Distance Insights: Robust Survey Of Fans Suggests Long Ball Prioritization Is Overrated, Especially On TV

I’ve jumped ahead in the Distance Insights Report released this week based on the responses this week suggesting distance is something cherished above all else by fans and recreational golfers.

The USGA and R&A’s “online attitudinal survey” received 67,862 responses from 115 countries over two months and while I’d urge reading the report, a few numbers stood out.

Contrary to the players and manufacturers responding to changes in course length, “98% golfers attribute changes in their hitting distance to their skill, fitness or equipment. Only 2% believe that the golf course they played contributed to the change in distance.”

Of those who drive longer (12,867 respondents), clubs and ball were cited as primary factors (Fig. 65):

As to whether distance is an issue in the sport, 17% of the “stakeholders” surveyed said it’s a major problem, while 31% called it a minor problem. And 36% said no problem, meaning 48% of respondents see it as some form of problem for the sport (Fig. 67).

Recreational golfers also placed “hitting a long drive” lower on their overall list of priorities, again, contrary to the fairly consistent narrative that gaining distance is a primary motivation to play golf (Fig. 70). Only 6% disagreed with the idea that accuracy should be a more important factor. A whopping 60% said the sport should be more about accuracy than distance:

And the global survey’s most powerful slide of all: what elements golf fans find most interesting.

Figure 73, supported but a healthy number of respondents (29,448), shows that there “there is a low level of interest in the elite/professional game being dominated by any one element.”

Most votes for what makes things “interesting” went to tracer (45%), recovery shots (44%), stars (42%) and venues 39%), while long drives (10%) and golf history (10%) drew the same level of “interesting.”

Premier: 2020 Genesis Invitational Lands 9 Of World Top 10, 19 Of Top 25

Poor Pebble Beach could only draw six of the world top 30, but the first Genesis “Invitational” with a smaller field, three-year exemption and Tiger Woods presence. The Genesis lands 9 of the top 10, and 19 of the top 25. A premier, eh em, field.

For Immediate Release:

WORLD’S TOP PLAYERS – TIGER WOODS, BROOKS KOEPKA, RORY MCILROY, JON RAHM, JUSTIN THOMAS, DUSTIN JOHNSON AND 2019 CHAMPION J.B. HOLMES – HEADLINE 2020 GENESIS INVITATIONAL FIELD

The majority of the 121-player field for The Genesis Invitational was confirmed today. The 94th edition of the tournament and its first year with invitational status, will be held Feb. 10-16 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

The $9.3 million Genesis Invitational field is highlighted by the top six players in the Official World Golf Ranking, and nine of the world’s top 10 golfers: tournament host, 2019 Masters champion, 82-time PGA TOUR winner and 15-time major champion Tiger Woods; World No. 1, 2019 PGA Championship winner and four-time major champion Brooks Koepka; World No. 2 and reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year Rory McIlroy; World No. 3 Jon Rahm; World No. 4, 12-time PGA TOUR winner and current PGA TOUR FedExCup points leader Justin Thomas; World No. 5, 20-time PGA TOUR winner and 2017 tournament champion at Riviera Dustin Johnson; World No. 8 Patrick Cantlay; World No. 9 Xander Schauffele; World No. 10 and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Justin Rose; defending champion and five-time PGA TOUR winner J.B. Holmes; three-time event winner and 2012 and 2014 Masters champion Bubba Watson; and 44-time PGA TOUR winner, 2012 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, five-time major champ and 2008 and 2009 tournament champion Phil Mickelson.

The Genesis Invitational field includes six PGA TOUR FedExCup champions – McIlroy (2016, 2019), Rose (2018), Thomas (2017), Jordan Spieth (2015), Jim Furyk (2010), and Woods (2007, 2009) – and 25 of the top 30 in the 2019-20 FedExCup standings.

Overall, The Genesis Invitational field includes 19 of the top 25 golfers in the world, 19 major champions who have combined to win 46 majors, and 91 golfers who have amassed 468 PGA TOUR titles. Operated by TGR Live, The Genesis Invitational raises funds and awareness for the TGR Foundation.

