by Craig Lemley | Feb 4, 2020 | 19th Hole, News
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That’s essentially what the proposed Premier Golf League (PGL) needs to figure out if it hopes to make good on its lofty goals.
Plans for the PGL have been in the works for years, but after the World Golf Group recently announced it hopes to launch the league in January 2022, it’s back in the headlines. “Rivaling” the PGA and European Tours, the PGL aims to host 48 of the world’s best players at 18 tournaments over eight months around the globe. The purses would be huge — $10 million per event, according to reports — with no cuts. Along with individual scoring the PGL would integrate a team format as well, ending the season with a team playoff event.
Here’s a quick look at the why, according to the WGG statement:
“If you want the world to watch, you have to showcase your best product, week-in-week-out. Golf doesn’t do that currently. … We believe we’ll succeed because the league is what fans, sponsors and broadcasters want — and the best players deserve. It will revitalise [sic] the sport for this and future generations.”
Fair enough. But now for the bigger question: How?
Recruiting “48 of the world’s best players” is a lot easier to say than it will be to do. A $10 million dollar purse per event isn’t a bad start, but then things get a little more complicated. For the PGL to become truly successful in the long term it also has to court broadcasters and major sponsors. Hard to imagine doing that with a yet-to-be filled roster of players the fans will tune in to see, and it’s hard to imagine filling that roster without broadcast and sponsorship backing. It’s the classic chicken and the egg dilemma from your intro to philosophy class.
Considering the year-round broadcasting schedules we already enjoy thanks to the PGA, LPGA, Euro, Korn Ferry and other tours, air time for an additional 18 3-day events seems scarce to begin with. And who knows how much more broadcasters would be willing to shell out for the rights of a brand new tour when the aforementioned are only growing more popular, and expensive. Sponsors may be easier to come by — may be — but that still hinges on what, or rather who, they’re sponsoring. Don’t expect much buy in if those names don’t include the actual best players in the world.
So it seems it’s all about who’s playing in the PGL, and it’s been a priority for the would-be tour to figure it out.
At the Farmers Insurance Open, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson confirmed talks have been going on for years, though both were far from offering an endorsement.
“I’m still quite a traditionalist, so to have that much of an upheaval in the game I don’t think is the right step forward,” McIlroy said during a press conference at Torrey Pines. “But I think, as I said, it might be a catalyst for some changes on this tour that can help it grow and move forward — you know, reward the top players the way they should be, I guess.”
Mickelson told reporters he doesn’t know enough about the proposed tour to comment publicly, but McIlroy also noted the PGL is “exploiting a couple holes” in top-level golf as we know it, recognizing it’s become just as much about the entertainment as it is the competition. That bodes well for the no-cut and team formats that would give fans more reason to stay tuned in, again if we’re actually the best golfers in the world.
The PGL will have no help from its predecessors in courting top players to its ranks, either, try as it might. The PGA and European Tours won’t even acknowledge its existence let alone allow their players to double dip. That leads to the question of what top-50 ranked player would want to join the un-tested PGL at the sake of losing their other tour status.
The PGA is one looking forward to its largest broadcasting windfall yet, and golf as a whole is in the midst of an upswing in popularity thanks to, you guessed it, extremely talented and young players. Credit where it’s due, they’ve done a lot to reach this point and shouldn’t feel obligated to share it with the new kid on the block. What’s more, like McIlroy said, established tours could simply implement PGL-like changes themselves, thus making a new tour totally irrelevant from the get go (I added that last part).
So what comes first, the league or the players? The WGG told everyone to mark their calendars and the countdown to 2022 is on. We’ll have to wait a see who’s first on the tee, if there even is one.
by Craig Lemley | Jul 1, 2019 | Destinations, Golf Courses, Reviews
TPC Colorado showcases everything Colorado Golf has to offer. (Photo by Jeff Kelly)
Less than a year since opening, the gorgeous TPC Colorado (2375 TPC Parkway, Berthoud) in northern Colorado is opening the door for the Centennial State to become a fixture for top-level competition once again. The state’s first from-scratch course development in 10 years is already making a name for itself as a premiere golf destination, and a worthy addition to the TPC network.
