Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times interviewed Barnabas Suebu about his experience as the governor of an Indonesian provincial that was in dire climate conditions fifteen years ago. The Suebu maxim “Think big, Start small, Act Now” became a rallying cry to effect change, even in a stale mindset.
Jay Monahan could not do better than to hang his mantra above the door of the PGA Tour’s Global Home, in the hope that the things that grew during the current crisis will continue growing after the threat has passed.
The Tour’s young efforts to act now and start small was evident during Friday’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines’ third round. Max Homa used a microphone to conduct a ‘walk-and-talk’ with CBS Sports. The only players viewers are used to hearing in tournament action are those who are either in the booth or wearing headsets. So the shock of seeing someone actually competing might have been enough for everyone in The Villages to scream.
Homa, who is engaging, honest, and wry, was the perfect guineapig for this experiment. It didn’t matter how captivating the content was at the time, its mere existence is evidence of two things. First, how little it takes to improve the golf viewing experience. Second, how long the Tour’s corporate killjoy attitude impeded that enhancement.
Because those responsible for broadcasting golf don’t know how to improve their job or can’t even think of new ways to reach Ponte Vedra, this moment with Max did not happen. Each executive involved in televising Tour has a story about how they failed to make telecasts more entertaining. It could be a combination of several factors: corporate complacency, arrogance culture, and a reluctance of the players to inconvenience them with millions of dollars each year.
Monahan recently framed the LIV Golf battle as one of product against product. This is a position he can only accept with confidence now that the Tour has finally realized the extent to which it was shortchanging players, fans, and even players. Even the Commissioner’s loyalists are aware that it took a competitor product – fortuitously, for them, an ugly and amoral one- to force a Tour upgrade in terms of both members and consumers. Change came at gunpoint, or more accurately, at a shamshir. It’s not surprising that many golfers view progress with begrudgery, and are completely unaffected by the Tour’s business situation.
The Tour landscape will change dramatically when the war for professional golf is over. It’s only a matter of days now that General Greg has full command. The Tour landscape will change. Events will be elevated, broadcasts improved, and fans experiences enhanced. It is obvious that players will also be paid more. Maybe then, cash won’t be the main focus as golf is more about the charisma of Patrick Cantlay.
Shane Lowry has a keen awareness of the longer-term realities that many of his peers, who are often too shortsighted, overlook. “We were led to believe that $100 million was normal. He said that everyone is putting out figures that are just too high. “I’m going down to Phoenix in a few weeks to play for $20 Million. It’s great being involved in it. It’s something I hope will last.”
The time is coming when even the most famous Tour performers will have to put the brakes on the amount they believe they are entitled to and be more like Max, giving back a small percentage to those who generated that revenue.
Although the innovation we witnessed Friday was small, it is not insignificant when considered as a precursor to future coverage improvements. Tour HQ’s shift in attitude – evident in granting Netflix access for a fly on the wall series – is a sign that it realized its employees deserved better. All of this is not to say that LIV deserves gratitude. Their own poor productions show that improving the viewer experience is not an achievable goal. Ponte Vedra’s current attitude reboot will make the PGA Tour more appealing to its audience. They might forget that even a small-scale sportswashing operation was able to effect change.
