by Gary Williams | Apr 5, 2023 | Blog
Tuesday at any major is a news day. You hear from the most players in the interview room in the press building on Tuesdays. There is a ton of sound gathered from players in “flash” interview areas and you learn the groupings for the first two days of the tournament. Tuesday is also the biggest workday for players as they all know the golf course will be closed Wednesday afternoon once the Par 3 contest gets underway. The fact that I didn’t leave the press building until 4 PM after arriving at 8 AM is not only sad, but it also amplifies the need for me to get out early tomorrow morning and see the new Par 3 course and conduct my traditional walk of the second nine.
One thing I don’t want anyone to deduce from this diary is that it’s just an exercise in name dropping. I’m going to drop names, most of them are media members, as a way to share who I ran into and why this event in particular brings so many people together in mass since the last major which was last July. Add the plush nature of the environment inside the press building and people enjoy their work more and simply have a joy about themselves that is not present every week.
The day started with a solid and standard breakfast of egg whites and bacon which I enjoyed with the SiriusXM team of radio broadcasters. I was originally a part of the team going back to 2010 when I was the morning host on Mad Dog Radio and also hosted 12 events on the PGA TOUR. I fell in love with golf on the radio in 2002 when I listened to the radio broadcast of the Open Championship at Muirfield. This team, led by Taylor Zarzour, are a combination of career broadcasters and former tour players, like Carl Paulson and John Maginnes. Add to that Brian Katrek, Drew Stoltz, Jason Sobel, Fred Albers, and Chantelle McCabe and you have a group with serious golf bonafides. Plus, this week Rocco Mediate will be the lead analyst on SiriusXM and the absurdly versatile TV star Mike Tirico will once again play radio host for the play-by-play coverage starting on Thursday. It’s a great team, with real chemistry and they care deeply about the game.
The first presser on Tuesday was Rory McIlroy and naturally there were going to be a couple themes: LIV golfers, crossing his personal Rubicon and completing the career grand slam. As usual, the answers were thorough, and thought was given to each and every query. When I met Rory, it was five weeks after his final round collapse at the 2011 Masters and we were doing a day with him at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio and the biggest take away I had from 5 ½ uninterrupted hours with the then twenty one year old McIlroy was his listening skills. That’s a very unselfish trait and he has always been giving off time and engagement. Answering questions about something he desperately wants to do in the game can be counterproductive to the mind space he wants to get into come Thursday and he actually spoke directly to that today. I asked him about his sluggish starts in his career at the Masters, only 2 sub 70 rounds on Thursday and the last four opening rounds have produced a scoring average of 74.25. I also asked him if he had a theory as to why no player other than Tiger has come from outside the top 10 after the FIRST round to win since 2005 and it was that year, and 2019, that Tiger turned the trick twice. He thought the pressure to get off to a good start tests patience and forces you to take chances on Friday and then you may find yourself quickly out of the tournament. McIlroy should be the favorite and he’s built to win the Masters, but he reminded everyone before he left the interview room that there have been great historical players who seemed destined to win the tournament who never did. Lastly, on Rory. he made a point to let Andy Johnson of the Fried Egg know that he liked something that he posted this week. Simple gestures, and complimentary acknowledgments are why Rory is a darling amongst the media.
- The balance of the morning included the following thoughts from these players in the interview room.
- Jon Rahm… He knows golf history and acknowledged that he watches old tournaments all the time in the little spare time he has and he has a true working knowledge of the accomplishments of the great players all time. That is beyond rare. I asked Rahm what is the most valuable data point that would indicate a good week for him. He said chipping and strokes gained around the green are the key indicators. Rahm is a curious type with an appetite for context on who did what and when. His recent sluggish play is a head scratcher and I think people are sleeping on him.
- Justin Thomas has not had a good start to his year. Not getting the results and I asked him how he finds the right balance between caution and chance on a golf course that is very exacting. He said “Bones” his caddy was with a guy, Phil Mickelson, who for years who took countless chances so he will never appear to be taking too many chances compared to Bones’ former employer.
