[Greg Tallman]

Maybe this is how Tiger passes Jack and wins the Grand Slam. Can you imagine the debates that would stir?

[MKrohn]

I've got too much spare time.


The only major is the PGA which they agree to play outside of the US, reduced field of 100, no cut, no caddies, no agents, no swing coaches, no shrinks, no wives, no entourage, no Reed.


NZ after taking preventative measures quickly is free of the virus by October and agrees to take the golfers assuming they are tested , fly private and leave straight away. NZ do a deal to take a % of the TV revenue which is enormous and pays off their govt debt or the All Black salaries whichever is the lesser.


Players carry their bags, use range finders...……….and its all done at Tara Iti with no crowds. Frank Nobilo and Craig Perks do the commentary and TVNZ do the coverage.

[V. Kmetz]

Ah, I forgot about retail.  How could I forget about retail?  It's all about the merch.

The last time, the main (biggest most proiminent one) merch tent was on the member's range, so ... it's those eating, drinking pavilions ("Champions" or whatever they name 'em) that suck up the East course, plus the main bus/ticket entrance runs backward almost the entire length of 4East...


A followup:
Though I know, well-held opinions differ on whether or not having a major is a good or bad thing for a course and its retention of highest value, count me as one who would so dearly love to see a big event played on the East (as was the original suggestion of shoehorning majors into tighter autumn windows).  Having such a rich and intimate experience of the East over the last decade (few plays, but 150 rounds caddied, for Anderson-level players, visiting pros and + hcps in and around novice outing players), I feel cocksure that with not too-disfiguring tweaks, I could drop a full field event there with good results for all... but I'd have to let them do the agronomy.

[Tom_Doak]

I've got too much spare time.


The only major is the PGA which they agree to play outside of the US, reduced field of 100, no cut, no caddies, no agents, no swing coaches, no shrinks, no wives, no entourage, no Reed.


NZ after taking preventative measures quickly is free of the virus by October and agrees to take the golfers assuming they are tested , fly private and leave straight away. NZ do a deal to take a % of the TV revenue which is enormous and pays off their govt debt or the All Black salaries whichever is the lesser.


Players carry their bags, use range finders...……….and its all done at Tara Iti with no crowds. Frank Nobilo and Craig Perks do the commentary and TVNZ do the coverage.

There are no crowds at Tara Iti, ever.   

[Thomas Dai]

I've got too much spare time.

The only major is the PGA which they agree to play outside of the US, reduced field of 100, no cut, no caddies, no agents, no swing coaches, no shrinks, no wives, no entourage, no Reed.

NZ after taking preventative measures quickly is free of the virus by October and agrees to take the golfers assuming they are tested , fly private and leave straight away. NZ do a deal to take a % of the TV revenue which is enormous and pays off their govt debt or the All Black salaries whichever is the lesser.

Players carry their bags, use range finders...……….and its all done at Tara Iti with no crowds. Frank Nobilo and Craig Perks do the commentary and TVNZ do the coverage.

One of the best post in quite a while!
atb

[A.G._Crockett]

AG,


To simplify, are you suggesting they would rather not have the tournament than to compete against football for TV viewers?


My question is purely about the viewing competition, not the likelihood of an event at all due to the circumstances.

Jim,

My feeling, which is of course, only that, is that ANGC will opt not to hold the tournament if they can't do it exactly the way they want it to be, and I see a lot more reasons that they won't than that they will.  And my sense of it is that football is a big part of that.

I think it's hard for those of us that inhabit the treehouse to remember what a small niche golf, even the last two rounds of The Masters, occupies in the greater scheme of things, and that's when The Masters is competing only against regular season baseball, which has become pretty much just a subscription viewing thing now.  Football is another deal entirely; the NFL is the 500 lb gorilla of sports programming. 


Think about this; in any city, there are multiple bars on Sundays that have EVERY NFL game on, and there are other bars that market themselves as specific to a particular team.  Same thing, to a lesser extent, with college football on Saturdays, at least in the South.  Have you ever heard of a golf bar? 


