2013 Golf: The New December Schedule Is Great For Golf Fans

Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time in a Golf Season, the December schedule finally means something other than Q School qualifying on the PGA Tour, and mindless tournaments with no effect on the standings. The tournaments in the past were good for charity, but  no-name fields with one, or two people we know provided little draw from a competitive standpoint. All has changed this year, and as a golf fan, I love it.

While I was browsing the internet this morning I came on an article from Teeing Off, which is a special column from Yahoo Sports by Devil Ball Golf editor, Shane Bacon, and contributor, Jay Busbee. The blog entitled: Are December Events Necessary For Golf addresses the former “Silly Season” and its new effect on the us, the golf fans.

I understand the concept that sometimes “less is better” when it comes to the NFL where starving the public for six months makes them more ravenous when the games actually start, and is probably one of the huge keys to success for football in this country. This is vintage Colin Cowherd logic.

I really like Jay Busbee’s approach:

"The easy thing to say is that the NFL has mastered the art of demand through scarcity, and golf could take a lesson from that. However, the two sports aren’t completely comparable–for one thing, the Patriots and Seahawks play all 16 games, not just the ones they want to. For that reason, then, the golf schedule is kind of like a Vegas buffet for viewers … if you want to load up on every kind of food imaginable, you can, but if you want to focus on just the carving station and the dessert bar, you can do that too."

This works for golf fans like myself where if I don’t want to watch Ball State take on Appalachia State on a Saturday afternoon, or see The Cleveland Browns play Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon, I can watch a golf tournament that for a change, that has meaning.

Professional men’s golf is quickly taking on the same persona that currently describes the business plan for the LPGA. It is a global sport, and as such, the American Sports Fan is not the only person golf is trying to attract.

It’s springtime in Australia, and South Africa. These people are doing what we do in April, getting the clubs out, and scrambling to get some practice in before heading out to the local links for a quick 18. So why not play to these people? Now, tournaments played around the world are starting to have an effect on FedEx Points, and Race To Dubai standings. That and good purses will attract the better players.

If you got a chance to see the Emirates Australian Open this past weekend, the field wasn’t real strong, but we got a great Saturday/Sunday matchup for the championship between the world’s number two, and number six players for the title. Rory McIlroy came from four-stroke down on Sunday to beat Adam Scott  by one stroke. It doesn’t get much better than that. In Decembers past a matchup like this was not available.

I think by the time the 2016 Summer Olympics, you will find a different landscape for Golf. The PGA and European Tours will be merged with only a fine line between the differences. As more good players from Europe come to the US for the prestige, and larger purses, the more the line between the two tours will be erased.

So in my opinion, Golf needs tournaments in December that mean something to the game, and not just for the charities they support. After the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge is over, that will be the last tournament for the 2013 season, but hey…it’s only three weeks until the real new season tee’s off in Maui. That is great for world golf fans who want real golf, and that makes it great for me.

Source: Yahoo Sports

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