- Scottie Scheffler is exceedingly normal, and his pressers are not boring. They are an exercise in asking questions to someone who is not going to say things just to sound interesting. I asked him about the Champions Dinner and if he thought he would get emotional being around golf royalty and he said he most certainly would. He was asked to tell everyone what the most interesting thing about himself was, and he said, “to ask someone else.” Scheffler is simply not an attention seeker.
- My day was made when a gentleman waiting for me outside the bathroom to tell me a story about his brother watching “Morning Drive” from the beginning. He shared that his brother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease and that he was a huge fan of my work. I share this because it was very flattering and humbling. Anyone who takes the time to tell you someone in their life enjoyed what you do is something I’ve never taken for granted and my gratitude was overwhelming for the moment early afternoon on Tuesday.
- I also bumped into my old partner Charlie Rymer. Charlie has had a battle with cancer the last 16 months, and he’s come out the other side. Charlie drove me crazy every day when we worked together. He knew what made me crazy and flatulence is something that makes me nuts when it’s coming from a 280-pound man and its nonstop. I love Charlie and hugging him made me feel smaller than I already am.
- Lunch today was another bowl of Clam chowder and a piece of seared chicken with broccolini, and I indulged in the talk of the dessert options at the Masters. The Peach Ice Cream Sandwich. The size is that of a chipwich and the thickness is ideal for biting into, but I think it’s overrated. The peach flavor is good but not great and the bread outer shell is not very tasty. I’m one and done on the item. I also made my first trip into the main merchandise building adjacent from the tournament practice area. I entered at 4 PM and walked out at 4:15 PM. It was efficient and painless. Two hats, a sweatshirt for a daughter, a long sleeve tee shirt for the other daughter, three coffee mugs for Christmas gift exchanges and one metal sign for the 5 Clubs studio. Three hundred and two dollars. Not awful and the expediency was fantastic.
- I will add that I had a very healthy discussion with Michael Breed, host of his own SiriusXM show and an elite instructor. I’ve known Michael since I was an assistant at Seminole and Michael was at Augusta National. He does not support the proposed ball roll back, and I actually do support what the USGA and R&A are trying to do, so we have divergent viewpoints. I didn’t expect him to relent to my position nor did he expect me to come over to his position, but we shared thoughts and we will talk more.
- The award for best dressed media member today goes to Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN. Gene is not only a fantastic essayist he showed up today in a dark suit with a blue shirt and navy tie with cognac-toned leather uppers. Smart and stylish. Honorable mention to Wright Thompson wearing his Grateful Dead hat, maroon-colored sneakers and shorts. Reports on the Champions dinner tomorrow and my first time on the course this week. We are almost there.
by Gary Williams | Apr 4, 2023 | Blog
I’ve always been a believer in life that we must have something to look forward to. Trips abroad, a round of golf, a new restaurant reservation, any type of little carrot to have on the horizon is a very healthy dynamic. Knowing you’re going to the Masters is one of the better things to have on the horizon whether it’s your first or fiftieth trip. As a media member it’s almost unsettling to cover the Masters. Any media member who acts as if Masters week is a regular business trip is being dishonest. The relationship that Augusta National has had with the working media goes back to Grantland Rice and O.B. Keeler and their relationship with the club and the co–founder, Bobby Jones. The care and treatment of the media everywhere is very nice, but Augusta is a ridiculous week. The Press building is the platinum standard of press facilities regardless of sport anywhere in the world. The interview room is a state-of-the-art room that is equipped with mics at every workstation and the food service is outstanding.
After interviewing Ben Crenshaw from our studio in Charlotte on Monday morning I got in my car and headed south on I-77. I’m a sports talk radio listener having been in that end of the business for many years, and I have my own rotation depending on the time of the day it is and I settled in for two-plus hours of Dan Patrick, Inside the Ropes on the PGA Tour radio network, a tiny dose, real tiny of Skip and Shannon. They will lead, follow and end with Lakers talk in April, July or January. Today was no exception except for a healthy discussion on the women’s national championship game between LSU and Iowa. I heard more discussion of women’s basketball, or one particular act at the end of the game, than any discussion in our lifetimes. I recorded an interview with Adam Gold, in Raleigh, North Carolina and like everyone he was curious about the LIV dynamic this week. I also spoke with Taylor Zarzour, a lead host and defacto boss of the PGA Tour radio network who has cultivated a very good working relationship with Augusta National since they earned the rights to the radio broadcast several years ago. I will be hosting this week on SiriusXM from 10 AM to 2 PM EST starting Thursday.
