With the timeless splendor of the Pebble Beach Golf Links glistening just outside, a group of PGA Tour executives Wednesday morning teased significant changes being considered as the tour adapts to the otherwise changing times.
At what the tour officials called an inflection point, more aggressive enforcement of pace-of-play guidelines, refinements to television coverage, a potential format change for the Tour Championship, allowing the use of distance-measuring devices and other proposals are in the works and could be formalized in March.
“As the commissioner said back at the end of the year in his video to fans, everything is on the table,” said Andy Weitz, the tour’s chief marketing and communications officer and executive vice president for investor relations.
Weitz said results from the tour’s Fan Forward initiative, which involved approximately 50,000 interviews, are among the driving influences as the tour faces challenges related to slow-play complaints and declining television ratings.
Leaning into what fans want while working with players and broadcast partners is the genesis for the potential changes. It’s part of what prompted Justin Thomas’ recent letter to fellow players, urging them to be open to new things.
“I think the two biggest takeaways are broadcast enhancements … and speed of play. And under speed of play, it’s both the perception of how long it takes and how much they see in the course of the broadcast as well as the underlying issue of whether or not it’s slow play itself,” Weitz said.
With Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth returning from injuries and the tour’s top players (absent the injured Xander Schauffele) teeing it up in a signature event at one of the most spectacular spots in golf, it feels like an important week as the tour tries to redirect a narrative that has drifted away from the competition itself.
CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY AT GGP+ AND TO GET FREE GGP SUBSCRIPTIONS
