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PGA Tour: Why is there no Break in the Golf Schedule?

By Christopher O'Day

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - JULY 7 : The Fedexcup sign on the 18th hole during round three of A Military Tribute At The Greenbrier held at the Old White TPC course on July 7, 2018 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV - JULY 7 : The Fedexcup sign on the 18th hole during round three of A Military Tribute At The Greenbrier held at the Old White TPC course on July 7, 2018 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images) /
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The PGA Tour season just came to an end on August 25th. All the members will get a nice, long break…

Nevermind. They don’t. The 2019-20 PGA Tour schedule starts right back off after a two-week break.

That’s all. Two weeks off. Players get to go take a vacation over the holiday weekend or spend the long weekend with their family. Maybe get the kids off to school. Then the tournaments will start right back up.

Why?

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Why would the PGA tour keep the break this short? Think about what a week is like for a golfer. They get to a tournament Tuesday, play there until Sunday (hopefully), and then have a day or so to be at home unless they head straight to the next tournament.

They aren’t home very much during the year, and you would think they would look forward to a break between seasons so that they could relax for a while and recover. It happens in the other major American sports, as each of them will get 4 months or so off, depending on playoffs, the Olympics, and the length of their sport’s preseason.

Even those who make it to the final in their sports, like the Tour Championship over this previous weekend, would get multiple months off. Not so for the PGA Tour.

Even if you take a look at golfers 71-125, those that didn’t make it to the BMW Championship, they will still only get one month off. Likely, they are going to jump on some of these early tournaments to try and score some easier FedEx Cup points for the upcoming season and enhance their chances of making it to the 2019-20 playoffs.

I don’t see why the PGA would do this.

Give them a break. Golf is a demanding sport. Playing 72 holes in four days isn’t always easy, and it isn’t easy on your body either. Now do this 30-35 times a year, with never longer than a one month break.

I can’t imagine putting this kind of stress on my body and mind. For those guys who are young and single, I can see how it would give them a leg up on the competition, and that it wouldn’t bother them too badly.

Even with how I am now, a 31-year-old with a wife and two kids, I wouldn’t want to put this on my family. There are plenty of guys on tour who are older than I am and have more kids than I do. I mean, the millions of dollars helps, but that isn’t what makes some people happy.

The PGA should give their players a longer break. If people want to play, there are other tours that they could go make appearances at. I’m not saying those tours aren’t important. What I am saying is that if such huge importance is going to be put on points and getting to the FedEx Cup, give guys a break if they want it. It is supposed to be the offseason.

500 points automatically get you into the top 100 by the time the playoffs start. This year, the 94th player in the standings had 493 points. Players are going to forgo a bit of health and well-being to try and grab those points, leaving themselves no time to rest.

Next. NBC’s Roger Maltbie: Meet the Man in The Rough. dark

I love golf. I want to play it and see it all the time. However, absence makes the heart grow fonder. The PGA Tour should feel the same way.

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