By the time I rolled into Augusta it was noon and I made my way immediately to our return home for the week in West Lake village. Being the first to arrive it gave me first pick of the rooms and I could have done what Michael Collins did at the 2010 Players championship and claimed the master bedroom. Being a good teammate, I passed, deferring to Taylor who runs the channel. However, I did take the one downstairs bedroom with its own bathroom. I know how to play a rental house while respecting authority and being mildly selfish simultaneously. After getting a pickup from Ralph, it was off to ANGC.
Below are my quick hits from a Monday afternoon at the Masters.
- The radio set up this week is a series of five rooms in the press building with ample workspace in one room, three separate broadcast rooms with multiple monitors and a master command room for the producers and engineers. If you add the individual broadcast locations, the radio presentation is wildly impressive.
- I immediately sat in on Jason Day’s presser and he fielded a number of questions on his resurgence. He made it clear that the depth at the top is deeper that it was when he ascended to number 1 in the world seven years ago.
- I sat quickly between pressers for a bowl of New England clam chowder and a caesar salad with grilled shrimp. My waiter, Jake, had a half Sprite half coke zero mixed for me which was his version of a ginger ale. Not really close but not awful.
- I asked the first question of Jordan Spieth in his presser and wanted to know the difference between his instincts at the Masters and the Open championship and he said the only level lies he gets here are his 18 tee shots and it’s about reading lies.
- I finally sat in the Cam Smith presser, the only LIV player on the pre-tournament press conference schedule. He was peppered with LIV questions and handled them with affable charm. My takeaway is that he loves the money he received but misses some tournaments and admitted the depth of the fields is weaker than the PGA Tour. He also had no clue about the suggestion made by Greg Norman that all LIV players will be on 18 to celebrate if a LIV player wins the Masters.
- Running into a lot of old friends is a treat and I am simply not out at tournaments the way I once was while working for Golf Channel. So seeing Damon Hack, my old TV partner was the treat of the day for me. Damon is one of the finest people I know and laughing about many things is always a joy for me when I get to see him. The number of people who said hello while we were standing outside of the clubhouse was appreciated and there are still many folks who assume I’m still at Golf Channel as evidenced by the consistent refrain of, “Love the show”. No need to tell them that I’ve been gone for more than two years.
- Said hello to a few players standing around the practice putting green including Keith Mitchell who has become one of the best dressed men in the game. He looked good in navy from head to toe. It’s too warm for cashmere so I deduced his sweater was a cotton and silk combo crewneck.
- It was also good to say hello to the drivers of “The Fried Egg” Brendan Porath and Andy Johnson. A shining example of smart conversation building an audience.
- I left the property around 4 PM with Taylor Zarzour in his rental car and talked about our experiences playing Augusta National. I’ve only had one round and Taylor has had four rounds including a round of 73 last year with his buddy Eric Church.
- Best dressed media member on Monday was Todd Lewis of Golf Channel. Todd likes pastels and he went with a soft pink suit. Not an easy look to pull off but Todd wears bold colors and he had ZERO competition on Monday. A pink suit is a rare sight. He nailed it.
