A Professional Festival of Golf

[Sean_A]

After watching quite a bit of Wimbledon it occurred to me that this tourny is incredibly unique and that this is the essence of its greatness.  Men and women on the same site playing for nearly the same amount of cash (I believe it will be equal money soon).  Why can't professional golf have an event like this?  Men & women playing a matchplay major concurrently the entire week(s).  As a side show betterball and mixed betterball would also be played.  I would think making the PGA into a festival of golf would be far more interesting than what is now on the plate.  With so many different matches taking place it would be necessary to use a few courses (unless the event took place over two weeks - which I would prefer), but that isn't really a problem.  All the different matches would solve the tv difficulties of matches ending early etc.  

Has any tour or golfing body considered this as an alternative to the same ole same ole system which is not really growing the audience market?  

Ciao

Sean

[Tom_Doak]

Getting the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour to do something together would be a real coup.  The PGA Tour also owns the Champions Tour and they are more interested in promoting their own stuff, than the Ladies' Tour which competes with both [but more with the Champions' Tour] for corporate sponsorships, pro-am entries, etc.

And the PGA is run by the PGA of America which has its own set of vested interests.

But your idea does sound like a great event!

The USGA was at one time considering putting on the US Open and Women's Open back-to-back at courses right next to one another.

[Eric Franzen]

Winged Foot East and West?

Cypress and Pebble?

NGLA and Shinnecock (or toss in Sebonack somewhere there)?

Yes, I know - the first one might be slightly more realistic than the others, but hey...

[Tom_Doak]

Eric:

It was Shinnecock and National and Maidstone the USGA had in mind, for the 100th anniversary of the organization's founding.  I think they were talking about Maidstone for the Women's Open and National for the US Amateur.  Basically, they were talking about renting a bunch of houses for their staff for a summer in the Hamptons, but they couldn't get it done.

I don't think Cypress Point is any more interested in hosting a USGA event than they have been since 1991, but if they swung a deal to have the Women's Open there, the men would complain that the women got preferential treatment.  There are still tons of pros (and even more amateurs in the pro-am field) who bemoan the day the AT & T replaced Cypress Point with Poppy Hills.

[Jim Sweeney]

The US Boys and Girls Juior, and the APL and Wapl have been held concurrently.

The logistics of such an event would be mind boggling. Wimbledon is all on one site. Transporting players, officials and fans from one golf venue to another, and setting up mutiple courses to handle patrons, would be unbeleiveablt complex.

Tom- interesting, your story about the USGA looking into holding the centennial Opens concurrently. i don't recall ever hearing that before.

[Tim_Cronin]

Sean:
Great idea! And it's been done.
George S. May's two-week golf carnival at Tam O'Shanter CC in Niles, Ill. (north of Chicago) from the early 1940s to the late 1950s included the All-American Open (with men's pro, women's pro, men's amateur and women's amateur divisions) followed the next week by the World Championship of Golf, with pros invited from across the world.
From what I've read, the All-American got so unwieldy between qualifying and tournament play over seven days on one 18-hole course that it was eventually cut back.