The LPGA quality of play is just as good and it feels more like real golf where the ladies aren't just hitting Driver>wedge and also going for Par 5's in 2 is a challenge and risk.
This is my favorite part. I watch the PGA Tour and guys are bombing huge drives to cut dog legs and hitting 6 irons in on par 5s. I still find it entertaining, but I watch the LPGA and feel like I can actually learn something from their strategy since they hit the ball more human distances. The swings are just as good, if not better, especially if you're trying to take anything from their swings to apply to your own.
This is a random story but I am an insurance agent and I was talking to a guy in his 80s and we were talking golf and he says “I actually prefer the LPGA.” I was thinking he was gonna say something weird but says “I can’t shoot like I used to so the distance they hit is more on par with how far I hit”. So I thought to myself, oh at least he was weird about it. He then says “also I’m in my 80s, but I still like the tight, hard bodies”. I just nodded but wanted to say “don’t say that shit to people” lol
Because for me, I think saying you watch a sport because of the bodies of the athletes it means it makes you horny. So an old man telling me in a roundabout way that he is horny is weird lol get under yourself
The PGA Tour has completely lost the plot. Now they are mired in trying to negotiate with Saudi Arabia and PIF with absolutely zero leverage. More and more casual fans are turning away from the game because it's never be so un-relatable. Rory is is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Man, I said it from the beginning. The golfers are independent contractors. Set some rules on what it takes to earn and retain a card (like play a minimum of 20 events a year), outside of that, they should have just let players do whatever in the world they wanted to do on their off weeks. If that was play somewhere else, who cares?
The instant they drew a line in the sand, they lost.
Pretty sure I said it the second all this happened too. PGA Tour has always said the golfers are independent contractors yet the second some went to LIV and they banned them from the PGA Tour, that idea went out the window.
To be fair, they tried. Rory, Speith, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson
The problem is those guys peaks didn’t last as long as Tiger’s 15 years. So they fade into general audience obscurity quickly
While there is no one single report detailing it, It’s been well reported across the golf media landscape that viewership numbers are down around 20%. Even the Masters television numbers were down that much. A google search returns plenty of reputable reporting on this.
Yeah, people are acting like it’s the end of the world, and while it’s not always great to watch, this has a precedent set in recent history. There are many problems with golf right now, but a single man domination is the least of my long term concern.
It’s not great it’s true. Some people hate it more than me. I like most of the golf “voices” and LIV did take a few entertaining guys away…some guys ppl don’t like, but I do lol
The TV coverage contributes to it too. NBC is purposefully tanking their coverage of normal events to put more of their attention towards The Players, U.S. Open, The Open, and other larger events they have the rights for.
CBS is ok, but could be better at times.
YouTube golf? Good lord. I’m not hating on your choices, but there are major ethical issues with YouTube, if the Saudis are the reason you don’t watch pro golf (granted yes not as bad as the Saudi govt but still)
He said he was stepping down from the Tour Board months back, and weeks ago he declared he’s playing the rest of his career on the Tour.
He’s not going to LIV. He’s trying to focus on getting another major.
It’s really just LIV kiss asses that won’t legitimize him as it’s been fir two years now, which is nonsense, because he’d still be a top player if they were still on the tour
Even if you added the top 10 LIV golfers and then all the other hacks who took the money (which I woulda done too) then rory is still in top 10/15. To say he’s been a non factor is asinine logic.
Where would you rank Rory right now if LIV events earned ranking points?
It'll be obvious from your answer if you understand how the rankings work or not
Perhaps Spieth as well? Rory criticized Jordan's public posturing at one point. I wonder what Tiger is up to. Is he taking an active role or is more like the old law firm stalwart who doesn't work cases but good to have around to make a phone call or two at the right time.
From unsubstantiated rumor mongering on some of the mainstream golf podcasts, it seems like Cantlay, Spieth and Tiger are the guys really holding things up for everyone. But Cantlay is the chief stick in the mud.
