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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!

Why Don’t We Tailgate For Golf?

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I don’t know about you, but to me, going to a football game goes hand-in-hand with tailgating. I almost feel that if I go to a game and I don’t tailgate, somehow I’ve missed out on something. As a matter of fact, it’s been a good five or six years since I went to a game and I didn’t tailgate.

But to clarify, I don’t get the chance to go to many games, so it’s not like I’m a tailgating pro. On the contrary, a few times my buddies and I have managed to turn our big day into a comedy of errors! But, it’s still a good time nonetheless.

But it’s strange how tailgating seems to go only with football. For instance, I’ve never tailgated at any baseball game I’ve ever been to. Same for basketball, hockey,etc… Why is that? Is it a parking situation? I think that might have alot to do with it. It seems for football games,I’ve parked in lots. But for all other sports, I’ve been in a parking garage, took a train to the game or parked on the street somewhere. None of these are really conducive to tailgating. But you know what sport is? Golf.

Think about it. When you go to a golf tournament, the opportunity to tailgate is tremendous! Here in the northeast, golf season occurs during grilling season anyway, so the weather is probably on the nicer side. Also, I’d say that chances are you’re not parking in a garage, taking a train in, or parking on a busy city street. Any golf tournament I’ve ever attended had me parked in a large field/lot…perfect for tailgating!

So why has tailgating never taken off with golf? If it’s such a fun tradition for football, then why not find the time to do it during a summer sport as well? I think I may try to start up a little something new next year. The Travelers Championship will be taking place in the area next June. Maybe instead of my buddies and I bringing just a pair of comfortable sneakers, we’ll pack up some burgers, dogs, a grill and a few brews!

Maybe we can start a new tailgating tradition. A summer tailgating tradition. Maybe we can start up a whole new trend! And hey, even if it turns out to be not all that great, it sure beats being stuck inside paying $7 for a beer and $6 for a pathetic looking burger wrapped in aluminum foil, right?

Swing ’til you’re happy!

The Road To The PGA Championship

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It’s Sunday afternoon and me and a couple buddies are watching my Patriots finish off the Jets, their biggest and most hated rival. During the game, we’re talking about some other teams (one of the guys is a Cowboys fan and the other is a Vikings fan) and some other sports – namely the MLB playoffs.

It’s during these discussions that I start to consider the regular season schedules and playoff scenarios of the major sports in the U.S. For some reason, I compare this to golf, particularly, the PGA Tour.

Back in February I wrote a post about the need for a real PGA Championship. The question remaining though was, how do you get there? Is the final tournament based on the world golf rankings? Is it based on the money leaders? Hopefully not. But if not either of these, what then? Well, I’ve added another idea to the mix, but it would require a radical change.

Currently, we play Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday tournaments. At the end of the tournament we emerge with one winner. But what if we used those days to play a series of one-on-one matches? What if a player could emerge from a weekend with a record, say 3-1, rather than finish “16th, nine shots back.” What if, rather than a money list or a ranking system that no one understands, there were actual golf “standings” with a win-loss-tie record?

I’m sorry but, whether you are a golf purist or not, I feel like I’m onto something here. Imagine opening up the sports page of your local newspaper or checking the standing on your favorite sports/golf website, and instead of seeing Luke Donald is #1 on the money list at $5,837,214.50 with Webb Simpson in second trailing by $68,971, you this:

PGA Tour Standings

Luke Donald 52-35-4

Webb Simpson 48-36-7

Nick Watney 47-36-8

Etc….

I gotta tell ya, this is a hell of a lot more interesting than looking at a money list. It’s a hell of a lot more interesting than looking at a ranking list. And it sure makes each match mean a lot more when you are working your way toward an actual PGA Championship. Plus on Sundays, when many players are out of reach of the tournament win, this format would give each player a shot at still playing for an individual win rather than an additional $500 or $1000.

Each player becomes, for lack of a better term, a one-man-team. An individual rather than a nameless face in the crowd. Players will have a chance to pull away from the pack to give themselves better playoff seedings. And guys who are lower in the standings have the opportunity to play spoiler.

OK, so it’s still a work in progress. But it’s also a refreshing change to a stale sport. I’ve still got a few kinks to work out, but I’m sure I’m onto something. I know there are going to be plenty who hate this idea. But I also know there will be many who may see some potential. But in the end, all I’m trying to do is come up with some ideas to pump some new life into a great but fading game. And hey, whether you agree with me or not, you sure can’t fault me for that.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Why Do Non-golfers Play In Golf Tournaments?

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Did you ever show up to one of your local golf tournaments and see this guy? Have you ever lined up for your first drive of the day but you blow it because you can’t get the image of this guy’s bowtie and knickers out of your head? Yeah, me too.

When I see this guy, I can’t help but wonder to myself if he is either celebrating golf history, or if he’s just an idiot trying to be funny. Does he just want to make people laugh? Did he lose a bet? Did someone tell him he had to dress this way as a prank? Is he a golf historian celebrating days gone by? Or, does he not know a thing about golf and feels this is the way he’s supposed to dress?

Recently, I was invited by my brother-in-law to play in a golf tournament. Unfortunately, it was on a Friday during the week my boss was on vacation and having the two of us out on the same day simply doesn’t work. So, despite exhausting every available option, I had to take a pass.