- Tuesday will be a huge day of pressers including Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods and I will sit in on all of them and report on them tomorrow plus I’ll get my first look at the new 13th tee.
by Gary Williams | Mar 30, 2023 | Blog
My first journey to the Sand Hills of Nebraska was twenty years in the making and I was only going to embark on the trek with my best friend in life. On the Sunday afternoon of our first day at the mecca built and designed by the team of Coore & Crenshaw we found ourselves sitting on Ben’s porch, affectionately named after one of the co-designers. The founder and visionary of the club, Dick Youngscap, had come out to the club that Sunday afternoon and he asked us to join him and his wife for lunch. Dick’s story and the construction of Sand Hills is a screenplay, and the 18-hole course signified a real change in the future of design and golf clubs. On 8,000 acres in what is truly the most fertile and holistic terrain I’d ever seen in the United States was 18 pristine holes. Among the many questions I asked Mr. Youngscap in that hour lunch was simply why not more holes. His answer, which I assume was not orchestrated or premeditated, was the most eloquent, colloquial and succinct response I had ever received from someone in my career. He started by asking me a question. “Gary, do you know what we do out here?” To which I responded, “no sir, I do not.”. He followed with, “Well, we are simple people, and we build fences. This is my land; this is your land and when I think about Yankee Stadium I think of four bases and when I think about the Boston Garden I think of two rims. Golf is 18 holes. Sand Hills is 18 holes.”
As we prepare for golf’s global renewal at Augusta National, I am reminded of the uncomplicated things, the proper things and the little things. Sand Hills was open almost 60 years after Augusta National, but it leans on the experience it provides and trusts that the things that were then, can still be valued now. Sand Hills could have 150 holes and a short course and posh cottages, but it doesn’t need it. Augusta National and the Masters could have television partners who would gladly show every shot struck from the ceremonial first tee shot to the last putt holed each day. The market for hospitality experiences for a small percentage of Masters partners led to the creation of Berckmans Place which is the most refined onsite, yet completely secluded, hospitality venue in golf history. Beyond that, everyone on the grounds essentially has the same experience down to the continued placement of lawn chairs around greens early in the morning. Lawn chairs? In 2023 the dignified placement of a 15-dollar lawn chair will ensure hundreds of people a seat to watch the most famous golf tournament in the world. It’s possible that concessions this year may challenge the long-standing theory that two beverages, two sandwiches and two bags of chips still produces change from a twenty-dollar bill. Even if it doesn’t, the simplicity of the transaction and the modesty of the tariff required for purchase makes it a relic in today’s high-end sports experiences. The U.S. Open tennis tournament is everything the Masters is not. Concessions that border on extortion and a viewing experience which feels disorienting from the noise to the behavior.
Stubbornness is a challenging quality to navigate be it with an individual or an organization and plenty of people may call Augusta National stubborn as it relates to the no cell phone policy on the property to the broadcast windows to the green jacket ceremony in Butler cabin. I heard for years that the broadcast times were to ensure that those on the grounds were getting something that the viewing audience could not get. If you put every shot on television what’s the motivation for those with badges to be on the property all day? Fair point, but the Masters created the finest digital experience well before their fellow major championships and it hasn’t deterred anyone from getting there early and staying late. The no cell phone policy is something that would truly keep many people from going to any sporting event, let alone a golf tournament, but Augusta National won’t cave to modern convenience. Can you imagine fans being told they could not bring their phones into the Super Bowl, The World Cup final or the Kentucky Derby? I know, golf is quiet, and silence is inherent to the execution of golf shots. Yet phones can be silenced, and all other golf tournaments permit them, but not Augusta National. Because the experience is supposed to be special, and it’s intended to be singular and different. We g
o through life telling others how great every moment is through text or Instagram while we are taking time away from that experience to talk about that experience. At the Masters, you walk with your head up, you watch golf shots not record them and then you talk about the shots you just witnessed with the people you are with. Yes, talk, and when you get home you don’t show people your pictures or videos you took while not watching golf, you talk to them about the shots you saw. Not to mention the people you ran into while you were there because your head was up, and you made eye contact. Yes, eye contact with an old friend as opposed to running into the sign indicating where Amen Corner is while trying to send a photo. It’s amazing how busy we all are that we must be on our phones every waking moment until the invite to the Masters comes and suddenly our pseudo oxygen supply can be cut off for eight hours. Not eight minutes, but an entire day. 