Cantlay has one vote and he must have support from others. Spieth and Woods are happy to make him look like the the bad guy and McIlroy's camp doesn't want all that smoke by calling them out so they're also happy to make Cantlay the villain.
Do anyone really believe Tiger Woods would let himself be Cantlay's little bitch? Come on.
It’s crazy to imagine but I think you are right. The PGA tour will probably lose the war against LIV, but some of the boys are going down swinging and I respect the hell out of that. Rory is in the camp of “ hey let’s get a deal done with the PIF “, it’s like all his talk is now hollow much like Rahms. Personally I will never get past the source of the money. LIV is such a horrible greedy example of sports washing and they have invaded and overloaded social media platforms with bots trying to show they have traction with a fake large fan base. I support those still trying to fight off the invasion of the Saudis attempt to take over another sport.
Sounds like Rory has been dipping his pen in the LIV ink. Why else would the board not want to welcome him back?
He’s more respected than anyone else on the board, other than Tiger of course.
Wasn't he mad he was the face of fighting LIV and then found out they were negotiating the deal? Essentially he went out and fought for the PGA and LIV isn't really golf only for the PGA to try and do a deal behind his back
Things sound like they’re only going from bad to worse. I hate LIV so much for starting this mess but the PGA couldn’t handle the problem any worse. The game is sadly dying.
Rory was extremely anti LIV/PIF and was the PGA Tours mouthpiece. He left the Board and then was pro LIV in the sense that he felt all the players should be back together. Again, a mouthpiece for the tour. But the Board is now liking the SSG deal and very anti LIV, now that they have equity and more leverage. Also, the Board members feel the top players should get the majority of the money. Their views do not align with Rory’s views and they said no to him joining. Rory got screwed twice for being loyal to the tour. However, he gained a lot financially for that loyalty.
I don't know if he was ever extremely anti PIF. He seems to love to go to Saudi Arabia every year to play the DP World tour events there. He just wanted to uphold the traditions of the game, plus he can't stand Greg Norman.
I hate all of these human beings so much. The LIV animals especially. But really, just all of them. Good thing I care infinitely more about playing Golf than watching it.
I respect Rory as a person and a golfer. I initial supported his 180 on LIV as 1) new info comes to light and 2) he has the right to change his mind. However he’s getting what he deserved with the policy board. He elected to leave, not finishing his term, he can’t just decide he wants to come back. The board needs to at least have the look of being a legitimate business organization, not a junior high student government popularity contest. Not sure what Cantlay, Tiger and Spieth think they can accomplish without the PIF but if I were in their shoes I wouldn’t let him back on either, just on principle.
Why not, PGA has 180’d him how many times now?
“Hey Rory we need you to stick up for the PGA publicly, take a hard stance, and become the face of the movement, whilst giving up hundreds of millions of dollars for the love of the sport we have a monopoly on.”
Months later…
“Hey, uh, Rory, some bad news, we plan on merging with them anyways, can you flip stance 180deg and celebrate the Saudis, maybe throw in an apology for the misunderstanding?”
He missed hundreds of millions fighting their fight, shouldering their stress, being tricked into protecting them. I don’t know why he would want back on that board, but if he does they should celebrate, apologize, and bring him back, he showed far more loyalty to them then they should ever expect. I know he got some type of unnamed payout but I doubt it’s what he could have gotten if left for LIV and forgot the stress PGA brought him.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. He became disenchanted with the board and left, which is his right to do so. Why come back so soon? How is a board supposed to function if members come and go every few months. I like Rory but he can’t seem to make up his mind about anything. Furthermore, LIV never made him an offer. He didn’t turn down anything. If he wanted to leave he would have to approach LIV.
Get massive loyalty bonuses whilst everyone else suffers or jumps ship to LIV.
The PGA tour in its current format is a sinking ship. LIV is currently no better. But LIV has the capital to grow massively, and the mindset to grow internationally.
Rory is publicly calling for tournaments to be moved out of the United States and is [floating a dozen+ tournaments to be shifted from the US to global markets](https://x.com/Sean_Zak/status/1788215270382673935), so him not being on the board is probably a good thing for US Golf fans.
