Golf Thanksgiving: Five things we’re thankful for from 2017

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re just like us: you love golf, and it’s awesome in all its forms. There’s stroke play, and match play, and…well, that’s about it, isn’t it? How great would it be if we got to see the game’s best playing in more unique events throughout the year? Well, we’re all in luck, as the PGA and European Tours have added some unique twists to the calendar.

The first one was the Zurich Classic of New Orleans back in April. One of the older events on the TOUR calendar (dating back to 1938, played every year since 1958), the 2017 edition became the first team event since the 1981 Walt Disney World Golf Classic, and featured the duo of Jason Day and Rickie Fowler as the first commitments. They missed the cut, but the event was wildly popular, and you have to imagine that some more marquee names will head to the Big Easy in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, the European Tour followed up in May with GolfSixes. This took “fan friendly” to a whole new level. Not only was it a team event featuring match play (and the shot clock we mentioned earlier), it had mascots and entrance music to boot. It’s the type of thing that would throw golf “purists” for a loop, but frankly, I don’t see anything wrong with that. If it draws more fans to the course, lets the players have some more fun, and perhaps gets a few more kids playing this great game, I’m all in.