In the fall of 1990, I was newly graduated from college and was going on a trip with my parents and we were sitting in the Newark airport when my Dad told me that he was taking me to the Masters the next spring. I cried. I wasn’t necessarily a grown man, but I was old enough that the news of attending a sporting event seven months in the future shouldn’t have reduced me to tears. I was emotionally and intellectually invested in golf in ways others weren’t but Augusta National and the Masters Tournament were mythical to me. I expected to be somewhat deflated because of the buildup, but I wasn’t. Hand-operated scoreboards, simple and economical concessions, grounds where the “Get in the Hole Guy” is an extinct species, and the view of Amen Corner from the top of the hill on 11 for the first time or the thirtieth is majestic. Way too much today is oversold and habitually under-delivers but the Masters still provides an experience that is not only redeemable but memorable. It holds tight to tradition while evolving in logistical and technological ways that are industry-defining, but they adhere to the little things that will always separate it from too many sporting events that have made staying home a bonafide option.
by Gary Williams | Mar 15, 2023 | Blog
Have you ever had a conversation with someone, and it was very clear that your opinions were divergent and reaching a common place was unlikely? It is usually during those moments that one or both of the impassioned voices will utter the most reliable and disingenuous disclaimer ever voiced, “With all due respect”. It’s these moments where civility and a modicum of respect for the other point of view are on life support. It is likely to be that time now in the industry of golf as the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient have laid down their collective marker regarding their proposed answer to the ever-increasing distance in the game of golf at its highest levels. Where do we all go from here?
I’m not going to share the finite and technical details of the proposed modified local rule proposal right here because you can simply find those details anywhere and this is more about what now than what is it? The time it has taken to get to this place has been excruciating and for the governing bodies it’s been the white whale for decades. Governance is a thankless business and now more than ever, with blue check marks for sale, the opinions of the masses are weightier or at least louder. Change is discomforting and governing a game where scratch players think they can Monday qualify for tour events and grillroom legends think they have a vision for golf course design which would entice Dr. Mackenzie to want to pull up a chair to learn a thing or two about the craft, are plentiful. The game of golf is enjoying high times right now and naturally there were immediate outcries that now was not the time to make significant changes to the game, primarily at the elite level. That is one of too many lazy and half-cocked responses to the local rule proposal. Actually, there is no better time than right now to forge ahead with the changes because of what the future holds, and moreover, making any real change when times are bad generally reeks of desperation. This change for all the outcry is not about tomorrow. First off, it would not come into effect until January of 2026, but this change is as much about 2076 as it is about a couple years from now. The reactions from some would suggest the governing bodies are coming after their wallets and the truth is MANY who are invested in the game in different ways only see it that way. So, for any righteous indignation emoting from companies and individuals about the distance reduction ask yourself what is it that they have to lose? Maybe nothing, but to them they may have a very good thing going and they don’t want it to change. That’s not an unreasonable or unnatural reaction to have but it certainly doesn’t guarantee that they are actually thinking about the welfare of the game. Many simply are not. They are thinking about potential lost market share and for some of the elite players the potential loss of some competitive advantage. The game is inherently selfish, and I promise you many of the outcries I heard upon the release of this proposal are just that, selfish.
Bifurcation is an amazing word. No other 11 letter word sounds like a four-letter word to so many. It is now being weaponized by companies making equipment for all to use as the only thing that separates golf from dizzy bat. I’m sensitive to the cost associated with the research and development of an elite ball that would be required by all the manufacturers. I also recognize the economies of scale that are associated with mass production of balls used by all. However, there are several ball makers who already manufacture balls for a finite subset of the professional game. I also think there is merit to the ongoing premise that golf as a participatory sport makes the argument that we all play the same thing an argument with some merit. However, the rules that elite players abide by and the equipment that is built for them by the same manufacturing companies that consumers purchase from are barely recognizable to each other. Bifurcation has existed in golf for decades and decades and creating a local rule for the long-term betterment of the game for our grandchildren will not tear the game apart.
The challenge right now is to cut through the propaganda on both sides and get to the real issues and real concerns that are and will continue to be masked by players and equipment companies who will profess a commitment to and for the well-being of the game when in reality they care about their stock price and their bonus pools. Neither of which has to be affected at all starting in 2026.