The full field and, for a change, promising weather forecast (above) if you don’t mind cool (dry!) mornings and evenings.

Norman On Premier League: "The whole idea of owning a team is something I wish I’d thought about in my concept.”

Yes, he takes his shirt off way too often for a grown man and sees himself as the living brand. He’s also not good with a hedge trimmer in his hand.

But one thing I’ve heard repeatedly upon news of a hostile world tour concept surfacing: Greg Norman was ahead of his time. And we all know Tim Finchem took those ideas in the early 1990s, maybe outplayed Norman, and the PGA Tour adapted with the World Golf Championships.

But as the World Golf Group pushes an individual and team concept, fans and media are trying to wrap their heads around what it all means. Golf.com’s James Colgan talked to Greg Norman after the Shark’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia where he praised the concept but was light on what exactly he saw as smart about the Premier Golf League.

Turns out, he’s been briefed and likes it way more than he initially let on. Some of the quotes from Colgan’s story will not go over well parts of northern Florida.

“Why would they rule it out when you actually look at the financials?” Norman asked. “If you’re a player, my gosh, you’re a professional, so you play golf for a living to make money. When you see the compelling numbers that are in front of these guys, you wonder: how could you not pay attention?”

And so far, not one player of note has been able to completely rule out the proposals as worth considering.

As for the notion of 12 founding team owners who get to enjoy an investment (or sell it) after their playing days?

“The whole concept of owning a team, I think that’s brilliant,” he said. “So, as you fade away as a top player, you still own a team, like Formula 1. The whole idea of owning a team is something I wish I’d thought about in my concept.”

When you get the Shark admitting he hadn’t thought of something, you know you’re onto something.

There is also this comment related to the focus on the must-have stars and the need for this to work now, or never.

“I’m not talking about the players very much, and that’s because, if the concept is right, the players will always be there,” he said. “These guys are pass-through entities. The Tiger Woods’ of the world, the Rory McIlroy’s, the Koepka’s, the Dustin Johnson’s. These guys are eventually going to move on in time. But the concept is not.”

He also mentioned this about the primary funders, the Raine Group.

“There are smart people behind this. The Raine Group, they’re Wall Street geniuses,” Norman said. “They’re not doing this to give away money, they’re doing this to get a return on their investment.”

State Of The Game 102: The Show We Never Thought We'd Have; The First Cut With Kyle Porter

Pods!

So much to talk about and so many fun people to talk to in these wacky times, starting with a special State of the the Game where I promise we technophobic, Golden Age architect cultists don’t gloat too much about this week’s distance announcement. The show page.

And I spoke to The First Cut/CBSSports.com’s Kyle Porter about the distance report and the Premier Golf League story. Hit the link above, or play below, or just go and subscribe already!

Els A One-And-Done Presidents Cup Captain: "I can understand why people become dictators"

Alex Miceli with a MorningRead.com exclusive on Ernie Els passing up another shot at Captaining the International side.

This was an unusual quote:

“I’m, like, I want to do it. There is so much of me that wants to do it, but I know the hardest thing is to step away,” Els said. “I can understand why people become dictators. You can get hooked on that power.”

Acushnet Unveils Lifestyle Brand Ball: "Decidedly more flat brim and quite a bit less white sport coat"

Undoubtedly after millions of R&D and research costs, here is MyGolfSpy’s summary of the new pro-union, cool kids ball from Titleist.

The Union Green is as much about creating a culture as it is delivering performance. Compared to Titleist, it’s decidedly more flat brim and quite a bit less white sport coat. The Union Green vibe is cool and casual, and the intent is to appeal to a demographic for whom golf isn’t life itself, but instead is one of a varied number of excuses to hang out with friends, toss back a few beers, and have a good time. No polo shirt, no golf shoes, no problem. Dogs allowed, apparently.

A lifestyle brand golf ball for the cool kids!

Now, if we could get a lifestyle brand ball for the Golden Age-worshiping woke “architect gurus”!

