.

The Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada will test at: the GolfBC Championship, June 15-18 in Kelowna, British Columbia; the Players Cup, July 6 - 9 in Winnipeg, Manitoba; the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, July 13 - 16 in Thunder Bay, Ontario; and the Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval, July 20 - 23 in Mirabel, Quebec.

“For years there has been significant discussion and debate about whether distance measuring devices would have a positive or negative impact on competition at the highest levels of professional golf,” said Andy Pazder, Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer of the PGA TOUR. “The only way we can accurately assess their impact is to conduct an actual test during official competition on one or more of our Tours. We look forward to seeing how these tests go and carefully evaluating the use of the devices over those weeks. Our evaluation will consider the impact on pace of play, optics and any other effects they might have on the competition."

Once the test and comprehensive evaluation is completed, the PGA TOUR will share the results with its Player Advisory Council on all of its Tours for additional review and discussion.

Even NFL Commish Goodell Is Looking To Speed Up His Product (Take Note Golf)

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In an open letter to fans, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made clear he's looking for ways to speed up the game experience with clocks and eliminating a silly post-touchdown commercial break.

Goodell writes, according to Deadspin:

Regarding game timing, we’re going to institute a play clock following the extra point when television does not take a break, and we’re considering instituting a play clock after a touchdown. We’re also going to standardize the starting of the clock after a runner goes out-of-bounds, and standardize halftime lengths in all games, so we return to the action as quickly as possible. Those are just a few of the elements we are working on to improve the pace of our game.

This has Goodell joining Major League Baseball and the NBA seeking ways to expedite their proceedings. The PGA Tour and once-hot-to-trot European Tour, meanwhile have not budged in their stance on pace of play.

New European Tour Commissioner Keith Pelley had shown signs of taking action, but has gone quiet.

New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has said he sees no need to expedite the pace of rounds.

Players, on the other hand, do not agree.

Check out the results from SI/Golf.com's player poll:

Is slow play a problem on the PGA Tour?

YES: 84%
NO: 16%

Loose lips: "It's not as big a deal as people make it out to be."
"Rookies are too slow because they overanalyze everything."
"One million percent YES."
"Sometimes."
"It's a small problem."
"Only a few guys cause a problem."

Regarding a shot clock, I'm not sure how it would work and I'm guessing most players don't either. But that didn't stop a surprising number from voting for one.

Should the PGA Tour institute a shot clock

NO: 58%
YES: 40%
No comment: 2%

Loose lips: "I'm not opposed."
"No, there are other ways without doing that."
"There have to be other solutions."
"I like the idea, but there has to be something better."
"How about we enforce the current rules instead?"
"No, we just need more common sense. It's silly when a guy takes forever from the middle of the fairway. There needs to be give and take."
"How about we enforce something sometime? And not on a 13-year-old kid at the Masters. What a joke!"
"There is no way that's going to happen."
"Yes, and we need to enforce penalties."
"No, but slow players need to penalized. They're hurting the field."

Society is changing, sport is changing and golf is holding its ground on the length of its already long proceedings. Mind-boggling. 

SI Players Poll: 66% Favor Players Move To March, PGA To May

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As always the SI/Golf.com players poll features a nice mix of fun and provocative questions, and while there several to chew on, the drumbeat of talk about a PGA Championship move to May is building.

The players are on board...until the check out the mid-May forecast for Rochester.

Should the Players Championship be moved to March and the PGA to May?

YES: 66%

NO: 22%

Don't know: 12%

Loose lips: "That would be a much better fit."
"We have to, if we want to avoid competing with the NFL."

WGC's The Only Reason Arnold Palmer's Event Faces Hurdles

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I think we all hate dwelling on the future of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the year following The King's passing. But Palmer was a businessman who loved and nurtured this event. So discussing its past, present and future would presumably resonate with him even as he would undoubtedly be uncomfortable taking attention away from the players.

Jeff Babineau did a super job for Golfweek.com summing up Wednesday's ceremony at Bay Hill to remember The King, but also reflected on how far this event has come and where it may go without Palmer.

I loved this anecdote:

The API, which moved to Bay Hill from nearby Rio Pinar (Florida Citrus Open) in 1979, has come quite a long way. The purse has been bumped to $8.7 million, and this week’s winner not only will leave $1.56 million richer, but will receive a three-year PGA Tour exemption, not the usual two a winner grabs.

