Bonus Sunday Content - Premiere Golf League Edition

This story is moving quickly, though it's already exposing fault lines in the game, as I'll endeavor to explain below.  Shack had planned to tease us with a slow release of the goodies, but he himself got trumped when the organizers released this Q & A on their efforts.  

As we see here, it's presented as an interview transcript.  Missing, and it's a bit curious that Geoff fails to explain, is the identity of the alleged interviewer and interviewee....  Kind of a major failing, where I come from, but perhaps we can all pretend to suspend our disbelief....yanno, temporarily:

What follows will a double-Fisking.... Shack has already Fisked it, and I'll do the same, in addition to Fisking Shack's Fisk thereof.  Postmodern enough for you?

First, some preliminary thoughts from Geoff:

Long post here folks, but the vision is fascinating and as you know from my original post that broke this news, the World Golf Group is not messing around with their effort to start a new Tour. In that post, I promised to delve deeper into their concept over the next week, but a new document released to all media outlets today outlines nearly everything I’ve seen and had planned to cover.

So, besides the third name change since they’ve been envisioning the league, the primary shift in this document is one of tone. Perhaps realizing that to sustain a “league” they must have feeder tours, there appears to be an effort to work with the PGA Tour and European Tour. However, an 18-event schedule stealing top players is still very much a hostile act, one that leaves the U.S. and European tours as feeder operations in the best case scenario.

At one point they seemed to be going with the Tour de Force moniker, so we can all be grateful that they moved on from that.  And, yes, that intention to "work with" the PGA Tour was a significant change of tone....  However, their view of the world is that the PGA Tour will act as a feeder tour for them, and I'll predict that that won't be especially well received in Fortress Ponte Vedra Beach.  I know, I'm a modern day Nostradamus....

Q: What is the League?

PGL: It’s a new, improved format, devised in consultation with those who fund the sport at the highest professional level – designed, simply, to be the best product golf is capable of producing.

An individual and team league format – only the best, playing against the best each week.

Forty-eight players competing to win the individual world championship. Twelve teams of 4 competing to win the team world championship – in a compelling league format that will generate the strongest possible seasonal narrative.

Each 8-month season will begin in January and be comprised of 18 events; 10 of which will be played in the US, with others airing during US primetime.

Rather than the traditional 4, there will be 3 days of stroke play competition (54 holes) per tournament, with no cut – you don’t send the world’s best players home early.

The first 2 days will have a shotgun start, to fit within a 5-hour broadcast window, so no slow air. And each final day will go to a 2-tee start, to maintain the traditional back-9 climax.

The world champion will be crowned after 17 weeks and the 18th event will be a team play- off, utilizing a seeded, match play format, to decide the league winners – one of sport’s ultimate, annual, spectacles.

The League will generate the most entertaining and enthralling content the sport is capable of producing. The best field guaranteed – the best fan and player experience guaranteed.

To which Shack basically says, "Amen":

Note how they are addressing the silly length a pro golf day takes in a smart way. Shotgun starts the first two days, 54 holes and two-tees the last day.

OK, 54 holes vs. 72 frees up a bunch of Thursdays, but doesn't really move the needle.  But I'll note that golf is a game where talent is notoriously slow to differentiate itself.  I'll remind you that Bobby Jones was loather to play in events where matches were only 18 holes, because the results were too random.  I believe this format will have the best players unhappy very quickly....  And, they contemplate a 48 player field, which is absurdly shallow to have any importance.

But, blow me away, nothing screams Member-Guest quite like a shotgun start, no?  

Q: What makes you think the game needs a new format?

PGL: We care passionately about the game and believe that, to thrive, it has to evolve. We want to ensure that as many people as possible learn to love and play golf. To do that you have to encourage as many people as possible to watch golf. That is our motivation.

If you want the world to watch, you have to showcase your best product, week-in-week-out. Golf doesn’t do that currently.

If you had the chance to start again you wouldn’t create professional golf as it exists today. The League is that chance.

Geoff, care to respond?

That’s a profound statement about starting from scratch and not using the general structure we have now. I’m not sure I entirely agree, but then again no one would say 72-holes of stroke play, 5:30 rounds and little match play makes sense.

I guess profundity has been devalued along with everything else these days....  But, we might want to concede that 72 holes of medal play has evolved as the default format for many reasons that remain valid.  We all crave some variance in formats, but none of us want the majors to be anything beyond what they are....  Like Geoff, we all have a desire to see more match play, at least in theory, but match play events don't really work in the age of television.