Titleist's Off-Shoot Brand Makes Fun Of The Titleist Lifestyle

They don’t wear Footjoys, tuck in shirts and this from Titleist/Acushnet’s new faux under par lifestyle brand’s website, launched Friday with two low-priced golf balls for people playing for reasons, well....

We’re not the golfers you see on tour. We’re different. The ones playing local, taking mulligans, over celebrating and always going for it. Club Championships, rule books, 18 holes every time - that's not our game. We’re here for golf that fits our life. For fellowship. For the love of the fairway. We're united by the game.

how incredible to see the Acushnet, parent company of Titleist, mocking the very world its Titleist brand lovers embrace—club championships, rule books, 18 holes, playing the game the right way and cherishing tradition. And paying handsomely for the dozen balls that signify a certain belief in a classic American-made product.

Wild.

I’ve seen some tearing down of amazing businesses in hopes of attracting three millennials, or the attention of the CEO’s children. But I never thought the day would come with one of America’s most storied brands, built on a perceived respect for the core values of the sport, would seek to outdo the PGA Tour’s loathsomely silly Live Under Par campaign.

Anyway, amazing times! Good luck Union Green. I’ve got “Website Not Responding” a year from now in the GeoffShackelford.com office pool.

Golf Pros Who Put The Game Above Themselves When It Comes To The Distance Debate

While golf’s move to placing players above the game has never been better highlighted of late when immediately seeking their views on distance, something strange has happened. While we still have some weird, even delusional comments in response to the USGA/R&A stance that something must change, an equal number are coming around. This is a huge change from even a few years ago.

Graeme McDowell, as reported by GolfChannel.com’s Randall Mell:

“When it starts to affect the integrity of some of the greatest courses in the game, where you don’t have a lot of real estate left to make changes, there’s a problem,” McDowell told GolfChannel.com. “To me, when they moved the 17th tee at the Old Course, I was like, 'Is that necessary?' It’s one of the most iconic tee shots in the world.”

“If this continues, continues, continues, and we fast forward into the future, it could become silly,” he said. “I guess I generally agree with [the project’s conclusion]. I don’t think we want to continue the way we are going. It really needs to stop somewhere.”

Padraig Harrington, who may want to get a golf ball tester for his next batch of Titleist’s, as reported by Adam Schupak at Golfweek:

“I’ve told him I 100-percent support a rollback for the golf courses. It’s purely because of the cost to the golf course – the size, the maintenance, the water, all the costs. There are great golf courses that can’t be used. Roll it back and start again,” he said. “My personal opinion is I would set new specifications and the let the manufacturers have another race to the top. If the ball was rolled back 10 percent, we’d all start again and off we’d go.

“I’m with Titleist, which I think has the best ball now, and they’re a big enough company that if they had to start from scratch, they’d be the best ball again.

Remember Wally, I just copy and paste this stuff.

Sorry, go on Padraig…

“It would be a shock to the system, to the manufacturers, sure. There’s a risk when you have a company like Titleist that has the largest market share. They would like the status quo but I think they are in the best place to produce the next best ball under the new parameters.  Let them compete again. I think Titleist would actually gain from it.”

There is, of course, Jack Nicklaus who has been consistent on this topic since the late 1970s. He took to Twitter to express his joy at the news of the USGA and R&A:

Now that they have clear findings obtained from century of collecting data & its impact on all levels—from golf played at highest level to recreational golf—I look forward to supporting industry’s collaborative effort to find solutions that are in best interest of game’s future.

— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) February 4, 2020

As many know, this has been an important topic to me for years, if not decades, and I have been passionate about my position. I applaud the @USGA and @RandA for their comprehensive research, as well as their continued hard work and efforts. Pleased the process has started ... https://t.co/AQPILal0MO

— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) February 4, 2020

For those hoping to hear what younger guys think, check out the comments here from Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm acknowledged in 2017 that something will have to be done. The clips aired on Golf Central this week for the first time.

Rahm notes that at some point the distance chase will make golf “not as attractive to watch” while Thomas says, “They’re going to have to change some technology things…there’s going to be a big change at some point, whether it’s the golf ball or the driver.”

