The pro golf image and the greed in the game

Some months back, during the closing ceremony of the Setraco golf event at the IBB Golf Club in Abuja, I was indeed enmeshed on a dining table with two Britons. As the night wore on, the Britons whined endlessly on issues bordering on professional golf in Nigeria and its attendant corporate sponsorship.

According to the Britons, the European Tour and the American PGA Tour are so packed with events that players on those Tours could hardly have time to be with their families even for some couple of days in a whole season. Yet, there are still several corporate bodies waiting on the wing so they could get fixed on the Tours.

Hearing this, my mind did a somersault. I was out there in the cold thinking of our own West African Tour which collapsed amidst greed. While that Tour lasted, it was not even something that sent anyone into paroxysms of joy.

Momentarily, I put a question to the Britons. I asked why it was cool for multinationals out there to put millions of dollars on tourneys that would engage professionals and amateurs alike only for same multinationals here offering peanuts for just amateur events that usually end up as ‘owambe’ parties.

The Britons lapsed into a fit of laughter. Then they told me the difference I craved. What they told me was quite instructive. They mentioned that no multinational company will splash its fund on events that won’t come with a deep mileage. Like they put it, Image is key word here. Every time, a multinational company weighs the odds before throwing whatever weight behind any event. The questions are always the same. Of what use will the event be to the corporate image of the sponsor? Will the event, considering those involved add whatever value to the image of the sponsor? And why sponsor a pro event when some of those pros expected to feature lack image and value. And yes, who would want to toil in the sun watching a pro game that is bound to come with amateurish display. The message indeed sank in.

Whether we like it or not, the light at the end of the tunnel for our pro game still dims. The whole thing still looks like someone who has seen his own ghost. At a point, I dare not miss a pro game for anything. These days, the whole thing could bore you to sleep. It’s just the same straight field. You already know the few that must come within the first ten. You already know the lots that must struggle to make the cut… and these lots will still be thrown into some sort of frenzy for just making the cut. So far a hacker makes the cut, he’s into some few change that will ensure he moves to another event where he can hack away to another cut. No finesse. No effort in improving the unfortunate swings which perpetually keep them in the backwaters. Who cares? So far the PGAN [Professional Golfers Association of Nigeria] is not withdrawing the pro cards of hackers, all is well.

But for once, can’t we look back and make things work? Rather than embark on contraption referred to as Tour, isn’t this the time to first cleanse out the PGAN and enforce character and satisfying performance?

Truth is there is no point keeping a bunch of hackers as pro golfers. We must move and do what is in vogue in the American PGA. That is you could earn a Pro card this year and lose it the very next year. It all depends on performance. If you are not performing, you are bound to lose your card and head back to a little Tour owned by Nike before you could earn it back.

Then the image problem is very essential. Our pros must not come out as jobbers who are desperate to feed on whatever is thrown to them. This was the problem with the West African Tour. Our Pros must earn character and poise. They must crave for self-respect and earn it. Rules and regulations must be strong and sanctions hefty. The standard of the pro game must be upped. At least we saw a bit of such great game from the invited Pros at the just concluded Daily Trust and Plateau State Golf Icons Open. There must be keen competition so the course could be packed with spectators. The more the spectators the bigger is the mileage for sponsors. No corporate body is a charity home. No corporate body will want to splash millions on a Pro-Am that cannot fetch 150 spectators on a Sunday.

It is now very clear reasons most multinationals prefer Amateur only event. They know they can’t get quality game that will justify the millions they are putting in. Rather than remain in the background forever, they just throw this charity game where amateurs and customers to the corporate bodies are fed with food, booze and ‘Owambe’ dance. Aren’t we going to change this? Aren’t we going to bring back the past good years where Pro-Am events were on across the nation on a weekly basis? Aren’t we going to hold on this belief that positive thinking can overcome a mechanical breakdown which is the true picture of the game in Nigeria today?

We can achieve this only if we are sincere. People must come on board to genuinely serve golf. Those we have around now are mere business people… the bad guys in the mask who desperately want to feed on the game at the detriment of its survival. Like we saw a bit of this at the Lamingo Golf Club in Jos where Daily Trust presented a spectacle of a tourney… but almost marred by the greed of some hungry mouths. What a shame.