LIV Golf: Good or Bad For Professional Golf?

 

There are three words I never thought I’d use to describe professional golf: toxic, petty, and spiteful. Words like class, respect, and integrity have always characterized the sport and the spirit of professional golf to me, but I guess I didn’t have anything to compare it to. For my whole life, the upper echelon of professional golf has only had one tour at its pinnacle; the PGA Tour.. Sure, there are other professional, and even worldwide, tours, but everyone was always looking up at the PGA Tour as the end goal of their career, and it’s what every golf fan always held as the tour with the “best of the best.” 

That all changed in 2021 when LIV Golf started. With their motto of “golf, but louder,” LIV launched with a ton of controversy when several major names from the PGA tour (and many past Major Champions) left to play for LIV. Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson, Cam Smith, Sergio Garcia, and dozens of other top players left the PGA tour for the more relaxed, “trendier” tour that features several trademarks that separate it from the traditional PGA tour. The most notable of the changes was the 54-hole, no-cut format for individual stroke play tournaments that also features a team score element, much like the format for college golf. The 2023 season even announced a promotion/relegation element to the tour just like many football (soccer) leagues around the world, and there is a team tournament event at the end of the season. Along with the new and exciting format, LIV also creates a more relaxed atmosphere for its players by allowing music on the course and letting the players wear shorts for official tournament rounds, something the PGA Tour has repeatedly refused to do for its players. I’m sure the tour will develop and create its own identity as it gains traction and establishes itself, but I, for one, have been loving watching a new and different form of golf.

Now, let’s answer the big question we all have. Is LIV golf good for professional golf or not? In my opinion, yes, it absolutely is good for professional golf. For too long, the PGA Tour has held a monopoly on professional golf tours and it has been the only real option for the world’s top players. Even though there are several other professional tours worldwide, the PGA Tour has always been the pinnacle (and the only pinnacle) of professional golf, and I think a little competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The biggest controversy among the golf community with the LIV Golf Tour was threefold when this all started. Other pros felt that the LIV “defectors,” weren’t being loyal to the PGA Tour (honestly, that’s silly if you ask me) and that they only left for money (the total purse for the season on LIV was something like 400 million dollars, are you kidding me?!), and that the Tour was connected to Saudi Arabia and there are several social concerns with supporting anything backed by Saudi money. I’ll say this, though. From a viewer's perspective, not having anything to do with any of these issues, I could care less whether there are two top golf tours to choose from. Frankly, I like watching the LIV events better because I think they are more exciting. I love that not only is there an individual event but a team event as well, I think that is a cool, new element to professional golf that just makes the coverage more exciting to watch! I’m not going to stop supporting or watching the PGA Tour anytime soon (and neither should you) because it’s what made me love professional golf, but I think LIV Golf is great, and I hope it’s here to stay.

Whether you support the traditional PGA Tour or you are loving the new excitement of LIV like I am, the most important thing is that golf is growing and more people are being drawn to this amazing sport. I think we should all be rooting for both tours to be successful because when the PGA and LIV both win, golf wins.