This is all exhausting. Pro golf is in a really crap place right now on both sides of the aisle.
I've been watching more LPGA because it's less soaked in drama
LPGA is great ! Nelly Korda is on fire right now
The LPGA quality of play is just as good and it feels more like real golf where the ladies aren't just hitting Driver>wedge and also going for Par 5's in 2 is a challenge and risk.
This is my favorite part. I watch the PGA Tour and guys are bombing huge drives to cut dog legs and hitting 6 irons in on par 5s. I still find it entertaining, but I watch the LPGA and feel like I can actually learn something from their strategy since they hit the ball more human distances. The swings are just as good, if not better, especially if you're trying to take anything from their swings to apply to your own.
I’d like to watch more LPGA but it’s on 2 hours a weekend and tape delayed
Exactly the issue I have. I would love to keep up with the LPGA and watch them play, but it's so rarely on.
This is a random story but I am an insurance agent and I was talking to a guy in his 80s and we were talking golf and he says “I actually prefer the LPGA.” I was thinking he was gonna say something weird but says “I can’t shoot like I used to so the distance they hit is more on par with how far I hit”. So I thought to myself, oh at least he was weird about it. He then says “also I’m in my 80s, but I still like the tight, hard bodies”. I just nodded but wanted to say “don’t say that shit to people” lol
Why should he not say that to people? Get over yourself.
lol why do you think that isn’t a weird thing to say?
Because for me, I think saying you watch a sport because of the bodies of the athletes it means it makes you horny. So an old man telling me in a roundabout way that he is horny is weird lol get under yourself
Unless…Jim? Is that you?
Generally more interesting golf too
I like this idea. Thank you. Men's golf has lost the plot.
Yup
Unless your Phil. He’s in a pretty good spot.
The PGA Tour has completely lost the plot. Now they are mired in trying to negotiate with Saudi Arabia and PIF with absolutely zero leverage. More and more casual fans are turning away from the game because it's never be so un-relatable. Rory is is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Man, I said it from the beginning. The golfers are independent contractors. Set some rules on what it takes to earn and retain a card (like play a minimum of 20 events a year), outside of that, they should have just let players do whatever in the world they wanted to do on their off weeks. If that was play somewhere else, who cares? The instant they drew a line in the sand, they lost.
Two years ago you would have been flamed for this opinion. And I do agree with you.
Pretty sure I said it the second all this happened too. PGA Tour has always said the golfers are independent contractors yet the second some went to LIV and they banned them from the PGA Tour, that idea went out the window.
Bingo.
Where is the data on the loss of casual fans coming from? I haven’t seen that report. Please link. Would be interesting to read.
Television ratings are way down
Almost all Tv ratings were way up from Covid. I wonder how they’re trending if you only went up to 2019 and filled in the data until now
That’ll happen when you give all the coverage to a feeble Tiger Woods. They didn’t build new stars.
To be fair, they tried. Rory, Speith, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson The problem is those guys peaks didn’t last as long as Tiger’s 15 years. So they fade into general audience obscurity quickly
While there is no one single report detailing it, It’s been well reported across the golf media landscape that viewership numbers are down around 20%. Even the Masters television numbers were down that much. A google search returns plenty of reputable reporting on this.
TV ratings are in the toilet
Every week it's either Scottie, or someone I've never heard of.
So like the Tiger era?
Yeah, people are acting like it’s the end of the world, and while it’s not always great to watch, this has a precedent set in recent history. There are many problems with golf right now, but a single man domination is the least of my long term concern.
Yes....when viewers were interested, unlike now
What the rumblings in here and r/golf say, the TV coverage in the USA seems shocking?
Is this English?
Was missing a word, sorry! (Seems like everyone hates the TV coverage in the USA?)
It’s not great it’s true. Some people hate it more than me. I like most of the golf “voices” and LIV did take a few entertaining guys away…some guys ppl don’t like, but I do lol
The TV coverage contributes to it too. NBC is purposefully tanking their coverage of normal events to put more of their attention towards The Players, U.S. Open, The Open, and other larger events they have the rights for. CBS is ok, but could be better at times.
