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A New Kind of Apparel For the Golf Fan

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When you look at a golf blog and see the name Woods, obviously you think of Tiger.  So when a football jersey sporting the name Woods appears on that golf blog, some confusions likely ensues.  But any NFL fan knows that, pictured to the left, is an Ickey Woods jersey. 

And to prove the NFL’s marketing genius, every NFL fan who sees this jersey instantly recognizes it despite the fact Ickey has been out of the league since 1991 and played a total of only 37 games in his injury-shortened career.  Further, his career numbers have been eclipsed by several players in just a single season!

Jersey sales rake in boatloads of money for the NFL.  You can see them worn everywhere at NFL stadiums as well as just out and about.  I have several myself.  It’s a great way for the NFL to market their teams, as well as the players, at the same time.  This is something that the PGA is sorely lacking.  But because there are no uniforms or teams on the PGA Tour, there really isn’t much that can be done about it.  Or, is there?

The golfers themselves can cash in on numerous sponsorships.  But how much does a BMW logo on a players shirt help the tour?  Take a look at Tiger Woods for instance.  Nike has made it’s own brand out of one player.  What’s to stop Callaway from doing the same for Phil?  Or any apparel company from taking on Rory? 

Better yet, the PGA Tour puts out it’s own apparel line.  I have a white PGA Tour polo shirt, so I know they exist.  They could simply start there.  What if fans could purchase shirts, hats, golf shoes, etc. directly associated with their favorite tour player, much the same as a Patriots fan could purchase a Tom Brady jersey?  This way, the players as well as the tour are getting free advertising as soon as someone walks out their front door wearing one.

I remember back in the 90’s when sports jersey sales were really taking off.  Back then, besides a regular jersey from any sport, you could find lots of cross-promotion between sports going on.  Hockey jersey’s with NBA logos and baseball jersey’s sporting NFL teams were not uncommon.  This is a direction the PGA could choose to go.  Not too mention, most of the fans who would be purchasing something like this would be on the younger side – a demographic that the PGA needs to get more interested in the sport.  

But the problem is, not many others besides me seems to know PGA Tour apparel exists…not even the PGA, or one would think by looking at their apparel website.  This site tells you almost nothing about the actual apparel.  Not too mention, it looks like the PGA doesn’t do anything about it either as there is an advertisement clearly marked ’09, as in 2009, at the bottom of the page.  A three year old advertisement?  Yeah…they’re paying attention.

See, something like this, to me anyway, should be a no-brainer.  But instead, a worthless website that generates little traffic, is simply wasting the PGA’s money rather than doing something to generate revenue as well as the popularity of it’s players and the tour itself.

I know this all sounds a little silly, especially to the purists, snobs or the the fans who, for some strange reason, dress like they are about to step onto the course when they’re doing nothing more than watching a tournament.  But to put all of this in simpler terms, at the next tournament you attend, wouldn’t it be cool to see a baseball-style jersey with the back marked “Lefty 01” rather than just a bunch of polo shirts that all seem to blend together? Well, I think it would. 

Swing ’til you’re happy!           

More Crazy PGA Playoff Ideas

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I’m sitting here watching the NFL Playoffs and I catch a commercial or two for a golf tournament. A golf tournament? Are you kidding? They say this is the first tournament of 2012. Well, I guess it is. It’s just earlier than I expected. For cryin’ out loud, the last tournament of 2011 just wrapped up a month ago! But now, along comes the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Someone help me because I don’t know – Has golf always been a year round sport on the professional level? Wouldn’t that cause fans to become a bit “golfed out?” I know it would for me. I mean, the off-season is one month long? Sorry, but that’s just not long enough. As much as I love football, I need the off-season. It gives me the break I need so I don’t get tired of a sport I love. If it was going on for eleven out of the twelve months of the year, I’d probably be bored of it.

Am I wrong, or would golf benefit from a shorter season? Do people get golfed out? I really don’t follow the tour, and that’s one of the reasons why. The season’s just too long. And I would have to imagine many of these tournaments are somewhat “inconsequential.” And if a tournament doesn’t really matter, then that diminishes the interest.