But what struck me funny about this is, my brother-in-law is not a golfer. He doesn’t play regularly. He doesn’t play on occasion. As far as I know, he has rarely played golf in his life. So why the interest to play in golf tournaments? My guess is, it has just about nothing to do with golf.

I would have to imagine that a good part of heading to a golf tournament as a non-golfer has to do with networking. But why golf? Why network at a golf tournament when you don’t play the sport? I’ve been to networking events that had certainly cost much less than what it costs to enter a golf tournament. Heck, I’ve been to several free networking events! So again, why a golf tournament?

Well, I think the simple answer is, it’s more fun! Consider what goes on at a golf tournament. I’ve played in tournaments which, for roughly $125 or so, there is unlimited breakfast food being given out right from the start. Beer is flowing from the early hours. Various types of alcohol are being given out on several holes throughout the round. And food… oh the food!! Besides a full dinner at the end of the round, there is food out on some of the holes as well. I recall playing in one tournament where a full pig roast was happening on one of the holes!!

With all of the food, the drinks and, of course, the round of golf…doesn’t this sound a whole hell of alot more fun than your average networking event?

I’ve been playing golf pretty regularly for a relatively long time now. I’ve played in a few golf tournaments and each one of them has been a good time. I’ve also been to a few networking events. Compared to the golf tournaments, they just seem like work. So is this why my brother-in-law chose the golf tournament, even though he doesn’t golf? It makes sense to me. Hell, I’ll choose a basket-weaving tournament if they’re providing all day long food and drinks! Nothing against basket-weaving. I’m sure a tournament (if one exists) is completely invigorating.

I guess the point is, if you have to do something work related, you may as well make a good time of it. Play in the golf tournament, whether you’re a golfer or not. You may find that you like the sport! And if not, chances are you’re going to have a good time anyway!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Am I Motivated by the Hole-In-One Prize?

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During a recent commute, I passed by a billboard promoting a golf tournament at a somewhat local country club.

Nothing out of the ordinary, but what caught my eye was the hole-in-one prize – a brand new, 2011 Corvette. Being a big Corvette fan, this naturally got my juices flowing. And being that it’s mid-May and I still have yet to even attempt to play a round of golf this year, this was beginning to get me motivated.

But after passing by the sign, I thought about where the tournament was taking place. This is a former private course which only two years ago, during the deepest depths of the recession, went public…obviously because they were losing money. So how is it they have the money now to put on this tournament? Not to mention, how do they have the money to be able to give away a $50,000 car?!

I understand the tournament, while charity based, is also a tool to help promote membership with the club. And granted, they only have to give away the car if a hole-in-one happens, but what if it does? That’s basically $50,000 they have to pony up! I’m sure the entry fee from the participating golfers doesn’t approach that amount! And let’s face it, the hole-in-one prize is usually the biggest draw to the tournament, especially if you’re not playing the tournament with your regular golfing buddies. So the prize has to be worth-while to draw participants. So what to do? How can they afford to pay that out? Well, the same way everything a person can’t afford gets paid out…insurance.

I’m sure most people know that just about any large prize in contests such as holes-in-one, half-court shots and the like, are insured. An NBA team doesn’t want to just pay some lucky guy sitting in the stands $100,000 because he made a basket, especially one that is, relatively anyway, not all that hard. So instead, they can pay an insurance company $100 per shot (41 home games for a total of $4,100) just in case someone does make it. Not bad, right? $4,100 covers them from having to pay out the grand prize. And if no one makes the shot, then they had a helluva season long promotion for only $4,100! Chump change for an NBA franchise!

The same system works in golf tournaments. If you’re putting on a golf tournament, you don’t have to raise $50,000 to cover the cost of your hole-in-one prize. You simply have to take out an insurance policy. And the rates, like all other insurance rates, are based on risk. And being that the odds of making a hole-in-one are what they are…the risk is pretty low. So believe it or not….you’re not paying out all that much!

Think of it this way – You’re a 40-year driver, with no accidents or tickets, driving a Hyundai Santa Fe (according to AOL Autos, the least expensive car to insure) – chances are, you’re insurance premium is going to be a hell of a lot less than that of the 17-year old kid driving a Mustang, right?

So when tournament time rolls around, there are a number of companies who will be happy to take your money based on the odds of a hole-in-one (anywhere between 1 in 12,000 and 1 in 45,000 depending upon the basis of the odds). You can find said companies with a simple Google search of “Golf tournament prize insurance.”

Lets say your tournament features 140-150 golfers. Even at the lowest odds, chances are that prize is not being paid out. This is why some of these insurance coverages can be had for as low as $250-$300. Maybe even lower if you take the time to do the research and call around.

So maybe this putting on a golf tournament thing is not as costly as I had once thought. If the course itself is putting the tournament on and the insurance on the grand prize as well as a few other smaller prizes is relatively inexpensive, that really only leaves food and drinks. And by the time the players pay their entries and local and corporate sponsors put in a few bucks, I can see how money is made for a good cause and the chance for a course to gain a few new members can certainly happen.

Now, the trick for me will be to come up with the money to take a few lessons to get my “par-3 swing” right, come up with the money to enter the tournament, get a day off from work and beat those 45,000 to 1 odds at just the right time to drive home in a brand new ‘vette! Do you think there’s some type of insurance to cover my expenses?

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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