The only reason to....

[Dean Stokes]

......watch golf, ever, is Tiger Woods.

Objections?

[JESII]

Yes...The Open regardless of his involvement is real golf...

[PCCraig]

Only if it's the PGA Tour.

I'll watch the European Tour any day over the PGA Tour. (Cool locations, better playing conditions, neat golf courses, better personalities).

The only other reason to watch golf is to watch an interesting golf course being played. (IE last week at Colonial I watched because of all the pictures Tony has shown us over the past year or so of the work being done).

[Michael Blake]

Pretty darn exciting watching him today....and shocking (he hit every single fairway!)

[PThomas]

i object

not even Tiger is bigger than the game itself

in 30 years when Tiger is done they will still be playing the Opens, etc

[Chip Gaskins]

Pat-

I agree with you, all I pretty much watch is European Tour golf for all the reason you say...mainly cool locations.  The Irish Open should go down as the best tournament of the year.

[Dean Stokes]

Only if it's the PGA Tour.

I'll watch the European Tour any day over the PGA Tour. (Cool locations, better playing conditions, neat golf courses, better personalities).

The only other reason to watch golf is to watch an interesting golf course being played. (IE last week at Colonial I watched because of all the pictures Tony has shown us over the past year or so of the work being done).

So you do watch golf for reasons other than Tiger but none are to do with 'golfing ability' or tournament excitement.

I am certain that there can only be several tournaments a year in Europe where the location is 'cooler' than on the US tour. By playing conditions you must be thinking hard and fast in Europe because the courses are certainly not in as good condition as the US. Neat golf courses? Better personalities over there for sure (not hard to achieve)although I'm not sure you really get to see that on tv.

[Tim Gavrich]

I try to watch golf on TV every weekend I can, with and without Tiger.  I feel like there's always something to learn by watching the swings of the best.  And the commentary isn't ALWAYS putrid (I am one of the few who thinks Johnny Miller is an intelligent guy; he just has very little filter at times).

[Chip Gaskins]

"I am certain that there can only be several tournaments a year in Europe where the location is 'cooler' than on the US tour."

Dublin, Ireland
Loch Lohmond
Islands in the Mediterranean
Islands off the coast of Korea
Wentworth
Hong Kong
Melbourne, Australia
Perth, Australia
Dubai
Abu Dhabi
Johannesburg
Kuala Lumpur
Southern Spain
Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland

and of course...

SCOTLAND

I really don't think there is a comparison to the US Tour from a "cool location" perspective.....Flint, Hartford, Charlotte, Ponte Vedre, etc aren't exactly meccas of coolness.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

......watch golf, ever, is Tiger Woods.

Objections?

Not the only reason...but definitely the best reason.

I like to turn on the European Tour on Saturday and Sunday mornings when I want to sleep off a hangover.

[Rich Goodale]

IMO, outside of the Open and a few other venues (e.g. The Irish, when they are playing a links, which is not that often) the Euro PGAT plays on medicore courses with absolutely no charisma.  Have any of you Europhiles actually watched stops like the Lower Slobovian Open, where the only "spectators" are a few sun-burnt Brits who look like they lost their way en route to the local fish and chip shop, over a course designed by the Interior Minister's brother in law?  Or even this past weekend's Welsh Open at Celtic Manor.  Makes you feel real good, GCA-wise, about watching the 2010 Ryder Cup, doesn't it?

Take off those rose-colo(u)red glasses and smell the coffee, as the esteemed Mr. Ward is wont to say......

[Ross Tuddenham]

I agree that there is a lot less links golf on the Euro tour than most golf fans would like but the only adequate venues are the ones on the open rota.  This is where the problem lies as I think once on the open rota a lot of the course set up and management decisions are dictated by the R& A.  There is no way they would allow a normal tour event whether they want to preserve the uniqueness of the open or just prevent others from tinkering with the courses.

There are of course some rumours that have been going around for a while that the Scottish open currently played at loch Lomond will be moved to Dundonald links in Ayr, same owners as loch Lomond.

But in general I can’t really see any difference in the quality of courses used on the PGA and European tours.  The PGA has great venues like Riviera while the European tour seems to be going down the route of using purpose built for tour venues like the 2010 course and Gleneagles centenary.  It is not like the European tour is using great romantic and historic settings like The Old Course every week.

But one of my favourite events to watch is the Dunhill links which is actually played over The Old Course, Carnousite and Kingsbarnes. 

As for golf being all about Tiger I have to admit to a slight feeling of emptiness every time I watch a tournament without him.

[Mark Pearce]

I am certain that there can only be several tournaments a year in Europe where the location is 'cooler' than on the US tour. By playing conditions you must be thinking hard and fast in Europe because the courses are certainly not in as good condition as the US.

I assume that by "good condition" you mean flawlessly green, neat and tidy.  My definition of good condition relates to how a course plays, not what it looks like.  Hoylake in '06 was in better condition than most PGA Tour venues (and most European tour venues) where green-ness and tidiness, not forgetting great mowing lines appear more important than playability.

[Mark Pearce]

IMO, outside of the Open and a few other venues (e.g. The Irish, when they are playing a links, which is not that often) the Euro PGAT plays on medicore courses with absolutely no charisma.  Have any of you Europhiles actually watched stops like the Lower Slobovian Open, where the only "spectators" are a few sun-burnt Brits who look like they lost their way en route to the local fish and chip shop, over a course designed by the Interior Minister's brother in law?  Or even this past weekend's Welsh Open at Celtic Manor.  Makes you feel real good, GCA-wise, about watching the 2010 Ryder Cup, doesn't it?