Q: You plan to launch the League in January 2022, will you succeed?

PGL: We were told you can’t take on the establishment and win, but we aren’t taking on the establishment – we intend to work with it – and 6 years on we believe we’ll succeed because the League is what fans, sponsors and broadcasters want – and the best players deserve. It will revitalize the sport for this and future generations.

Fans want to watch the best players competing in the best format. A truly prestigious world championship that is worth winning and worth watching.

They want condensed, world-class action, from start to finish, hence the shotgun-start and 5- hour broadcast window. Action, all over the course, when you switch on – the ability to tune in to the main broadcast, or choose your own shots and style of production, via streaming.

Watch who you want to watch, knowing that the team element means that every shot counts. The ability to get behind a team and closer to the players, with unprecedented access to the most entertaining content. And, of course, for those who attend, the best staging and facilities.

That guy in LA had this:

Wish we had a mention of going after architecturally interesting venues too, but you can’t have everything. Yet.

Passing strange that they didn't check Geoff's box, given that at this happy talk stage you can promise anything...  But, thye add this, which gets an "Amen" from Geoff:

And importantly, we’ll give fans a break from the game, with a 4-month off-season. The chance to miss world-class golf and look forward to its return. They don’t get that opportunity at the moment, owing to the overlapping, wrap-around seasons of existing tours, designed to maximize the playing opportunities for hundreds of professional golfers. It’s confusing and leads to fan fatigue.

They're smart enough to avoid going head-to-head with the NFL, but they can't seriously think that's enough crumbs to leave Jay?   Can they?

But here's where it starts to get....well, problematic:

Q: Will the top players really leave their existing tours to join?

PGL: There are a number of reasons we believe they will – the first being money. The world’s best players will have the opportunity to earn more by competing in the League; both in terms of prize money and endorsements.

As Geoff notes, that Kumbaya moment didn't last too long...  

We’ll pay $240m in prize money each season, rising over time. Shared between 48 players, that’s an average of $5m. Forty-eight players will compete for a share of $10m every weekend, 17 times per season. The winner will earn $2m each week and the individual world champion will receive a $10m bonus.

There will also be a $40m team purse, with $14m to the winning team ($3.5m per team member) – and we’ll pay a bonus to the winning team each week.

An individual will have the chance to win over $50m per season – more than on any other format, on a like-for-like basis (including bonuses), with major purses on top.

Those are some big numbers being thrown about, though it's hard to imagine that Jay and Nurse Ratched have left that much on the table...

Q: Isn’t that too much?

PGL: It’s what they’re worth. At the moment, the best – the true global stars – subsidise the rest. The League will rebalance the economics. The best player needs to compete, but not against 150 other guys every week – 47 will suffice.

Their off-course earnings should also rise. League players will have a higher, global profile; 48 stars, with higher endorsement values. A global format, comprised of only the best, will maximize the appeal of each player to major brands.

Our players should also benefit from the sponsorship premium to be generated by the collective team model. We will enable players and teams to offer sponsors greater value by, for example, providing money-can’t-buy access on and off the course. They will also be able to stream their own content – to maximize the value of their personalities, on and off the course.

Plus, selected players will have an opportunity to generate unprecedented value beyond their playing careers. We’ll give them part ownership of a team franchise and the chance to share in the significant equity value, created jointly, over time. The teams will generate revenue streams established in other sports but not previously achievable in golf. They will also enable players to remain relevant to the game beyond their competitive best – providing them with the opportunity to win the League as an owner and operator, secure investment, and both retain existing and attract new sponsors.

There will also be lifestyle benefits – for players.

What, no Pro-Ams? 

But this bit is quite the howler:

Q: What will happen to the PGA Tour if you succeed?

PGL: Golf’s entire ecosystem is important to us. We want every level of the game to be as healthy and robust as possible. Accordingly, we’ll protect the members of other tours by cooperating and providing financial support.

Let me see if I have this straight?  You'll surgically remove the top 48 players from the PGA Tour, and life won't change for them?   

And this as well:

Q: Didn’t Greg Norman attempt something similar and fail?

PGL: According to reports from the time, the attempt to establish the World Golf Tour in 1994 resulted in a threat to ban its participants and the creation of 4 World Golf Championships – all in the US. The world is now a different place, restraint of trade laws have changed, and the League is a very different proposition.