Lows And Highs From College Golf: Grieving Enloe Steps Down, Showcase Returns To Riviera

Jason Enloe stepped down as SMU’s golf coach, still struggling with his wife Katie’s passing from leukemia and a dreadful aftermath that includes a legal entanglement with in-laws.

Ryan Lavner files a GolfChannel.com must read on Enloe’s admirable decision and continued grieving not long after his SMU team made an improbably run at the 2019 NCAA’s.

Normally fun-loving and gregarious, Enloe retreated socially and moped around the house, caring for little else other than his two girls, Emma, 7, and Maddie, 4. He questioned everything – his parenting skills, his coaching ability, his new relationship, his growing rift with his in-laws. He felt lethargic. Stopped taking care of himself. Developed dark thoughts.

“Grief has no rules. It has no stages,” he said. “Psychologists say that there’s this stage and then this stage, but that’s bulls---. You can go to counseling and talk about grief, but it’s not foolproof. Time is the only thing that can minimize how it feels and when it comes and how you deal with it.”

And time, of course, is a precious commodity for a college coach at a major program. He’s the point person who has to travel, recruit, fundraise and, yes, lead a roster of 18- to 22-year-olds who have complex personalities and differing needs.

In happier news, one of the more underrated college golf days of the year returns stronger than ever with the 6th annual Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase. The deepest field yet will be playing for a spot in the Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods later that week at Riviera

Good luck to the collegiate players who have the chance at a life-changing week and tip of the cap to all involved for continuing to build on this fine tradition.

For Immediate Release, with details on Monday’s open-to-the-public day that includes PGA Tour pros playing with the groups:

TOP COLLEGIATE GOLFERS TO COMPETE AT RIVIERA

FOR SPOT IN THE 2020 GENESIS INVITATIONAL

Professional alums join pro-am competitors, with winning team earning a donation to their alma mater’s golf program

LOS ANGELES – The Genesis Invitational kicks off its tournament week at The Riviera Country Club on Monday, February 10 with the Collegiate Showcase, featuring top collegiate players vying for an exemption into the 2020 Genesis Invitational field. The Collegiate Showcase tees off at 8 a.m. The event features an individual stroke-play competition for the collegiate entries, with the low collegiate golfer earning a spot in The Genesis Invitational 2020 field. The expected collegiate athletes competing in the 2020 showcase include:

School  Collegiate Player* 

University of Kentucky Alex Goff 

University of Kentucky Allen Hamilton

University of Nevada, Las Vegas Jack Trent

Odessa College Jose Dibildox 

Pepperdine University Clay Feagler

Pepperdine University Josh McCarthy

University of Southern California Yuxin Lin

San Jose State University  Sean Yu

University of Texas Spencer Soosman

Texas Tech University Kyle Hogan

University of Washington  Jan Schneider 

University of Washington  Noah Woolsey 

University of Wyoming  Kirby Coe-Kirkham 

*Players subject to change

2020 marks the sixth time the tournament has hosted the Collegiate Showcase. Past winners of the event who earned an exemption into the PGA TOUR event at Riviera are Kentucky’s Lukas Euler (2019), Texas’ Scottie Scheffler (2018), Pepperdine’s Sahith Theegala (2017), Illinois’ Charlie Danielson (2016) and Wake Forest’s Will Zalatoris (2015).

The Collegiate Showcase also features a pro-am style event with teams comprised of a PGA TOUR pro and two amateurs representing their alma mater. Professionals expected to tee it up at Riviera on Monday include defending champion J.B. Holmes (Kentucky), Abraham Ancer (Odessa), Ryan Moore (UNLV), CT Pan (Washington), Andrew Putnam (Pepperdine) and Jhonattan Vegas (Texas) among others. The three-man pro-am teams compete against each other in best-ball play, with the lowest scoring team winning a $50,000 donation to the school’s golf program. For the second straight year, the tournament has collaborated with the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) to help educate college golf programs on the unique opportunity available by participating in the event.