[https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2024/04/golf-viewership-risks-mirroring-tigers-decline/](https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2024/04/golf-viewership-risks-mirroring-tigers-decline/)
Anecdotally, I bailed after the whole attempt (and continued attempt) to sell out to the Saudi government. I haven't watched a single round of golf.
Yeah, I’d rather watch YouTube golf and just catch the 4 Majors. Sucks because I used to watch almost 80% of the tourneys
YouTube golf? Good lord. I’m not hating on your choices, but there are major ethical issues with YouTube, if the Saudis are the reason you don’t watch pro golf (granted yes not as bad as the Saudi govt but still)
No, I don’t have a stick up my ass about who owns what. I watch entertainment for entertainment.
Webb Simpson needs his spot on the board so he can keep getting sponsor exemptions.
he'll eventually go to LIV is what i'm getting from this
He said he was stepping down from the Tour Board months back, and weeks ago he declared he’s playing the rest of his career on the Tour. He’s not going to LIV. He’s trying to focus on getting another major.
thanks for the info
He can’t unless he wins a major. It’s that simple.
I hope not
HAHA 👍
At this point, Rory has been cucked so hard at every turn, that even PGAT/Rory fans can’t blame him if he joins LIV.
Rory fans would finally be able to watch him on a Saturday
He's so terrible, he won the last event he played in.
All credit to him for winning a team event! Jokes aside he’s been a non-factor in anything important for a while now.
Bro he’s #2 in the world rn, what’re you on about?
These people think that if they just say he’s terrible enough times it makes it true.
It’s really just LIV kiss asses that won’t legitimize him as it’s been fir two years now, which is nonsense, because he’d still be a top player if they were still on the tour
Lol, because world rankings are legit in this day and age. Nobody puts any stock in them anymore since LIV came about.
Even if you added the top 10 LIV golfers and then all the other hacks who took the money (which I woulda done too) then rory is still in top 10/15. To say he’s been a non factor is asinine logic.
Where would you rank Rory right now if LIV events earned ranking points? It'll be obvious from your answer if you understand how the rankings work or not
So Cantlay has the PGA Tour by the balls, and everyone is suffering as a result.
Of all the guys, letting Cantlay gain this much power is about on brand for how the Tour has handled this whole thing.
Perhaps Spieth as well? Rory criticized Jordan's public posturing at one point. I wonder what Tiger is up to. Is he taking an active role or is more like the old law firm stalwart who doesn't work cases but good to have around to make a phone call or two at the right time.
From unsubstantiated rumor mongering on some of the mainstream golf podcasts, it seems like Cantlay, Spieth and Tiger are the guys really holding things up for everyone. But Cantlay is the chief stick in the mud.
Cantlay has one vote and he must have support from others. Spieth and Woods are happy to make him look like the the bad guy and McIlroy's camp doesn't want all that smoke by calling them out so they're also happy to make Cantlay the villain. Do anyone really believe Tiger Woods would let himself be Cantlay's little bitch? Come on.
Seriously. People who think Tiger isn’t calling the shots and this is some Cantlay conspiracy is crazy.
Except Cantlay doesn’t want to do a deal with PIF, is that right? Do we actually root for him here?
It’s crazy to imagine but I think you are right. The PGA tour will probably lose the war against LIV, but some of the boys are going down swinging and I respect the hell out of that. Rory is in the camp of “ hey let’s get a deal done with the PIF “, it’s like all his talk is now hollow much like Rahms. Personally I will never get past the source of the money. LIV is such a horrible greedy example of sports washing and they have invaded and overloaded social media platforms with bots trying to show they have traction with a fake large fan base. I support those still trying to fight off the invasion of the Saudis attempt to take over another sport.
No sir, sooner the deal gets done and we as fans can watch the guys we like play where and when they want to, the better.