Of the four WGC's, two are currently played outside the US, so it might be helpful if they, you know, stuck to the truth.  More significantly, the PGA now has many more events outside the U.S., so it's a wee bit difficult to see the market need they do.

There's more at that link above, including a slightly deeper dive on the economics and lifestyle benefits for the players.  I do think it's interesting that this has arisen in the midst of the Tour restructuring its broadcast contracts, and potentially more than a little awkward.  Folks get skittish over long-term commitments, especially when the benefits are so ephemeral to begin with.

The team component remains especially puzzling to me, and relatively poorly defined.  As I understand it, four-man teams are contemplated, including some kind of ownership stake for the players in the actual teams.  Though how these might be former and why we should care remains a mystery.  I'm a big fan of team match play, though the lesson of the Presidents Cup to me is that there needs to be a logic to the team formation, whereby Not US and Not Europe falls short.

Plus, I'm assuming that this can only be team stroke play....  Not a horrible thing, but very much a different thing.

So, how are the players reacting?  Cautiously for sure... For instance, this guy:

At least one top player is “intrigued” by the idea of a potential alternative tour that appears to be gaining momentum.

“I'm curious, but I don't know enough to talk about it,'' Phil Mickelson told several reporters after missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. “I'm listening to it. I think it's intriguing, but I just don't know enough about it to comment publicly. I hope to learn more.”

Of course he's intrigued, they're throwing big numbers around.  But who cares what Phil thinks, because he's not invited...  This is for the top 48 players in the world, and Phil is now outside the top fifty.  The good news, his chances at the 2022 Bob Hope just increased dramatically....

This other guy, who figures to cop an invite, wants it both ways:

McIlroy was asked about the Premier Golf League, a potential competitor to the PGA

Tour that seems to be moving closer to an official launch. Details of the startup entity are still emerging, but according to a report from Golf Channel’s Geoff Shackelford, it would feature an 18-event schedule from January to September, 48-man fields and big-money payouts. 

“Those guys have been talking to a few of us for six years,” McIlroy said on Saturday. “They approached me at the end of 2014.

“You know, it’s a hard one. … I love the PGA Tour, but these guys have exploited a couple of holes in the system, the way golf at the highest level is nowadays and how it’s sort of transitioned from a competition tour to entertainment. Right? It’s on TV, it’s people coming out to watch. It’s definitely a different time than what it was before.” 

“But I love the PGA Tour, I love the way golf is set up right now,” McIlroy said. It should be noted that McIlroy won the PGA Tour’s signature individual event, the Players Championship, and the FedEx Cup title (along with its $15 million grand prize) in 2019. “So it might be the catalyst for something a little bit different out here as well, who knows.”

Hey, don't blame him that it is both less filling and tastes great.... 

The gist of the matter is that the elite players feel that they are underpaid, effectively subsidizing their tours.  Interestingly, these discussions feature very little consideration of the European Tour, which would seem to rank higher on any endangered species list.

But my prediction is that 2022 will come and go with no World Golf Series Tour de Force Premiere Golf League.  First and foremost, because I have a hard time seeing the market opportunity.  reread Rory's comments and I think you'll agree....  there's a few things that annoy him, and as a Euro he's squeezed more than the Americans, but at it's core it's a pretty sweet gig.  

Secondly, they seem to think that The Empire will not Strike Back....  Good luck with that:

The PGA Tour is raising the prize money at The Players Championship to $15 million, making it the largest purse in golf unless any of the majors decide to up the ante this year. 

The winner of March 12-15 event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, will receive $2.7 million, nearly as much as Tiger Woods earned in his first two seasons as a pro. 

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced the increase at the annual players meeting this week at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open, according to several players.

I understand that players' meeting was absolutely lit...

But, as always, Robert Conquest's first law of politics (life, actually) applies:

1. Everyone is conservative about what he knows best.

Alternatively, a bird in the hand...  I see this as an insoluble dilemma....  They'll listen and be intrigued by big numbers and an easier workload, but they'll inevitably close ranks behind the organization that made them multi-millionaires....  Of course, as Rory hints, they'll use it as leverage, I just don't see a big break as being in the cards. 

The again, I picked Sergio to win all those Open Championships....It might make things more interesting, though, and that's not a bad thing.