TPC Colorado covers nearly 8,000 yards of the picturesque landscape with stunning, sweeping views of Longs Peak, the front range and the gorgeous neighboring reservoirs. Though designed to be a long, challenging championship course for pros, Arthur Schaupeter Golf Course Architects have succeeded in creating a layout to be enjoyed by golfers of any level, with forward tees ranging from 4,000 to 7,600 yards in total. The course touts lush, undulating fairways winding their way along the shorelines to large green complexes guarded by strategically placed hazards. And with deep, stacked pot bunkers dotting the fescue-lined fairways, TPC Colorado definitely offers pros, members and guests a unique, mountain links-style challenge.
A sea of bunkers and natural hazard awaits to make the 773-yard par 5 even more difficult. (Photo by Jeff Kelly)
Nowhere is that challenge more evident than the longest par 5 — by far — on the course. Playing 773-yards from the tips, hole 13 is, well, intimidating to say the least. A wide-open landing area for your tee shot is really the only reprieve you’ll find until you reach the green. Safely off the tee, you’re pretty much guaranteed to “lay up” with your second, shorter players should favor the right side of the fairway to avoid a sea of bunkers and natural hazard inside the elbow of the doglegging fairway, but longer players can cut some of the corner back to the fairway for a shorter approach. Lying two, and a little more than halfway there, another targeted *long* approach is key to reach the green in regulation, avoiding another pot bunker greenside and thick downhill rough on the backside. Did I mentioned this is only the second hardest hole on the card? The title of hardest hole at TPC Colorado goes to the 624-yard par 5 at no.5. The long “S” shape fairway and a rash of deep, troublesome bunkers dictate your club selection and distance control from the get-go, leading to a slightly elevated triangle green.
Course conditions at TPC Colorado are everything you’d expect from a tour quality venue, meaning thick, troubling rough, perfect fairways and pure, fast greens. The deep, sod-stacked pot bunkers found on nearly every hole are as beautiful as they are difficult — and the perfect setting for a social media post — and the massive, crystal-clear waterscapes complete the feeling that this course is something special. The par 3 at no.8 comes straight from a golf fairytale, with manicured turf cutting through the trees on its way to the large green set in front of the reservoir. It’s only when you’re walking down that sliver of turf that you realize you’re all but surrounded by the crystal-clear waters of the lake. The large tress lining the hole grow straight out of the incredibly still water, creating an unworldly setting you can’t help but admire on your way to the green.
The picturesque par 3 at no.8 is nothing short of extraordinary. (Photo by Jeff Kelly)
Gorgeous par 3s are something of a theme at TPC Colorado, evidenced again at hole 16. The elevated tee boxes behind the clubhouse tower over an island green, set against the reservoir once again to provide the perfect backdrop to a memorable golf shot. But beware, unlike its no.8 counterpart, 16 hosts a little bit of trouble with natural hazard and pot bunkers catching anything short, and more sand and tall fescue forbidding anything long, leaving nothing but a small bailout short left of the green.
The importance of shot placement becomes more than evident at the no.4 tee box, the longest, most challenging par 4 on the card. Reachable fairway bunkers call for a left side play off the tee, which brings another massive left greenside bunker into play on your approach. A stretch of depressed natural hazard cuts the fairway in two, though it shouldn’t be a factor if you can get off the tee. Playing too safe to the right side of the green on your second shot will find the front slope of the huge green complex and makes for a troubling up and down.
Mastering TPC Colorado calls for navigating the numerous sod-stacked bunkers and undulating fairways. (Photo by Jeff Kelly)
Challenging as it is, players of *most* any level can find scores at TPC Colorado — or at the very least they’ll want to come back to get the scores they left out there. The short 370-yard par 4 at no.6 has sub-par written all over it, as long as you avoid the twin greenside pot bunkers and can navigate the sloped green. Look for more scoring opportunities at the par.3 no.8 and after the turn at no.10, no.14 and no.16 (see above), just to name a few.
TPC is a tour caliber course designed for anyone to play, from Monday to Sunday, and whether competing for a spot on the leaderboard or not. With an expansive, full service clubhouse — and future additions currently being built — a eatery and patio boasting unparalleled views of the norther Colorado landscape, and the overall quality that comes with the name, a day at TPC Colorado is really hard to beat.
TPC Colorado may be built for pros, but it has plenty to offer anyone lucky enough to play it. (Photo by Jeff Kelly)
Nearing its one-year anniversary, TPC Colorado is set to host its most important pro competition yet. The TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes brings the Korn Ferry Tour, formerly the Web.com and Nationwide tours, back to the state for the first time since 1997. 156 players will compete for the $600,000 purse and their future on the PGA Tour July 8 – 14, bringing all that Colorado golf has to offer back into the mainstream.