Where do you think the cost of trying to keep up with the changes required in the game have been felt for the past 20 years? Not by the elite players who are making obscene amounts of money, not by the manufacturing companies who have been enjoying record profits but by the consumer who pays dues, initiation fees and green fees at every entry point of the game. Plus, the planned obsolescence when each club company rolls out a new driver that is longer every single year that you can’t live without. The thirst for more yardage, new tees, faster greens, which comes at an extraordinary price tag gets peddled onto the recreational golfer. Restoration and renovations are far outpacing new construction and these projects cost millions and millions per facility. So, this plea to not put the cost exclusively on the ball companies rings hollow. Assessments, initiation fees, monthly dues have all been exponentially increased as distance has continued to go up. Augusta National has deep pockets but they paid in the tens of millions for a strip of land owned by their next-door neighbor just to try to insure the viability of their most famous, amongst all of the famous holes, on their golf course.
As for the leading players in the game acting as if this is blasphemous, their words and their statements have little to no weight. Justin Thomas called the USGA selfish. This on the heels of the PGA Tour’s best players closing off most entry points to their biggest tournaments to ensure the continued gravy train of new cash in the system, produced in large measure from the existence and presence of LIV golf, going to a small pool of players. Any player who advanced the idea last summer in Delaware of turning the designated event series into a grab ass of 40 to 60 players needs to sit this conversation out. They were thinking only about themselves and their newfound leverage as a way to make more at the expense of the overwhelming majority of the tour’s membership and its future members. It’s hard to see beyond what something might mean other than what it means to you right now but that is exactly what this proposal is intended to do. This is not easy, and it will require a fair amount of forward and unselfish thinking. Many of the voices who can and are heard every day are paid messengers. For all the concern about not being able to play what the players play because they have so much influence over the recreational golfer, why have the equipment companies turned away from paying top players as much or as many to paying “influencers”… many of whom couldn’t break wind in a baked bean eating contest yet they have value now because their audiences are dedicated and have exhibited brand loyalty. I’m not sure of their feelings about a distance reduction but when and if I hear similar talking points that equipment manufacturers released after the announcement being regurgitated by paid messengers then those words are weaker than water.
Finally, this initiative was going to have to be taken on by some front person and in the case of the USGA its Mike Whan. Mike has a varied background which included a chapter in a marketing capacity. He will have to sell this to not only the invested golf companies and organizations who run elite golf events, but he will have to be accessible to the people who talk the game, many of whom will want a pound of flesh. Some people were cut out for certain jobs and Mike Whan is the right person to advance this because he’s pragmatic and a good communicator. The best communicators are great listeners and Whan is that, plus he is wired for performance without it feeling like it’s just for show. He will be equipped with all the data points, but his greatest strength is his willingness to not only see the other side but recognize the merits of the opposition to the proposal. I worry about the sustainability of not only the most cherished courses in the world but also the never-ending necessity to keep up. I want to see the examination of the best players be more thorough and that is also being compromised. Speed is a skill, and its refinement is jaw dropping and I do not want to see that severely diminished, and I do not think that will be the case as all early evidence is that the longest may experience an even greater reward than before. Those things are to be determined. Let’s all try to see beyond who gets affected most right now and I understand that is not normal in the human condition. Let’s also acknowledge the real concerns and challenges both sides of this argument have and listen to them without resorting to name calling. And if you are one to scream that amateurs with 15 handicaps shouldn’t be governing the game, please lose the lazy line or just sit this discussion out because these “amateurs” are devoting their lives to the game and study it every waking moment, from rules, to equipment testing standards to course and agronomic conditions. These are serious people making serious decisions. I support the distance reduction, but I want this conversation to be constructive and I will remember, like I hope you can, that reasonable minds can differ.
by Gary Williams | Mar 6, 2023 | Blog
Comparison is the thief of joy. And so why is so much of life spent doing just that? Bigger house, bigger car, bigger job, longer off the tee and so on. It’s a constant and what do we derive from all the comparisons other than envy and resentment? It’s not totally unhealthy or unconstructive to find measuring sticks because they can also serve to motivate and inspire. But the sports talk “gasbaggery” that permeates our world is continually and constantly polluted with comparisons of not just now, but of all time. These discussions parse everything down to who did what and where. The where is central to the weight of the discussion.