Better Late Than Never: Little Known Golf Architect Joseph Bartholomew's New York Times Obituary

Joseph Bartholomew (second from left)

While the The New York Times has always been the paper of record for obituaries since 1851, they too had an unfortunately tendency to ignore important lives based on skin color. As part of their Overlooked project, they’ve posted this wonderful remembrance of we’re adding the stories of remarkable people such as Joseph Bartholomew.

He is believed to have learned from Seth Raynor after coming into the game first as a caddie, and also later as a professional and course designer. He created several important courses in Louisiana and yet, was never permitted to play the courses he designed.

From Roy S. Johnson’s N.Y. Times obituary:

Bartholomew was in his 30s, in the early 1920s, when local golfers, impressed with his interest in the game and his work as a groundskeeper, collaborated to send him to a golf architecture school in New York, where he studied with the golf course architect Seth Raynor.

“Whooo, but I was surprised,” Bartholomew told Fortune magazine in 1949. “They gave me a whole bunch of money and told me to go and find the best course in the world and bring it back.”

He did even better, returning with the design for a course composed of holes modeled on famous ones at courses throughout the United States and Scotland.

The golfers liked it, and hired him to build it. Opening in the ’20s, it was called Metairie Counrty Club, and he was named its first club professional. But while he was permitted to give lessons, he was not allowed to play a round of golf there. Indeed, he was hired to design and build several more golf courses in the area for white golfers but barred from playing them.

Five Families Early Polling: Rollback 3, Distance Sells 2

A case could be made for the LPGA Tour and European Tour bringing golf’s power family total to seven, but let’s be realistic: there are still only five families with a prime seat at the table.

The USGA, R&A, Augusta National, PGA Tour and PGA of America all have the power to sway votes and alter the course of history.

Only one of those aforementioned families carries a vote capable of doubling or tripling in times of regulatory crisis, and that’s Augusta National.

So as we assess reactions to the Distance Insights Study and consider the language suggesting action is needed to end expanding distance cycles, maybe we should start caucusing the families.

The USGA and R&A can safely be registered as votes after statements made in the “Conclusions” document.

The PGA Tour and PGA of America have indicated they are opposed to change in recent years, but at least took a slightly less hostile approach in the report’s wake.

And Augusta National, home of the Masters?

When contacted, the club offered no new statement regarding the Distance Insights Study, but instead pointed to past remarks by Chairman Fred Ridley as indicative of their position.

From the Chairman’s press conference in 2019:

“Although we now have options to increase the length of this hole, we intend to wait to see how distance may be addressed by the governing bodies before we take any action.  In doing so, we fully recognize that the issue of distance presents difficult questions with no easy answers.  But please know this:  The USGA and The R&A do have the best interests of the game at heart.  They recognize the importance of their future actions.  You can be assured that we will continue to advocate for industry‑wide collaboration in support of the governing bodies as they resolve this very important topic.”

A year prior:

“We have been consistent in expressing our confidence in the governing bodies, and we will continue to support their efforts.  Although differing views may well, in fact, exist on the subject among golf's major stakeholders, we hope and strongly encourage all who are a part of our sport to work together in the best interest of the game as this important issue evolves.”

Note the jump from advocating togetherness in 2018 to a full endorsement of the USGA/R&A in 2019.

Therefore, Augusta National would appear to support the notion of breaking “the cycle” of increasingly longer hitting distance and of efforts to restore “a broad and balanced set of playing skills” as the primary determinant of success.

I believe that puts things at 3-2, with those three votes representing the three most prestigious championship titles in golf. And while playing those under a different set of equipment rules would not be ideal, a splintered scenario has happened before and could be the outcome should the Tour’s and PGA of America decide to hold their ground.

Fried Egg Podcast 170: Talking Distance Report From The Architecture Perspective, PGL And More

Andy Johnson flew all the way to LA to taste delicious Bixby Coffee and with a variety of major golf stories related to preferred topics, asked me to sit for a lengthy chat about the USGA/R&A Distance Study, the Premier Golf League, the upcoming Genesis at Riviera and even how to cope with folks who whine about losing distance. In five years. Maybe.

