Tim Finchem: Expects More PGA Tour Schedule Growth, More Golf Course Communities In The Future!

The only Tim more euphoric about his product Tuesday than Apple CEO Tim Cook--seen occasionally via a live stream that reminded you how amazingly well Masters.com's works--was Commissioner Somewhat, who held his state of the tour, early fall edition. The Commish sounded positively giddy about everything but TV ratings, perhaps because the Dustin Johnson situation and its strange handling looks positively brilliant compared to the mess ANGC member Roger Goodell has on his hands.

So to East Lake we go where it doesn't look like there were many reporters there to ask questions, but enough to touch on key points in a positive manner only Tim Finchem can muster!

Let me start first by talking a little bit about what is going to happen this week.  We have another year when we have basically the same format for the competition.  We have a lot of great stories coming into this week, starting with Chris Kirk, who has won in Boston, he's won a couple of times.

Really, just end right there. Nothing screams to the world "Great Story" more than Chris Kirk.

Billy Horschel's win over the weekend was great, particularly given his poor timing of a bad shot in Boston the week before; Bubba Watson winning the Masters and playing well enough to still come in here in third place; Rory McIlroy's run to get him into that top five;

His "run to get him into that top 5." Gosh, winning two majors used to mean so much more...

and Hunter Mahan winning the Barclays sets us up for the top 5 having the opportunity, each of those guys having the opportunity, to win the FedExCup with a win.

Goosebumps.

As for the wraparound schedule, which as earned a few gripes from players realizing you can only wring so much money out of the PGA Tour season, the Commish isn't in agreement.

First of all, this week we come to the conclusion of the first wraparound season.  We're pleased with the overall reaction we've had to this season changes from our players, sponsors, and the media.

Someone didn't get his New York Times Monday!

We had a little bit of a concern in terms of the strength of fields in the fall, starting off this first wraparound season and how it impacts field quality later in the year.  But if that continues, it's a small problem to have given all the positives that the wraparound season has generated, being able to finish the season on Sunday with everything coming to a conclusion is great for the fans and for you all that cover the sport.

The ability to hand out the FedExCup and turn right around and get the ballots out for Player of the Year with the Arnold Palmer Award being decided as well makes for the first time we've had a really definitive conclusion to our season.

And that means a lot to us.

Glad it means $omething to $omeone.

Our leaderboards are consistent virtually every week.  Our field quality is consistent.  And we have a lot of happy sponsors on that tour.

Anyone know what a consistent leaderboard means?

Meanwhile the Commish briefed the assembled on the other tours, including the Champions Tour.

So we've got‑‑ I know Davis Love‑‑ I think it's been announced that Davis Love‑‑ has it been announced?  It's been announced.  Great.  Davis Love playing out there in a couple of weeks is I think going to add additional stimulus to that tour.

Love Stimulus! That's been announced right? Ty are you there? We've announced Davis turned 50 and unlike Greg or Vijay, he's going to actually play the Champions Tour?

We continued to make reasonably good progress in the sponsorship landscape across the board, notwithstanding the continued uncertainty with the economy.

Couple more things before I take your questions.  I would say that on the television standpoint, it was kind of a mixed bag this year.

Our ratings, if you just look at ratings‑‑ which we don't ever like to just look at ratings, we look at cum audience‑‑

We missed seeing you in a transcript, cum audience. Please, continue...

but if you look at ratings, they were off somewhat. 

Holy Guacamole. An admission of something not perfect. Somewhat! But the Commish earns points for finally admitting the ratings are down in part because the number of telecast hours are up, which dilutes the numbers. Nothing about the product oversaturation...

And we attribute that somewhat to Tiger not playing and somewhat to the fact that we had very few playoffs this year compared to the last two years.  And playoffs really do help our ratings.

But on the other side of the coin, our cum audience, the total number of people that tuned into our audience, was up 7 or 8 percent this year.  And increasingly given the volume of hours we have on television, we look to cum audience as a key metric.