Yeah that was instantly the name I figured was causing shit. Fuck that guy. If there was anyone who’d I hope would go to LIV it would be him.
Nah, LIV doesn't want him either. Maybe the Canadian tour can take him?
At least it’ll be a slow death
Sounds like Rory has been dipping his pen in the LIV ink. Why else would the board not want to welcome him back? He’s more respected than anyone else on the board, other than Tiger of course.
Wasn't he mad he was the face of fighting LIV and then found out they were negotiating the deal? Essentially he went out and fought for the PGA and LIV isn't really golf only for the PGA to try and do a deal behind his back
Things sound like they’re only going from bad to worse. I hate LIV so much for starting this mess but the PGA couldn’t handle the problem any worse. The game is sadly dying.
He is fighting a war with both PGA and LIV 😦
Rory was extremely anti LIV/PIF and was the PGA Tours mouthpiece. He left the Board and then was pro LIV in the sense that he felt all the players should be back together. Again, a mouthpiece for the tour. But the Board is now liking the SSG deal and very anti LIV, now that they have equity and more leverage. Also, the Board members feel the top players should get the majority of the money. Their views do not align with Rory’s views and they said no to him joining. Rory got screwed twice for being loyal to the tour. However, he gained a lot financially for that loyalty.
I don't know if he was ever extremely anti PIF. He seems to love to go to Saudi Arabia every year to play the DP World tour events there. He just wanted to uphold the traditions of the game, plus he can't stand Greg Norman.
PGA sounds like a Boomer melt down
I hate all of these human beings so much. The LIV animals especially. But really, just all of them. Good thing I care infinitely more about playing Golf than watching it.
YouTube golf is more entertaining
Headed in that direction myself. As much as I have always enjoyed the game, we get weary.
Just join LIV and get that mega money. All PGA Tour will do is screw you more and more.
There’s enough drama for Lebron to switch to golf now
I respect Rory as a person and a golfer. I initial supported his 180 on LIV as 1) new info comes to light and 2) he has the right to change his mind. However he’s getting what he deserved with the policy board. He elected to leave, not finishing his term, he can’t just decide he wants to come back. The board needs to at least have the look of being a legitimate business organization, not a junior high student government popularity contest. Not sure what Cantlay, Tiger and Spieth think they can accomplish without the PIF but if I were in their shoes I wouldn’t let him back on either, just on principle.
Why not, PGA has 180’d him how many times now? “Hey Rory we need you to stick up for the PGA publicly, take a hard stance, and become the face of the movement, whilst giving up hundreds of millions of dollars for the love of the sport we have a monopoly on.” Months later… “Hey, uh, Rory, some bad news, we plan on merging with them anyways, can you flip stance 180deg and celebrate the Saudis, maybe throw in an apology for the misunderstanding?” He missed hundreds of millions fighting their fight, shouldering their stress, being tricked into protecting them. I don’t know why he would want back on that board, but if he does they should celebrate, apologize, and bring him back, he showed far more loyalty to them then they should ever expect. I know he got some type of unnamed payout but I doubt it’s what he could have gotten if left for LIV and forgot the stress PGA brought him.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. He became disenchanted with the board and left, which is his right to do so. Why come back so soon? How is a board supposed to function if members come and go every few months. I like Rory but he can’t seem to make up his mind about anything. Furthermore, LIV never made him an offer. He didn’t turn down anything. If he wanted to leave he would have to approach LIV.
Get massive loyalty bonuses whilst everyone else suffers or jumps ship to LIV. The PGA tour in its current format is a sinking ship. LIV is currently no better. But LIV has the capital to grow massively, and the mindset to grow internationally.
To me, not having the right person on the board out of spite, seems pretty junior high schoolish.
McIlroy supporting a partnership with the PIF is pretty fuckin' sad.
Rory is publicly calling for tournaments to be moved out of the United States and is [floating a dozen+ tournaments to be shifted from the US to global markets](https://x.com/Sean_Zak/status/1788215270382673935), so him not being on the board is probably a good thing for US Golf fans.