Take off those rose-colo(u)red glasses and smell the coffee, as the esteemed Mr. Ward is wont to say......

Rich is, as ever, correct.  Celtic Manor?  Here's a list of European Tour venues this year (removing Majors and WGC events):

Sheshan International GC , Shanghai, China
Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
Huntingdale GC, Melbourne, Australia
Leopard Creek GC, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa
Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa
Amata Spring Country Club, Bangkok, Thailand
Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Doha GC, Doha, Qatar
Emirates GC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Saujana Golf and Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Vines Resort & Country Club , Perth, Western Australia, Australia
New Kuta GC, Bali, Indonesia
Porto Santo Golfe, Portugal
Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
Oitavos Dunes, Cascais, Portugal
Beijing CBD International GC, Beijing, China
Pinx GC, Jeju Island, South Korea
PGA Golf Catalunya, Girona, Spain
Royal Park I Roveri, Torino, Italy
Co Louth GC, Baltray, Drogheda, Ireland
Wentworth Club, Surrey, England
The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Wales
Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France
Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany
Le Golf National, Paris, France
Loch Lomond GC, Glasgow, Scotland
Barsebäck G & CC, Malmö, Sweden
Prosper Golf Resort, Čeladná, Czech Republic
Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, Netherlands
The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland
Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans, Switzerland
Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany
Fontana GC, Vienna, Austria
Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche GC, Paris, France
Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland
Oceânico Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, Portugal
Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, Castellón, Spain
Finca Cortesin GC, Casares, Spain
Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

There are some gems and watching the Irish Open at Baltray was as good as televised golf outside the Majors and Ryder Cup but there's a lot of very dull golf courses here.

[Ally Mcintosh]

There may be some dull courses but there is variety... I'd rather have lows and highs than a bunch of the same...

Kennemer, Gleneagles and Crans-sur-Sierre is a nice little triple later on in the season... Unfortunately it is followed by Gut-Larchenhof which is a very mediocre Nicklaus course...

[Bill_McBride]

Or even this past weekend's Welsh Open at Celtic Manor.  Makes you feel real good, GCA-wise, about watching the 2010 Ryder Cup, doesn't it?

Yeah, from Valhalla to Celtic Manor, with the K Club and the Belfrey but a distant memory!

This is another reason why the Walker Cup is so superior to the Ryder Cup.

[Kalen Braley]

IMO, outside of the Open and a few other venues (e.g. The Irish, when they are playing a links, which is not that often) the Euro PGAT plays on medicore courses with absolutely no charisma.  Have any of you Europhiles actually watched stops like the Lower Slobovian Open, where the only "spectators" are a few sun-burnt Brits who look like they lost their way en route to the local fish and chip shop, over a course designed by the Interior Minister's brother in law?  Or even this past weekend's Welsh Open at Celtic Manor.  Makes you feel real good, GCA-wise, about watching the 2010 Ryder Cup, doesn't it?

Take off those rose-colo(u)red glasses and smell the coffee, as the esteemed Mr. Ward is wont to say......

Rich is, as ever, correct.  Celtic Manor?  Here's a list of European Tour venues this year (removing Majors and WGC events):

Sheshan International GC , Shanghai, China
Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
Huntingdale GC, Melbourne, Australia
Leopard Creek GC, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa
Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa
Amata Spring Country Club, Bangkok, Thailand
Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Doha GC, Doha, Qatar
Emirates GC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Saujana Golf and Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Vines Resort & Country Club , Perth, Western Australia, Australia
New Kuta GC, Bali, Indonesia
Porto Santo Golfe, Portugal
Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
Oitavos Dunes, Cascais, Portugal
Beijing CBD International GC, Beijing, China
Pinx GC, Jeju Island, South Korea
PGA Golf Catalunya, Girona, Spain
Royal Park I Roveri, Torino, Italy
Co Louth GC, Baltray, Drogheda, Ireland
Wentworth Club, Surrey, England
The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Wales
Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France
Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany
Le Golf National, Paris, France
Loch Lomond GC, Glasgow, Scotland
Barsebäck G & CC, Malmö, Sweden
Prosper Golf Resort, Čeladná, Czech Republic
Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, Netherlands
The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland
Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans, Switzerland
Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany
Fontana GC, Vienna, Austria
Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche GC, Paris, France
Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland
Oceânico Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, Portugal
Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, Castellón, Spain
Finca Cortesin GC, Casares, Spain
Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

There are some gems and watching the Irish Open at Baltray was as good as televised golf outside the Majors and Ryder Cup but there's a lot of very dull golf courses here.

Mark if all those aren't on everyones "Next 50 I want to play" list then they need thier head examined!!      

I did see 4 on there that look interesting though. 

[Brad Tufts]

Honestly, and I like the early-morning Euro Tour broadcasts as much as the next guy, I don't find the above courses much more enthralling as a whole than the PGA Tour courses as a whole...

Yes, the links courses probably get the nod over our few old layouts that still host tour events.

But, my image of the early morning Euro Tour is not of Links or Open Championship golf...it's of a wet, lush, modern course where everyone is in their rain suit, and the sky is gray.