to limitations placed on his equipment? In a game that can be frustrating, why would anyone want to limit the average hacker that pays for tee times, golf equipment and watches golf on their big screen. That brings me to the next culprits, the PGA Tour and the rival LIV. The LIV is raiding the best talent from the PGA Tour for exorbitant sums of money, which lowers the quality of product the PGA Tour is producing for the golfing public. When the PGA Tour negotiated their most recent television contracts, CBS, NBC and ESPN pay the tour over $700 million annually to broadcast tournaments on their respective media platforms. In addition, the Discovery Channel pays $177 million every year for international broadcast rights. million in 2024, up from $18 million last year. How long will sponsors pony up these large amounts of dollars to support the PGA Tour’s lack of star power and lower quality product? If television and sponsor money decreases, or even disappears, what becomes of the PGA Tour. Purses will decrease and tournaments will disappear, which lowers the professional’s ability to earn money. We hear the phrase, “Grow the Game” repeatedly from the USGA, PGA and the PGA Tour, I’m not sure how the PGA Tour going down the tubes and the USGA rolling back the golf ball will help “Grow the Game.” In fact, I feel that the golf industry is at the precipice of a sharp decline. Sponsors have been willing to shell out upwards of $20 million for the naming rights to individual tournaments. Between the FedEx St. Jude Classic and the FedEx Cup the huge logistics company shells out over $90 million annually. The winner of the FedEx Cup will receive $25 Michigan Golf Journal
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