This week’s event will celebrate the everyday fan who connected with the blue-collar likes of Palmer, with large public grandstands now sitting up close to seven of the course’s greens.

It’s a far cry from Year 1 at the then-named Bay Hill Citrus Classic in 1979, when the makeshift grandstand that sat behind the 18th green was borrowed from nearby Boone High School.

That little nugget is a perfect reminder that is was events like the Bay Hill Citrus Classic, the Western Open, the Los Angeles Open, the Houston Open, the Bob Hope and on and on we can go with 10-12 events that built and stabilized the PGA Tour.

And with too much regularity, the focus of these events revolves around their weaker-than-normal fields, their strange new dates or their difficulty in attracting a sponsor. Nearly all have been adversely effected by many factors, but it's the creation of World Golf Championship events that consistently tops all side-effects.

We all understand the globalization of golf and market forces, but when those forces so adversely impact even an event nurtured by a modern sports legend. it's time for all current players and executives to take a hard look at the tour's purpose. Because if this is, as they say, about playing opportunities and charitable dollars, it's these core founding events that deserve to be treated as kings.

Jay Monahan's Golf Digest My Shot On Playoffs, The Value Of League-Owned Networks, Slow Play

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New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan spoke to Guy Yocom for another excellent Golf Digest My Shot and while I always urge you to read the full interview, a couple of comments stood out.

Much to chew on in this first one:

WHAT DO I ADMIRE MOST ABOUT OTHER MAJOR-LEAGUE SPORTS? Two things. One, the way the NFL, MLB, the NBA and the NHL conclude their seasons. I love where we are with the FedEx Cup, but keep in mind it's only 10 years along, is still evolving, and we're always on the lookout for ways to sharpen our postseason-playoff structure.

Oh yes, the playoffs are definitely ending before Labor Day. But those sports also conclude their seasons with much more compelling playoff formats, so let's hope this is more than just a calendar adjustment.

Two, I admire the way they build and market their brands through their own networks. Having a 24/7 presence has served those sports very, very well.

Someone wants his own network!

While those networks were all essentially offspring to the Golf Channel and have been successful to some degree, has the 24/7 presence of the MLB Network really sold that many more seats or created new fans? And is that a risk worth taking, or just a negotiating ploy for 2021 when the current Golf Channel deal ends?

As for slow play, like his predecessor, he's punting for now:

WHICH TAKES US TO THE SUBJECT OF SLOW PLAY. I don't see a problem with rounds on our tour taking four hours, 45 minutes, because it's been consistent around that number for a long time. What drives the small amount of criticism is the impulse in the modern world to do everything faster than we did it last year. So am I going to push for faster rounds? As it stands, no.

No Purse War Yet: The Players Holding Firm At $10.5 Million

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With the USGA recently announcing a $12 million purse for this year's event, the potential for a major championship purse battle seems worth keeping an eye on, especially with The Open trailing significantly at $8.5 million (slightly less than next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational).

Garry Smits reports that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is holding firm on The Players purse for now, putting less pressure on the PGA Of America to side with their partners on a similar purse.

“I think it’s great what the USGA has done,” Monahan said. “Our plan coming into the year has been to stay at $10.5 [million] and we’re going to stay to our plan.”

PGA Tour Not Likely To Be Allowing Shorts Anytime Soon

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Former PGA of America president Ted Bishop suggests the organization he once served jumped the gun on allowing shorts at their major, solidifying it as the fourth of four and clearly not coordinating this European Tour-driven idea with the PGA Tour.

It's worth noting in the quote below that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, more progressive than his predecessor, cites the pro-am appearance as a legitimately good reason for not budging. After all, do you want your picture taken with someone who looks like a professional in uniform, or in shorts looking like it's a casual round?

It appears that the PGA Tour was not consulted by the PGA this time. Similar to yanking the Fall Series from the Ryder Cup points system, the PGA of America pulled the trigger on a new shorts policy to the apparent surprise of the Tour. I’m not saying that the PGA needs to ask the Tour for permission to do anything, but when a policy affects both organizations, collaboration should be required. It’s another example of the PGA being shortsighted.

In a statement, Monahan pointed to the Tour’s unique relationship with sponsors during Wednesday pro-am rounds.

“That special experience, which no other sport can provide – where one of the world’s best players can play alongside two, three or four amateurs and those amateurs can look at that player playing the same clothes, the same club, the same course over the next four days – we think that’s really special,” he said. “We want to do everything we can to protect that.”