I think the PGA Tour as a whole could benefit from a shorter, more focused season. If there was some type of a playoff system, then I’m sure every individual tournament could mean much more to both the fans, as well as the players themselves.

Further, if the season were to be shorter and a playoff system instituted, then due to the importance of each tournament, players would be less apt to skip any, thus creating a better chance at a star-studded field every weekend. Could you imagine Tom Brady just sitting out two or three games because they don’t matter? Yeah, I know that some NFL teams will sit a couple of players during the last week of the season, but that’s 1 game in 16.

Let’s look at the PGA Tour numbers. Last year there were 50 tour stops. 50! Now, there were four weekends on which two tournaments were played. So, since you can’t be in two places at once, that leaves 46 potential tournaments to play. Now, of the 445 players who played in a PGA Tournament last year, only 26 of them played in 30 or more tournaments, with the most being 35. So, even the player who played most often still skipped 11 tournaments! Doesn’t that just get on your nerves – that players pick and choose when they want to play? That’s like Aaron Rodgers sitting himself for four games, or Kobe Bryant sitting himself for twenty. What if Albert Pujols didn’t play in over 40 games because they just weren’t important enough? Are you serious?! It’s ridiculous, but it happens week in and week out during the PGA season.

How about if that was eliminated? How could it be you ask? Make every tournament matter. Trim the fat and streamline the schedule. Make it so more players play in more tournaments. Make them count toward an end of season playoff for a real championship.

I’ve got several ideas to get this done. Besides this one, I’ve previously discussed a road to an actual PGA Championship as well as a championship itself. Someday I’ll figure out how to get these combined into one revolutionary idea. And someday, maybe the right people will take it into consideration. Hey, after all, I’m just trying to help!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Golf After Global Warming; It’s Gonna Be Great!

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golfstinks eco-golfAs I sit here looking out my window at nearly three feet of snow, I can’t help but wonder whatever happened to global warming? Remember that? Here in Connecticut, that soon to be extinct white stuff fell at an unprecedented rate over the last few weeks (separate storms produced 14″, 11″, 2″, 22″ and 4″ of snow within 20 days).

I guess the reality is, as long as we’re driving around burning the remnants of dinosaur bones and chopping down trees like Paul Bunyon, global warming is something that will eventually happen. Oh we may not be around to see it, but our great, great, great grandkids will probably be basting in warmer temps across the globe.

Sure, the glaciers will be gone; earthquakes will be rampant; and you’ll need an acid-retardant suit to go swimming in the ocean, but I’ll tell you this: The golf industry will have it made!

Think about that for a second. Once global warming takes hold, most golf courses will be able to remain open year-round. Do you know what that would do the economics of golf? Today, the sport basically has an economic impact of $80 billion a year. That number could easily double to $160 billion if courses say, in Minnesota, can remain open say, in January.

Let’s face it, by then, people (especially the U.S.) will probably be so unhealthy, athletic summer activities like beach volleyball, biking, and anything involving running will be out of the question for most. That being the case, many would most likely gravitate to a sport where they can ride around on a cart the entire time (especially if the cart has a roof to shade them from the massive amounts of UV light that will be coming from the sun in the future).

Now then, with so many people playing golf, merchandise and equipment will be selling like hot cakes. For example, it may not be out of the ordinary for a drugstore chain like Walgreens to have an aisle dedicated to just golf stuff; “Golf balls? Yes ma’am, pass the sunscreen aisle and the water filtration aisle, and the golf aisle will be just after that.”

The PGA tour will also benefit from mass amounts of people taking up the game. It will expand to have 10,000 players competing on courses all over the world! Many tour players will be as recognizable as Derek Jeter and Tom Brady (and make as much money as those guys too). Meanwhile, Hooters Tour players will actually make enough money to support their families!

Yep, golf will be so popular, the major networks will compete to broadcast the FedEx Cup in prime time! There will literally be so many tournaments, the Golf Channel will need three networks just to cover it all (unfortunately, the programming on all three will be so lame that most people will get their golf fix on ESPN’s dedicated golf network, ESPiNtheHole).

Everyone will have at least one uncle who’s a golf pro at some course somewhere. And instead of riding bicycles and playing catch, kids will practice putting and chipping for hours on end and swap golf trading cards of their favorite tour players.

