Golf Sixes has a little bit of everything–but will fans buy into the new format?
THE European Tour blasts into new territory next weekend as GolfSixes gets set for lift-off.
Music and razzmatazz will be part of the package as 32 players – split into 16 two-man international teams – gather at Centurion Club in St Albans for a series of six-hole matches.
Players will compete in a Greensomes format over a special six-hole course.
There will be four groups of four, which will be played on the Saturday. The top two from then each group advance to the knockouts on Sunday, before the inaugural winners are crowned.
Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan are the headline pair for England, while Scotland will be represented by Richie Ramsey and Marc Warren.
Players will be greeted on the first tee with music and they will wear microphones to engage with their audience.
There is also a 40-second shot clock, so slow play is definitely not on the agenda.
GolfSixes is said to be golf’s answer to Twenty20 cricket and is another innovation being rolled out by European Tour Chief Executive, Keith Pelley.
Tournament director, Mark Casey, refutes the idea that this is too gimmicky as he
expresses the importance of growing the game.
And if successful, Casey is confident that more GolfSixes events can be rolled out in forthcoming years.
He says: “If the same type of golf is played every week, you will get the same audience.
“The Masters and The Open will always be popular and they won’t change. And we don’t want them to change.
“For us, this is about growing the game, getting kids involved and reaching out to a new audience.
“But this is a proper professional event, which retains the fundamentals of the sport.
“We like the idea of it being country versus country.
“Fans buy into that and we believe it will be popular.
“Success will be judged in three ways. The players must enjoy it and the golf must be credible for them.
“We want the spectators to enjoy the experience of their day at the tournament.
“And we want the TV and digital audience to feel engaged with matches being played from start to finish in an hour and 20 minutes.”
The one-million-Euro prize fund is not to be sniffed at.
But time will tell if the golfing public turn their nose up at this new format.