Greetings Golfers,

How excited are you about the FedEx Cup?

If you’re a Tour player, it’s probably pretty exciting … because of the opportunity to win a lot of money.

I don’t know about you, but that’s not why I watch golf.

In fact, that kind of hype makes me not want to watch … it’s just annoying and gets in the way.

Too many promoters think “more is good”. Better is good. Too often, more is not a good thing.

We host a lot of golf events – most are charity fund raisers. Too often, the event leaders ruin the event with too much stuff going on. Don’t get me wrong – these are well meaning people … however, when they lose focus of what makes a successful event, it gets ugly.

The same concept applies with most things. A lack of focus and too many moving parts are usually a recipe for failure.

Maybe little kids are excited by non-stop stimulation. But, even they get annoyed with nonsense. Is the FedEx Cup nonsense? Well … it’s sure not the Masters.

I realize that the PGA Tour is a business. But the Tour has a good product … they don’t have to cheese-it-out. A lot of people want to see the best players on the planet play golf – especially at a cool venue.

And, their new schedule is driven by their fear of competing with the NFL. Again, they have a good product … they shouldn’t be running scared. People respect guts and integrity.

Golf’s four Majors are the backbone of professional golf. They should be spread-out so they set a natural rhythm for the golf season. The rest of the Tour events should then fit in around the Majors, with an ebb and flow that gives the golf season meaning and structure. It shouldn’t feel like it’s run by P.T. Barnum.

However, the Tour does have one incredible tournament that should be hyped-up … Q School. Once-upon-a-time … you could take a shot at qualifying for the PGA Tour. The ultimate Rocky story of sports. How did these marketing “geniuses” not take advantage of this rags-to-riches story?

The golf season should end with a Major – the PGA Championship. It should be match-play and they would have a genuine end-of-the-year champion. Not a FedEx champ.

And, over the Winter, they should televise Q-school … play it in Hawaii. Then start the season with that crazy Waste Management tournament in Phoenix.

By the time the golf season would hit the Fall … the NFL would be scared!

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
www.facebook.com/DeerRunGolf
www.twitter.com/DeerRunGolfClub