Since the Players Championship was born in 1974, and subsequently more so since it moved to its permanent home at the Stadium Course at the home of the PGA Tour, the event has grown in scope, size, purse, and stature. It’s a massive event and its enormity is only matched by a few events in the sport. But for many, it’s not enough. Some players, some media and some fans want it to be a major. It’s not, and that’s more than ok. It’s the crown jewel of the best tour in the world boasting a massive global reach across television and streaming audiences. It has an astronomical purse which outpaces the four majors by millions of dollars. It resides at a time on the calendar where the NBA season is crawling to its merciful regular season finish and is still almost three months from crowning a champion. Additionally, college basketball does not hold the place it once did with the sporting public other than the constant fever for legalized wagering. And finally, it is played on a golf course that is recognizable, that elicits opinion on its merits, and is home to one of the most provocative holes in golf, let alone championship golf, in the 17th. Add in the strength of field, which is void of qualifiers and amateurs, and it’s the sternest examination of global championship field depth in tournament golf. Despite all that, some want more. They want the MAJOR title.
The evolution of what we now consider the grand slam of golf took decades to be established. Amateur golf was the standard in the game and golf’s professional game didn’t become firmly entrenched until after Bobby Jones retirement in 1930. It took time for the Masters tournament to ascend from the perception of regal fellowship to a colossal achievement upon in winning.
As Brandel Chamblee expertly and snidely said a few years ago on his own podcast about Gene Sarazen completing the career grand slam at Augusta National in 1935, “What he won at that time was the equivalent of winning the Hero World Challenge”… the end of year boondoggle for less than 20 players put on by Tiger Woods. The four men’s majors have comfortably held that status for roughly 75 years and up until recently the advancement, albeit modest, to include the Players as a major was from only a handful of media members. The kingmakers of American sports journalism could share opinion, help drive initiatives and without arm-wrestling readers help them form their own thoughts on what was and wasn’t of real value in sports. The notion of bestowing major championship status on any event in golf, specifically the Players Championship, faces a brutally more demanding evaluation than it would have even ten years ago. The mass proliferation of digital media and the behemoth that is social media at large has given every solitary fan of golf their own digital voice for consent or dissent. And no, the idea of a fifth major is not only insulting, it’s harmful to the brand. Sports have fundamental and romantic connections to numerical value and distinction. The Grand Slam is FOUR yesterday, today and always.
The whataboutisms to senior golf and women’s golf are a waste of time. Senior golf is highly competitive, and they also drive carts. Women’s golf has faced countless challenges with far more majors that had the status and then didn’t exist, plus the decision to create a fifth major was to placate a sponsor. A couple years ago, in a joint meeting with the PGA Tour and management, production and on-air staff for Golf Channel, I asked Jay Monahan if he liked people in the golf industry advancing the idea of the Players as the fifth major. He said at that time it wasn’t something he could control but did I have a point with the question. I did. Why would anyone want to strive to be recognized as fifth in anything especially with the notion you are equal to the other four. You would either be a major or you would not be a major. It’s already established that people rank the weight of the four majors and inevitably the PGA Championship comes in fourth (except for winners of only the PGA and their families) but they are firmly entrenched at the table. Moreover, nobody looks at the total majors won by Nicklaus, Woods and Hogan and does anything other than count the total. Trying to shoehorn the Players into major championship status will never come at the expense of the existing majors. The riptide of opposition to the declaration of major status whether by a television partner of the tour, media members or by the tour itself would be so self-defeating it’s not worth the advancement. Many things have certainly changed in men’s professional golf in the last seven decades but the four biggest events in the game as the bedrock of historical achievement have not. Finally, the existence of LIV Golf has separated the majors from the rest of the men’s game as the last four locales where the very best players in the world compete. LIV is not going anywhere, and the absence, starting with the defending champion, in addition to a dozen, at minimum, players capable of contending makes the Players less in potential depth of field than it was only last year.