It's important also to remember that Augusta is in Georgia, and the role of football in Georgia is hard to understand if you haven't lived there; to a great extent, the same thing is true all over the South.  On Fridays, everything stops for high school football.  On Saturdays, if the Dawgs are playing, same thing.  This is true all over the South, and I just don't see anybody but absolute hard core golfers opting to watch golf instead of football on a weekend in the fall.  The ratings numbers aren't big anyway in the greater scheme of things.  Billy Payne played football for UGA; I'm not sure he would be in Augusta instead of Athens if it came down to that! 


I just don't see the powers-that-be at ANGC risking tarnishing the mystique of The Masters by putting on a fall tournament and having nobody watch, vs letting the suspense and anticipation build until April of 2021.

[Dave Doxey]

  A tournament could not be the Masters without azaleas in bloom.

[David_Tepper]

"Have you ever heard of a golf bar?"

AG Crockett -

Back in the 1990's there was a golf bar in New York City called British Open.

https://www.clubplanet.com/Venues/71565/New-York/British-Open

I once sat in there and watched the final round of the Player's.

DT

[Kalen Braley]

Even thou the Masters will be played in the South, it doesn't mean all of the TV viewers will be from the South.


Given its now a world-wide broadcast event, I suspect ratings would be just fine...even if they're down a bit cause folks in the south are watching football.

[BHoover]

Wimbledon has been canceled. I also have been reading public health professionals talking increasingly about the likelihood of the need for further social distancing in the fall to deal a second wave of COVID-19 (as happened with the 1918 influenza pandemic). I think it’s virtually certain there will be no golf majors played in 2020.

[jeffwarne]

AG,


To simplify, are you suggesting they would rather not have the tournament than to compete against football for TV viewers?


My question is purely about the viewing competition, not the likelihood of an event at all due to the circumstances.

Jim,

My feeling, which is of course, only that, is that ANGC will opt not to hold the tournament if they can't do it exactly the way they want it to be, and I see a lot more reasons that they won't than that they will.  And my sense of it is that football is a big part of that.

I think it's hard for those of us that inhabit the treehouse to remember what a small niche golf, even the last two rounds of The Masters, occupies in the greater scheme of things, and that's when The Masters is competing only against regular season baseball, which has become pretty much just a subscription viewing thing now.  Football is another deal entirely; the NFL is the 500 lb gorilla of sports programming. 


Think about this; in any city, there are multiple bars on Sundays that have EVERY NFL game on, and there are other bars that market themselves as specific to a particular team.  Same thing, to a lesser extent, with college football on Saturdays, at least in the South.  Have you ever heard of a golf bar? 


It's important also to remember that Augusta is in Georgia, and the role of football in Georgia is hard to understand if you haven't lived there; to a great extent, the same thing is true all over the South.  On Fridays, everything stops for high school football.  On Saturdays, if the Dawgs are playing, same thing.  This is true all over the South, and I just don't see anybody but absolute hard core golfers opting to watch golf instead of football on a weekend in the fall.  The ratings numbers aren't big anyway in the greater scheme of things.  Billy Payne played football for UGA; I'm not sure he would be in Augusta instead of Athens if it came down to that! 


I just don't see the powers-that-be at ANGC risking tarnishing the mystique of The Masters by putting on a fall tournament and having nobody watch, vs letting the suspense and anticipation build until April of 2021.

I think we agree that The Masters this fall is a long shot (many things are a long shot as based on my Social media feed most of my childhood friends news seem to have only TODAY-maybe the date has something to do with that? woken up to the fact this is not the flu or media hype)
The next problem is states like Florida and Georgia, the next hot spots, haven't really locked down, and won't until it's too late like NY etc., so this will contine spreading.