And then he took on the state of the game, and it got strange.

There's a lot written about the golf economy as a whole, a lot of commentary about it.  In my view, mostly in reaction to atypical situations.  But there are headwinds for the game that have been generated largely since the downturn.

The two that are most troublesome to me is that the economy that took a big hit in 2007, 2008 has had an impact on rounds of golf played.  There's no question about it.  Whether you look at the employment market, just people in private clubs being concerned about their savings coming out of 2008, 2009, dropping some memberships, that problem we think as we look around the country has been generally accounted for now.

But also importantly is the housing industry, which for 40 years had a huge impact on the development of new golf courses.  The housing industry continues to be in the doldrums, and it would be great to have the housing industry back and vibrant, creating new neighborhoods and new communities that choose golf as they did for decades as an amenity that really works for that.

Wow. I'm going to have table a reaction to that one for tomorrow. There is just too much to say about this on many levels, but if the Commish thinks we need to see more residential golf communities going forward then maybe he's been spending too much time in those KB Homes board meetings and not enough reading about where the world has been, is headed and definitely does not need to turn again: to an economy reliant upon a housing boom.

We see real signs of growth and interest at almost every turn.  There seems to be a perception out there that young people are no longer interested in playing the game.

And we don't see that at all. 

Oh? Go on...

As a matter of fact, we are very bullish about the future of the game from these standpoints, when you consider 3 1/2 million kids took advantage of the First Tee Program last year, the USGA, PGA girls initiative has girls lining up to try the game.  The women's part of the game is certainly on a growth curve, and millennials played about 6 million rounds of golf last year.

So while there are some headwinds and while we need to do more, we think we're in a very strong position.  This is a $70 billion industry.  It is an industry that generates 3.9 to $4billion of charity revenue throughout the industry.  It's an industry that's appealing to young people.  But you have to take the game to the young people.

It's appealing to them as long as you take it to them. Maybe in the form of some golf course communities with new houses starting in the low 800s! Oh dear.

Q.  A few of your top players have said that a three‑week offseason‑‑ or if you're in the Ryder Cup this year, a one‑week offseason‑‑ is not enough to recharge batteries and that also it helps for the fans to not have the games for a while so they actually look forward to having it return.  What are your thoughts on that?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM:  I'm not so sure I understand the last part of that.

No kidding!

When we started the FedExCup and added the playoffs, we heard some criticism in some quarters that isn't our fan base going to be tired of the game by then.  They'd perform beautifully on television and on site.

Taking the game around the country, getting to more markets is in the interest of the sport.  It's in the interest of our model, which is generating playing opportunities and financial benefits to players.  But also growing the game, which is what the professional game does by playing and also by helping communities, which is what we do by playing and raising money for charity.

So we like the wraparound year.  We have a good break at Christmas.  Players figure out their own schedules.  They're not under any requirement to play any particular schedule.  And they're all different in the way they approach it.  Some two on, two off.  Some six on, three off.  They're all individuals in that regard.

So we've been very, very successful in the last 10 or 15 years with this size of a schedule, and I anticipate we'll continue to be successful and grow going forward.

Grow baby grow!

And finally, his lawyers in Rio are also optimistic.

Q.  You mentioned being pleased with the progress of the Olympic course down in Brazil, but there was a legal challenge last week over some environmental concerns.  How concerned are you about that?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM:  This is the second time the same thing has come up.  All our legal people we talk to down there say that this is a red herring, if you will, it's a political situation in that area in Rio.

We have had people there virtually every day for the last six months.  We're very knowledgeable about the rules and regulations down there.  They're being followed.

The mayor's office thinks this is a distraction.  So our own people are comfortable on the ground and the people we work with there down there, and the Olympic Committee, seem to be all reasonably relaxed about it.

So I suppose that could change, but right now we feel okay.

We’ll make ‘em an offer they can’t refuse!