In the coming hours, the PGA Tour and SSG, the American investment group that plans to disburse 3,000 million dollars in the new for-profit company called PGA Tour Enterprise, are expected to officially announce the agreement. This was hinted at by Jay Monahan, commissioner of the American circuit, in a statement to members. What is not yet known is what will happen with the negotiation that is being held at the same time with the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Some sources, more or less well informed, foresee an immediate agreement, others, consulted by Ten Golf, are much more cautious and affirm that there is still no news of a handshake taking place in a matter of days.
This is the backdrop of world golf at the moment. Meanwhile, at the same time, tournaments are still being developed, each one their own, with their structures, formats and players. Golfers are making real efforts to stay out of all this and focus on the competition. But it’s not easy. One of the most lucid voices in recent days has been that of Collin Morikawa. He spoke in the preview of the AT&T Pebble Beach, designated tournament of the PGA Tour that starts this Thursday on the famous Californian course.
The double Grand Champion (PGA and Open) has come to say that all this negotiation is very good, but that he should be asked better when all the cards are face up on the table. “What matters to me is what is really going to happen with golf, what schedule we are going to have, where it is going to be played, what type of tournaments are going to be disputed, where each golfer is going to be… This is what really worries me. When all this is finally revealed, then I can have an opinion on it. Meanwhile, it is something that does not affect us so much and I simply have to trust that those who are looking out for our interests are right,” he explained.
Morikawa has hit the nail on the head. It’s great to know how much money is going to be invested in the new company that manages world golf, who is going to be behind it and what weight each investor is going to have, but what is really important is how golf is going to be. What, how much and how it is going to be played. That is also what interests the fan the most, who seems to have been left aside for some time.
In this sense, Morikawa was asked what proposal he would put on the table to improve audiences, attract more fans and, really and not just in word, grow golf. The 26-year-old Californian, who turns 27 next week, is very clear. “Television, specifically, television broadcasting”.
Morikawa proposes that fans can see all the shots and, if possible, on demand. “When a follower sits at home in front of the television to watch golf, what he wants is to see golf, see golf shots, the more the better. I think we have to go in that direction. As in other sports. That you can see everything and that you can decide what to see at each moment,” he assured.
In short, Morikawa’s proposal is to do something similar to what already happens in the Masters of Augusta, but on a massive scale. The idea is that the fan can see what they want and when they want from everything that is happening on a golf course at the same time. For example, if someone wants to see Emiliano Grillo the 18 holes, regardless of how he is playing, he can do it. If someone wants to see all the players passing through an emblematic hole, for example the 7th of Pebble Beach, they can do it. Golf on demand.
It is obvious that the great difficulty of this interesting proposal is the huge investment in television production (technical means and personnel) that has to be made on a golf course. However, there is more and more money in the tournaments and it does not seem a bad idea to allocate a good part of that investment to this section. In addition, it should be noted that this on-demand golf could be marketed, through advertisements, or even charge the viewer who is interested as an extra. Another very important source of income that Morikawa himself pointed out are the bets. “With this television model, viewers would surely be encouraged to play. It is not the same to do it watching the shot tracker on the web than attending golf live, seeing where each player is, the real position of the ball… Definitely, I think one of the keys to making golf more attractive is that more shots can be seen on television”.
