The Quad offers the best golf writing in the business and your focus on majors parses out much of the sordid business of men’s professional golf and I am exceedingly grateful for this port in the endless storm.
Maybe it's just the season, but my interest in the goings on at PV etc. is equal to the latest ambassadorial nominee. And, couldn't you just call it Turnberry?
I watched the Showdown with the sound off. I heard Feherty was good. Got to see an ad for LIV’s good works. Who knows, maybe there’s a place in heaven for Patrick Reed? Why do these events keep happening? They’re awful. You can’t see the course and the ratio of dead time to action is probably the highest of any televised sports event. The only people who seemed to be having a good time were Rory and Scottie. Brooks and Bryson looked miserable as per Geoff’s photo.
Back in the 60’s there was something called the CBS Golf Classic, at least I think that was the name. Taped 4-ball match play at La Quinta and maybe Firestone. I loved it. Being on tape was fine, because you didn’t know the results and there wasn’t much dead time. In those days, tournament coverage was 3 or 4 holes, so seeing a whole course was cool. And the stakes actually meant something, because the players could use the money. Now there’s no such thing as scarcity value in golf coverage, and the players definitely don’t need the money.
I saw raves for Feherty which surprised me but people don't watch LIV shows where he has been his usual engaging self, though he's no Kisner! 😉
You are correct. Live appears overrated at this point, especially in a sport that takes so long. Since the stakes were meaningless, the tension of live was non-existent (combined with the dark, cold and lack of novelty factor with Shadow Creek). But this was apparent with several of the recent Vegas exhibitions and I'm mystified that no executives have stepped in and said, enough! Freshen things up! Imagine if these four had gone to Bandon or Tara Iti or Cabot or Shiskine and tape a match in some place pros don't normally turn up? That would be a lot more fun. So would stymies!
I was so thrilled to see you and Lawrence together again I listened to a bit of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions before listening to the pod, which was excellent as always.
"the toughest shot in golf is the long bunker shot" Are you kidding me? It's the easiest!
Just try a short bunker shot and blade it. Guarantee it will go further than a 5 iron. May even go over a nearby house/roof like DeChambeau's trick shot.
Oh we've all hit that one at some point, which is why at the time and all these months later I do wonder if the thought crossed his mind that too much ball would be OB.
Sorry to hear you didn't get one of the spots. I'm sure it was not an easy one and I promise to put the word out on the tickets, though I remain skeptical that enough will be sold to the public. A USGA membership is likely a way to improve your odds. 🤞
Great stuff as always and a new Pod wow! On the heels of your poll it seems hard to be excited for the upcoming coming season except for the majors. The current plan of continuing both the civil war and the no cut designated events is a mess. The Tour is left with the four majors and what is becoming a slightly devalued and greedy Ryder Cup. And the fans who are now getting offended by the money aspect, well watching the weekly events and the FedEx cup purest welcome to the PGAT 2025. Easy to see what the favorite movie is on Tour, Wall Street Greed is Good. And the kicker is the weekly events that don’t end on time and even switch channels are not even that good a watch. Troubling times that the GS newsletter is more entertaining than the events. Geoff odds on the Tour will end the civil war and go back to the best golfers competing together by the start of the 2026 Tour?
Troubling times that the GS newsletter is more entertaining than the events. Yes!! ... But. As we lose even more interest in regular events does Geoof have less to write about?
I'm really going to try hard to dig in on the majors and cup events tracking in 2025. Too much good stuff to probe that does not involve the PGA Tour's "valuation" and other nonsense. But I fear they are going to use their newfound money to try and purchase a major or Ryder Cup, so the story isn't likely to go away fast enough!
I think we're seeing the end to this in the form of a permanently divided pair of tours with some occasional crossover appearances. At least based on the recent reports. And maybe a LIV v. PGA Tour knockoff of the Ryder Cup. There are few signs that all involved realize the gravity of their issues both in terms of greed optics and the way the men's game is played. Thankfully, we have some terrific events not controlled by these folks in 2025!
On the Blades Brown case - one person you and Lawrence Donegan didn’t mention in your podcast yesterday is Akshay Bathia. He would have graduated from college this year if he hadn’t turned pro at 17 instead, and is likely far better and more competitive than he would have been. And he’s taken the hard route after not being able to capitalise on his early exemptions. Tom Kim, while not American, is another example of a guy who turned pro in his teens and is way ahead of the curve given his tender age. So there are recent positive examples!
Certainly examples of breaking through. We'll see about longevity, etc... but there are 10 for every two "can't miss, turn pro now" stories (at least in the US...Europeans seem to be better suited to turning pro at 18 and building their way into a career).
One would've thought that the PGA TOUR (hoping I stylized their capitalization correctly) would use the headhunting services of the professional services firm that sponsors their other tour here in the USA?
Nice of you to go all caps. But you bring up a curious point. They have used Grant Thornton and promoted that in the past (I'm drawing a blank at the moment on which hiring they touted this way). Maybe GT wisely said they want no part of this weird rollout.
Merry Christmas, Geoff!
Thanks for everything you do all year round.
The Quad offers the best golf writing in the business and your focus on majors parses out much of the sordid business of men’s professional golf and I am exceedingly grateful for this port in the endless storm.
Best wishes for 2025!
Agree 100%!
Geoff is the best!
Thanks as always Tom!
Thanks Michael, grateful to have a supportive audience, Substack and years like this one with plenty of fun stuff to cover. Best wishes for 2025!
