Ben Hogan was the first person to prepare for the Masters Tournament. He would spend a month in South Florida and practice his game at Seminole Golf Club.
Jack Nicklaus, a generation later, invented the idea of creating a tournament schedule that would best prepare him for each major. Tiger Woods has read his book.
Fans and observers, at the very least those who love major championship golf, often prepare their own preparations in the days before Augusta.
They review the entry list and compare it with the most recent results. Then they prepare to create the best roster for the office pool.
They may also dive into a few books of Masters history if they don’t have a financial interest. This helps them to remember what Gene Sarazen did, and what Roberto De Vicenzo didn’t.
The serious fan or onlooker is prepared to be a gambler (strategically) or romantically (most other people).
Although he was not going to the Masters, he went to LIV Golf Tournament. They say live and let LIV.
Ian Poulter from the Majesticks shakes hands as he makes his way to the 7th tee in the first round at Orange County National’s LIV Golf Event. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay – USA TODAY Sports
LIV in Orlando
Last weekend, the LIV folks were in Orlando to debut their Friday-through-Sunday brand of golf at Orange County National. It was a pleasant day and it was only an hour away. It was an hour on paper, but it was another story on the asphalt roads of I-4 through Central Florida. Once there, the public parking lot was a field with bush-hugging roots, soft sand, and occasionally cactus plants.
Modern customers use this quiet rallying cry, “Don’t let logistical failures of the Ops Team cloud you judgment of the day ahead,” with mixed feelings.
This is not the ideal parking spot.
After you pass the gates, and even before that, the differences between this tournament and all of tournament golf history begin to sound off. It’s not loud but it is loud enough to be heard. In keeping with the theme that tournament golf is a disruptor in the sports world, the music comes from a clubby, sometimes-techno and in-your-face sound collection designed to get your blood pumping.
It does.
A fan village, food trucks and shaded areas are all available near the clubhouse. This will keep everyone busy for the hour leading up to the shotgun start at 1:15 p.m.
Yes, shotgun start.
The shotgun was used only for summer fundraisers at the club before LIV. LIV’s creators decided, and perhaps rightly so, that golf fans don’t need a sunrise to sunset event. Instead, 48 LIV golfers are scattered around the course, where they start and finish (give or take).
The shotgun blasts, which sounds very similar to an Air Horn, and the wall-to-wall music can be turned down.
Not off, but down
The signs will remind you that it’s Golf, but louder. Speakers appear randomly as you walk along the course and they’re always turned on. The music changes to a more gentle, upbeat, and less distracting, depending on where you are located.
Gotta say, I like it. After a while, a technical glitch caused the music to stop for a few seconds. It felt strange, but the music quickly resumed and was received. Or maybe it’s my white-noise obsession.
Captain Phil Mickelson from Hyflyers GC takes his shot from the sixth tee in the first round at the LIV Golf Invitational – Orlando at The Orange County National, March 31, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images).
Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson enjoy a LIVing salary
Perhaps the next generation of golf enthusiasts will be interested in something similar to LIV. This year, they seem to be trying hard to sell their 12-man team concept.
It is possible that some people in today’s generation enjoy it, or accept it as an occasional option. There were many team caps and shirts at the merchandise counter. And, of course, they can’t all be considered future collectors’ items.
It should be obvious that it will eventually come down to the golf. This is where the man’s senses begin to unravel.
Mid-afternoon, someone mentioned that the players seemed less stressed than the standard PGA Tour fare (nearly everyone was in shorts), but also less grim and less weighed down with golf’s ancient pressures. You could even say that they were happier.
Well, yeah. The LIV tournament norm has a $25,000,000 total purse and $4 million for the winner. That can’t be where all the positive vibes come from, frankly. The relaxed vibe comes from the 48th (and last), place on the leaderboard. It pays $120,000.
You don’t need to be a pro at anything, as there is no 36-hole cut.
Modern stars such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka’s eventual winner, and Greg Norman’s key field chief, Phil Mickelson had enough career leverage to be able to negotiate tens or millions of dollars in guaranteed pay before they put a peg in LIV turf.
This begs the obvious question: If they could use a tightrope to keep their nets below the ground, would you be willing to tune in? What’s the point of the Wallendas, as sporty men?
Tiger Woods was a great speaker last summer for the camp.
What is the incentive to do what these players are doing for guaranteed cash? What incentive is there to get it in the dirt?
Captain Bryson Dechambeau, Crushers GC, plays his shot on the seventh tee in the first round at the LIV Golf Invitational – Orlando at The Orange County National, March 31, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images).
Masters and other majors still have LIV-golfers, but how long?
As Masters week draws near, Thursday will see the start of the 2023 major championships schedule. Augusta National will host 18 LIV golfers. Six of them are former Masters champions and will likely continue to receive invites for as long as it is possible.
The 12 remaining LIV golfers are also on the clock. LIV results don’t qualify for world-ranking points until further notice.
Cameron Smith, Cameron Smith, and Bryson deChambeau, all still young golfers, will eventually start missing majors. They will have made sure that their descendants will be able afford groceries and keep the lights on. Maybe that’s enough for them.
This assumes LIV has a shelf-life and that these PGA Tour expatriates stay there. And here’s where we come to the geo-political issue of this Saudi-financed league.
It’s been said that the financiers will eventually have to look at one another and ask what they get for their billions. This was not intended to be a form or sportswashing as some critics claim.
Even if the politics aren’t important to you, you still need to love the product if your loyalty is to any degree.
It’s a large ol’ world that has a lot of different tastes. If the benefactors keep in touch, maybe LIV can live on into the future even though it fails the feel test.
The music isn’t terrible, after all.
Ken Willis, a columnist at the Daytona Beach News-Journal (part of the USA Today Network), covers the Masters for over a decade.