That said, if it's not played, you're not going to hear ANGC announce they didn't play because of competition from football, so we'll never know.
The only way we will reach any kind've conclusion is IF they play it,AND ratings are low--and I'd be perfectly fine with that.
The Masters is not insecure-they have nothing to prove.They used to give tickets away to soldiers in the early 60's in Fort Gordon to fill the grounds(Arnie's Army), so they've seen both sides of the coin.They were built in the depression and struggled to even stay afloat.
IF we're there(a big IF), this would be their chance to say all was well with the world again.
I find it pretty hard to believe that a ticket that's one of the hardest to get in sports, that regularly sells for 5 digits, that there wouldn't be incredible pent up demand/relief for The Masters.And that those who didn't or couldn't make it live, wouldn't watch because the NY Jets were on.College gametimes are moved around all the time to accomodate networks. Friday night is available, Saturday night-they even play Thursdays now-be nice to see someone besides Louisville on Thursdays. Heck Georgia's playing on Labor Day Monday next year.


To you point about travel, crowds, etc. So walking around a 225 acre grounds, with the most forward thinking and patron friendly management in the sports world, you actually think attending The Masters would be more crowd dangerous than attending an SEC football game?
Even with the all clear--I can envision ANGC having social distancing entrance lines and even entrance times, even social distanced grandstands-making the experience even better.(not because they would be required to, but to make people more comfortable)
In other words, if they are playing college football in September, surely people would feel OK to attend a much more spread out large acreage venue in late October/November-I'm rarely if ever in a crowd at Augusta-I hate crowds-many great vantage points all across that ground.


And finally, I watched the ANWA last year, on a weekend, and it acheived the highest rating of an amateur golf event(men or women) in 16 years.
Women amateurs-sure it was 1/16 of their viewership of pro football  but WOMEN amateurs NO ONE had ever heard of before that day.


And Dave, that's just dead wrong.
Fall golf in Augusta is epic.Click on sound-link small but works
https://twitter.com/i/status/1242469957797056512

[JESII]

AG, I think this conversation is all for naught because the way this thing is inching around there's not an organizing body in the world that's going to convene an event of any kind until every trace is gone...but...if...there's no chance ANGC would opt to "build anticipation" for next year by not playing this year.


That's like wiping before you poop...just doesn't make sense.
signed - Larry the Cable Guy

[Peter Pallotta]

You just know that when they do hold the next Masters, they're gonna do it *right*. A rebirth. Commercial free. There won't be a dry eye in the house. Jim Nantz was born for '86, raised for '97, and has been preparing for 2021 all his life!

[A.G._Crockett]

AG, I think this conversation is all for naught because the way this thing is inching around there's not an organizing body in the world that's going to convene an event of any kind until every trace is gone...but...if...there's no chance ANGC would opt to "build anticipation" for next year by not playing this year.


That's like wiping before you poop...just doesn't make sense.
signed - Larry the Cable Guy

Jim,

I'll say it another way.  I see NO upside for ANGC, other than money, to forcing The Masters into a fall schedule even if there is one.  Nothing, except possibly the weather, will be better; not attendance, or TV ratings, or course conditions.  And the downsides are numerous.  I just don't see those guys having a tournament and rolling the dice like that.

[A.G._Crockett]

Even thou the Masters will be played in the South, it doesn't mean all of the TV viewers will be from the South.


Given its now a world-wide broadcast event, I suspect ratings would be just fine...even if they're down a bit cause folks in the south are watching football.

Kalen,

I'll say it again; even just competing against early regular season baseball on the TV sports calendar, the final round of the Masters barely makes the top 75 televised sporting events for the year.  Take a second and read that again...

And I'm not talking about just the South; college football and the especially the NFL are just gigantic in TV ratings and advertiser contracts and dollars.  Think about ANY Saturday in the fall; college football comes on at least by noon eastern, and stays on for over 12 hours on more channels than I care to try to think of.  ABC carries it.  CBS carries it.  NBC carries it.  Fox carries it.  ESPN carries it on ALL channels, plus a zillion games on ESPN3, plus the ACC Network, plus the SEC network.  I could go on, but you get the point.   And all of those networks, including CBS, have contracts that will last long past the fall of 2020.


You can underestimate the magnitude of football, both college and the NFL, if you wish, but I do NOT think the guys that run ANGC make a habit of falling thru trapdoors while hoping for the best. 