There has been too much of the diminishing of achievement in elite sports. I’ve always appreciated and found division titles, conference titles and accomplishments less than the ultimate trophy as bold type on anyone’s resume. Winning a Players Championship is a massive accomplishment. Bullying the general public into accepting that it is more than that is counter-productive and a fool’s errand. Golf’s newer wave of independent thinkers and content creators are bright and righteous, and they hold the attention of a wide swath of the viewing audience. Pushing the major agenda only distracts and decays the event on the platforms that are also earnestly invested in covering it. Let it be what is. It’s the best win of all the events the best tour runs. That’s pretty major without ever being a major.
by Gary Williams | Mar 2, 2023 | Blog
One of the great and valuable lessons in life is to learn from your mistakes. Repeating ill-fated plans or procedures is not only a clear sign of stubbornness, but it also strongly suggests that the most capable businesspeople may not be in charge. In a period of rapid and profound change on the PGA Tour, much of it was driven by the existence of LIV Golf. They have now decided what the future looks like, and it feels familiar and soft. The details of the structure of the new Designated Events are disappointing and it didn’t have to be this way.
For all the hand wringing and public sniping at and about Greg Norman by many top players in the world he has been the impetus for two significant shifts in men’s professional golf in the last 25 years. First, his desire to create a world tour in the late 90’s was squashed from within and from it came the World Golf Championship Series. It was more like the United States Golf Championship Series and another country to be named later. It produced the coming together of more top players beyond the four majors and a few other elite events, and re-introduced no cut events to men’s professional golf after they disappeared from the game almost altogether once television and Sunday finishes became the norm. There are still a few no cut events, mostly composed of very short fields, like the Tournament of Champions and the Tour Championship, and now with shorter fields in the FedEx Cup playoff events you can add them to the list. World Golf Championships were no cut events with smaller fields generally 78 players and the match play event was 64 players with a bracket that eventually eliminated the best Wednesday in golf. There is very little competition for that title but the jeopardy of 32 players being eliminated on the first day was great television. The problem that the tour and its sponsors argued is that stars were being bounced early more often than top-seeded teams coached by Rick Barnes. (Just a reminder to all you Tennessee fans that the reckoning is coming. It’s what Rick does.) So even the mildly confrontational match play event took on the softness of the other stroke events in the series. Furthermore, the small field, no cut formula that is being reported will be the construct of the designated events in 2024 and it smells all too similar to LIV Golf… minus the shotgun starts with optional transfusions and cargo shorts.
The Tour is at the mercy to a great degree to the wishes of their stars and their stars have the “hand”. As was famously said in an exchange between George Costanza and his girlfriend in an episode of Seinfeld as George was trying to display his power in the relationship. “But I have hand!!!” he pleaded. Her dismissive response was, “and you’re going to use it”. Not exactly the predicament the players face today. They truly control the direction of the tour because of all the leverage they’ve gained from the presence of LIV offers. But the players are missing part of the plot. Yes, people tune in for the stars and their engagement with each other propel the big interest in the sport. However, the sport will always need to keep the door open for the underdog. The underdog has always woven their own thread through the history of great moments, especially in the biggest events. When Max Homa won the Wells Fargo championship, and outplayed Rory McIlroy playing with him in 2019, he was ranked 417th in the world rankings. He would not be in the field under the new make-up of the designated events of which Wells Fargo is one this year. Homa is now a top 10 player in the world and the belief and sense of belonging started there. It’s not to say that his ascension would not have still happened, but that beginning was memorable because it was on a huge stage. Ultimately talent will never be denied if it is matched with commitment and drive but the realization on the biggest stages are what sports have always been about.
Stars deserve the most money and now more than ever the biggest stars and best players are getting paid the lion share of the purses all the way down to the Player Impact Program (PIP), which is a glorified Q rating with an algorithm. The PGA Tour is championship golf. They had the opportunity to split the difference between the frivolity of 54 holes, no cuts and shotguns and maintain the edge of bonafide fields with at least a hundred players and the jeopardy of a 36-hole cut. Instead, they’ve opted for, what at first blush, feels more like a cool speak-easy with a secret handshake and the top players get to play with the house’s chips.
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