Wayne Riley
It’s been another eventful few weeks in the world of professional golf, which probably comes as no surprise to anyone at this point! First, the PGA Tour announced its intention to introduce a series of ‘designated’ events in 2024, with limited fields and mostly no cuts. Then, The R&A and USGA announced plans to limit how far the golf ball goes in elite men’s events. So, let’s get into it!
I’m fully in favour of the PGA Tour’s proposed changes. Since I started writing for Golf Monthly, I’ve said I’ve wanted to see a world tour, and this is essentially that – something new at the top of the global golfing pyramid. I think the PGA Tour would probably have done this eventually, but there’s no doubt the emergence of LIV Golf has expedited things massively.
What the changes guarantee is that we’re going to see the best players competing against each other more often. How can that be a bad thing? It’s what I’ve always wanted. Of course, there will be people who whinge and whine, but as Rory said, there’s a way to fix that – play better. Some may feel that’s a touch harsh, but the guys who are on the outside looking in will still be playing for $7 million! I’m all for it and I hope they’re able to sustain the purses they’ve promised, but it sounds like they can. You’d expect the TV money to go up as a result and the ratings should, too. Sponsors will also be happier about the prospect of star names teeing it up more predictably and over four days each designated tournament.
I’d love to know what LIV players think about the changes. Would they have gone over if they knew this would happen? I’m not sure. There are rumours out there about some players wanting to come back, and while you have to take those with a pinch of salt, it raises an interesting question. If someone is desperate to return, what should the process be? Say sorry and walk back in, be reinstated but banned from designated events for a defined period of time or start back at the beginning at Korn Ferry Tour Q-school? I’ve seen all these options and more suggested, but it’s all moot at this moment in time. It’ll be an interesting plot line to monitor in the golfing soap opera, though. It certainly doesn’t feel like LIV is getting bigger and better.
One thing I’m not thrilled about is the talk of no cuts. I like to see a story within a story on a Friday afternoon and it’s often compelling to see someone without their best scrapping to make a cut. Even if it’s only ten or 15 people missing out, you have to have it. The WGCS tried the no-cut thing and look where they are now. I think it’s a mistake.
I also think attempts to roll the ball back are a mistake. I’m not a fan of the proposed change and I don’t really see it as an issue. At the very least, why can’t we pause things where we are now? Why do we have to go backwards? When Steve Smith crunches a shot to the boundary at Lord’s, we don’t talk about his bat being too powerful and the ball travelling too fast. It feels like we’re trying to curtail evolution and meddle with something that isn’t really an issue.
If you want to do something to rein the game in, and I’ve said this a thousand times, start modifying golf courses. If there is rough – and you don’t have to get stupid with it – along with firm greens and tricky pins, scoring will be naturally capped. It’s as simple as that. But there’s more you can do, too. How about making greens firm but entrances to greens soft – that way, if you try and run the ball up from the rough it’ll stop short, and if you land it on the green it’ll likely bounce through the back.
There are loads of things you can do to a golf course set-up to make scoring harder. And we also have to remember the role of Mother Nature in all of this. If it rains a lot the week before a tournament, the course is going to be softer and scoring is going to be better. That’s just the way it is. We shouldn’t be touching the ball.
“The best will compete against each other more often. How can that be bad?”