Maybe it's just the season, but my interest in the goings on at PV etc. is equal to the latest ambassadorial nominee. And, couldn't you just call it Turnberry?
I watched the Showdown with the sound off. I heard Feherty was good. Got to see an ad for LIV’s good works. Who knows, maybe there’s a place in heaven for Patrick Reed? Why do these events keep happening? They’re awful. You can’t see the course and the ratio of dead time to action is probably the highest of any televised sports event. The only people who seemed to be having a good time were Rory and Scottie. Brooks and Bryson looked miserable as per Geoff’s photo.
Back in the 60’s there was something called the CBS Golf Classic, at least I think that was the name. Taped 4-ball match play at La Quinta and maybe Firestone. I loved it. Being on tape was fine, because you didn’t know the results and there wasn’t much dead time. In those days, tournament coverage was 3 or 4 holes, so seeing a whole course was cool. And the stakes actually meant something, because the players could use the money. Now there’s no such thing as scarcity value in golf coverage, and the players definitely don’t need the money.
I saw raves for Feherty which surprised me but people don't watch LIV shows where he has been his usual engaging self, though he's no Kisner! 😉
You are correct. Live appears overrated at this point, especially in a sport that takes so long. Since the stakes were meaningless, the tension of live was non-existent (combined with the dark, cold and lack of novelty factor with Shadow Creek). But this was apparent with several of the recent Vegas exhibitions and I'm mystified that no executives have stepped in and said, enough! Freshen things up! Imagine if these four had gone to Bandon or Tara Iti or Cabot or Shiskine and tape a match in some place pros don't normally turn up? That would be a lot more fun. So would stymies!
I was so thrilled to see you and Lawrence together again I listened to a bit of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions before listening to the pod, which was excellent as always.
"the toughest shot in golf is the long bunker shot" Are you kidding me? It's the easiest!
Just try a short bunker shot and blade it. Guarantee it will go further than a 5 iron. May even go over a nearby house/roof like DeChambeau's trick shot.
Oh we've all hit that one at some point, which is why at the time and all these months later I do wonder if the thought crossed his mind that too much ball would be OB.
On the McKellar Golf podcast, you mentioned volunteering for the Walker Cup at Cypress Point.
Those jobs have all been assisgned. I got my rejection notice a couple of weeks ago. Now I am hoping for one of those tickets you discussed.
Best of luck - I think the WC may be THE toughest ticket in all of sport in 2025.
Sorry to hear you didn't get one of the spots. I'm sure it was not an easy one and I promise to put the word out on the tickets, though I remain skeptical that enough will be sold to the public. A USGA membership is likely a way to improve your odds. 🤞
Great stuff as always and a new Pod wow! On the heels of your poll it seems hard to be excited for the upcoming coming season except for the majors. The current plan of continuing both the civil war and the no cut designated events is a mess. The Tour is left with the four majors and what is becoming a slightly devalued and greedy Ryder Cup. And the fans who are now getting offended by the money aspect, well watching the weekly events and the FedEx cup purest welcome to the PGAT 2025. Easy to see what the favorite movie is on Tour, Wall Street Greed is Good. And the kicker is the weekly events that don’t end on time and even switch channels are not even that good a watch. Troubling times that the GS newsletter is more entertaining than the events. Geoff odds on the Tour will end the civil war and go back to the best golfers competing together by the start of the 2026 Tour?
Troubling times that the GS newsletter is more entertaining than the events. Yes!! ... But. As we lose even more interest in regular events does Geoof have less to write about?
I'm really going to try hard to dig in on the majors and cup events tracking in 2025. Too much good stuff to probe that does not involve the PGA Tour's "valuation" and other nonsense. But I fear they are going to use their newfound money to try and purchase a major or Ryder Cup, so the story isn't likely to go away fast enough!
I think we're seeing the end to this in the form of a permanently divided pair of tours with some occasional crossover appearances. At least based on the recent reports. And maybe a LIV v. PGA Tour knockoff of the Ryder Cup. There are few signs that all involved realize the gravity of their issues both in terms of greed optics and the way the men's game is played. Thankfully, we have some terrific events not controlled by these folks in 2025!
On the Blades Brown case - one person you and Lawrence Donegan didn’t mention in your podcast yesterday is Akshay Bathia. He would have graduated from college this year if he hadn’t turned pro at 17 instead, and is likely far better and more competitive than he would have been. And he’s taken the hard route after not being able to capitalise on his early exemptions. Tom Kim, while not American, is another example of a guy who turned pro in his teens and is way ahead of the curve given his tender age. So there are recent positive examples!
Certainly examples of breaking through. We'll see about longevity, etc... but there are 10 for every two "can't miss, turn pro now" stories (at least in the US...Europeans seem to be better suited to turning pro at 18 and building their way into a career).
One would've thought that the PGA TOUR (hoping I stylized their capitalization correctly) would use the headhunting services of the professional services firm that sponsors their other tour here in the USA?
Nice of you to go all caps. But you bring up a curious point. They have used Grant Thornton and promoted that in the past (I'm drawing a blank at the moment on which hiring they touted this way). Maybe GT wisely said they want no part of this weird rollout.
Geoff
Merry Christmas.
Have a great holiday and cant wait to see your takes in 2025 on this everchanging world of golf.
Al
There is also a CEO search for the LIV Tour.
I think they hired! But you are correct, we had that opening too. Wild times at the golf C-suite level.