The iTunes link is here and you can find the Fried Egg Golf Podcast wherever fine shows are streamed.

PGA Tour Spokesman: "We feel today's game is more exciting than ever for our fans"

Rex Hoggard of GolfChannel.com examines the likelihood of the PGA Tour not going quietly on the distance issue, even though their initial statement after the Distance Insights Study exuded peace and prosperity! Silly me for thinking Live Under Par culture could be restrained for long.

Hoggard writes:

However, asked specifically if the Tour considers increasing distance gains a “problem,” a spokesman for the circuit offered a slightly less sanitized version: “The PGA Tour will continue to work with the USGA and the R&A in monitoring trends. At this point, we feel today’s game is more exciting than ever for our fans and the integrity of the competitions are intact – we still see a diverse set of winners on the PGA Tour and our examination of the data reveals that the skills involved in winning a PGA Tour event remain largely unchanged. But we are carefully reviewing the findings in the Distance Insights Report and we will collaborate with all of our industry partners, including the USGA and the R&A, on the next steps in the process.”

Down boy, down!

Is this a bad time to note that Sunday’s Golf Channel’s pre-coverage of the 2020 Waste Management Open lost to Hallmark Channel’s Kittlen Bowl VII and CBS’s final round coverage was way down for this more exciting than ever golf?

Hoggard added this commentary:

Clutch putting will always be a central element of the game – along with ball-striking, the short game and course management – but fans don’t tune in to watch players convert 3-footers for par. Fans want to see long drives and birdies and eagles and excitement. Anything that endangers that simple formula is going to be heavily and understandably scrutinized.

An excess of seeing three-footers is a television issue.

And last I looked, the highest rated, best attended golf tournament featuring the toughest ticket in sports, shows us just a few tee shots. The roars all come at the greens.

Guardian: World Cup Eyed As Possible $10 Million Mixed Event

The Guardian’s Ewan Murray says the biennial World Cup may get a purse bump and female professionals joining the event. It’s not clear if they would compete as a mixed partners event, though that seems likely.

Origin Sports Group, where the multimillionaire Sir Keith Mills is a director, has been integral to the World Cup project. Australia hosted it last November but even the event’s place in the golfing calendar may be subject to change, with venues in Europe and the Middle East expressing interest in the World Cup under a fresh guise.

Nothing is expected to be in place by the time the World Cup tees off this year – with Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry to defend the trophy on behalf of Belgium – but alterations for 2022 are entirely plausible.

With this week’s Vic Open and the European Tour’s mixed event hosted by Stenson and Sorenstam, it would seem only a matter of time before a big purse and established name such as the World Cup makes this long overdue move.

2020 Waste Management Ratings Hit Nine-Year Low

Paulsen at SportsMediaWatch.com reports the nine-year-low Waste Management Open ratings despite a solid leaderboard and compelling finish on CBS. Webb Simpson defeated Tony Finau on the first playoff hole for his sixth PGA Tour win.

Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Phoenix Open averaged a 1.75 rating and 2.87 million viewers on CBS, marking the tournament’s smallest final round audience since 2011 (2.70M). Webb Simpson’s playoff win, which ended shortly before the Super Bowl began, declined 30% in ratings and viewership from both last year and 2018 (2.5, 4.08M).

Third round action on Saturday averaged a 1.45 and 2.19 million, down 16% in both measures from last year (1.7, 2.60M) and down 30% and 34% respectively from 2018 (2.1, 3.30M).

Last year’s Waste Management featuring Rickie Fowler drew a 2.5/4.075 viewers, a six-year high on NBC due to it being a CBS Super Bowl year, which was the event’s second largest audience ever.

According to ShowBuzzDaily, the early round weekend coverage drew nice-sized audiences as long as you are not an age-discriminating ad executive, where the coveted 18-49’s were in short supply (126k, 132k averages).

Sunday’s .1 placed the early coverage 61st among cable shows, edging out Nickelodeon’s Lego Jurassic World.