Yes, golf after global warming will be the cat’s meow for us golfers. Of course, until then, much of the world will have to settle for waiting for the snow to melt and the ground to thaw and the grass to start growing before they can enjoy this game again. But boy will our great, great, great grandkids be lucky.

So remember, just keep ruining the planet and one day your ancestors will be able to enjoy golf year-round! Of course, all the courses will be made of AstroTurf because no grass will grow due to the giant hole in the ozone, but what the hey…

What If PGA Tour Golf Was a Team Sport?

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Yeah, maybe this was partially inspired by the Ryder Cup, but it was much more inspired by my favorite Sunday afternoon activity….watching football.

Football, in my opinion, is the ultimate team sport. Think about it. If just one single player doesn’t do his job, the play is a waste. If one offensive lineman doesn’t block…the QB is down. If a wide receiver, even though he’s not even involved in the play, doesn’t at least run his route, or block someone downfield, the play is busted. If a cornerback or safety doesn’t cover their man, the other team is on their way to six. No other sport so heavily depends on the team as a whole.

Look at basketball – at any point, one or two players per team are just standing around doing nothing – sometimes they’re not even on the same side of the court! Even worse is baseball. There are times when as many as eight players on the field at once are all just watching the action happen somewhere else. Maybe the players are a little more involved in hockey or soccer, but really….who cares?

Team sports are the most popular sports in the United States. Football, basketball, baseball and yes…even hockey. But what about golf? Why is golf not played in teams? At the high school level, golf is a team sport. At the college level, golf is a team sport. But at the pro level…outside of the Ryder Cup, it’s all about the individual. I understand why it’s a team sport in high school and college, but has anyone ever really considered the idea of pro team golf?

Would it add or detract from the sport? I myself don’t see why it would take anything away. I mean, you’re still seeing the individual golfer play, right? That aspect isn’t affected at all. But what if, instead of getting behind one golfer, you could get behind a team? How would teams be broken up? Would there be a draft? Or would players be eligible for teams based on their home states? For instance, maybe Matt Kuchar leads a team of players from Florida against a team from South Carolina led by Dustin Johnson. The Florida Retirees vs. The South Carolina Beach Bums…or something like that. You know what I’m gettin’ at.

I’m thinking that if this was a team sport, and each weekends tournament scores added up to something towards the end of the season…this could build up to a PGA Tour Super Bowl of sorts. Imagine the final weekend of the season being a foursome-on-foursome meeting between Jim Furyk’s Pennsylvania team vs. Lefty’s California squad. Sounds pretty OK.

I’m not saying every weekend tournament would have to be played as a team. Tournaments would still be setup as they are now. However, each golfers individual results would affect their teams cumulative score. And at the end of the season, the two best teams will face off.

I’ll tell you three ways this could/would be beneficial to the tour. Number 1 – It makes every tournament mean more. Even the smaller, lesser followed events. Number 2 – It will get the big names to the current not-so-big venues. And number 3 – It would get all golfers playing more often. No more of this Tiger Woods and his only playing 12 events crap, while everyone else is playing 20+. I don’t know about you, but this is beginning to sound OK!

Now I know that some of you are saying to yourself “But golf isn’t supposed to be a team sport. You play golf against yourself. You try to beat the best you’ve done every time you play.” You know what…shut up. I always hated that asinine comment and that’s why I’ve never attempted to make that stupid argument and never will. That’s just golfers trying to justify why their sport is better than another. I can make that same stupid argument for ANY athlete in ANY sport. If it was all about playing against yourself then there wouldn’t be tournaments against other golfers! Of course you’re trying to play your best round ever! Why wouldn’t you?! Do you think Tom Brady goes out on the field every Sunday saying “I think I’ll try to do just enough to get by this time. I don’t want to do better than I did last week.” Do you think Kobe Bryant says the same thing? How about Albert Pujols? See how stupid it sounds? But I digress.

Maybe this is an all around stupid idea. I don’t know. But it’s an idea anyway. I’m just trying to think of some ways to inject some life into an often times lifeless sport.

Anyone got a better idea?

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