(I'm too lazy to look up and try to analyze and then comment on the international viewing numbers.  While I realize that golf is a world wide game, it ain't soccer, or cricket, or the Olympics, or any of the other events that stir national passions elsewhere.  Maybe you know more about the importance of The Masters telecast in South Korea, or New Zealand, or Zaire than I do, and the numbers from there are important to the decision we are talking about.  But I'd be surprised.)


The clientele of THIS website looks forward to The Masters all winter, and we watch it.  The general public does neither of those things, and it's awfully easy for us to overestimate the importance of golf to the general public.  (I'll agree to put telecasts on the weekend with Tiger in contention in a separate box, but that's a lot more about Tiger and a lot less about golf.  He's the ONLY person on the planet that can get people to don't care about golf to WATCH golf.)

[jeffwarne]

Even thou the Masters will be played in the South, it doesn't mean all of the TV viewers will be from the South.


Given its now a world-wide broadcast event, I suspect ratings would be just fine...even if they're down a bit cause folks in the south are watching football.

Kalen,

I'll say it again; even just competing against early regular season baseball on the TV sports calendar, the final round of the Masters barely makes the top 75 televised sporting events for the year.  Take a second and read that again...

That's my point exactly.
If the Masters cared as much as you say about ratings, they'd cancel the event forever.
heck I don't even know why they play it all given their bottom of top 75 rating
Additionally, given that every single channel is college football on Saturdays and pro on Sundays, don't you think someone might want an alternative?
to say nothing of the worldwide audience...
and on Saturdays who exactly in the highly populated northeast is watching college football besides Penn State fans
and that second rate Pac 12 can play their games with 3 o'clock local starts


No one is suggesting that college football isn't HUGE in the south, and that Pro football doesn't have great ratings...
I am suggesting The Masters, arguably the greatest event in sport, the hardest ticket to get in sport, and at worst the second biggest event in the US (after the Super Bowl)can be held the same week as football is played, and that ANGC will have that as somewhere near #57 in their list of things to be concerned about in rescheduling the event.

[John Kavanaugh]

Where is Nance quarantining his ego?

[Kalen Braley]

AG,

Agreed with your last post, and I think Jeff's follow up was a good counter to provide more context.

I just wonder, how much cross over exists between those who regularly watch golf and other sports.  I suspect most golf viewers are hard core like us, and will still tune in, even if it means missing 1 mid season football game.  I mean do people in the south really stay glued to the TV when someone like Alabama is drubbing a mediocre opponent by 35 at the half?  Or worse case scenario TiVo the Sunday pro game and watch it later?!

Either way, unlike Football, I'm guessing golf gets very few casual viewers anyways so it won't if its held in October...or April for that matter.


P.S.  If you want to talk ratings thou, NASCAR dwarfs even football and i'm guessing they run Masters weekend too!

[Peter Flory]

Maybe this is how Tiger passes Jack and wins the Grand Slam. Can you imagine the debates that would stir?

Just think how devastating a minor injury like a back tweak could be for a player if all the majors happened within such a short period of time.

[Ira Fishman]

I want to give a huge shout out to the many PGA Pros and athletes in all sports who are supporting their communities financially and emotionally plus encouraging stay at home.


Ira

[BHoover]

The Open is going to be canceled according to this article.


https://twitter.com/brianwacker1/status/1245529756780711943?s=21

[jeffwarne]

The Open is going to be canceled according to this article.


https://twitter.com/brianwacker1/status/1245529756780711943?s=21

ouch
I had scored a perfect air bnb Thursday and Friday night in Deal for no Open premium (same price as other weeks)

[Eric LeFante]

Is the Open really cancelled vs postponed so the R&A can collect insurance money? Article says Wimbledon cancelled for same reason.

[jeffwarne]

Is the Open really cancelled vs postponed so the R&A can collect insurance money? Article says Wimbledon cancelled for same reason.

Maybe like the uSGA they need a bigger war chest in case ethey get sued by equipment companies.
Which of course provides great incentive to sue

[James Brown]

Give all this 30 days and it will look different.

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