Charles Barkley makes outstanding suggestion for PGA Tour with no fans

Charles Barkley has an new idea for the PGA Tour

Charles Barkley may have a terrible golf swing but he’s got a great idea for the PGA Tour. It’s one that could catch on and that could engage fans in a way like never before.

Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday, Barkley brought forth the idea of building on the momentum of Sunday’s match between Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning as they topped Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. The main part of what Barkley wanted to build on was players wearing microphones.

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All four players in Sunday’s match were mic’d up and it led to some outstanding trash talk both within the foursome and with the commentators, including Barkley and Justin Thomas. This is what makes Barkley think that having players with microphones is a good idea moving forward.

"“If you’re not going to have fans, you can’t just have guys playing golf and announcers talking,” Barkley said. “If they’re going to be successful and have great ratings – No. 1, they’re going to have great ratings because we need golf, we need sports – I think they should consider mic’ing the players.”"

Sir Charles is right on the money

Barkley is talking about having players with microphones for the first few PGA Tour events, the ones at which there will be no fans. If the players are unable to interact with the fans on the course, perhaps having them interact with those watching on television at home, or at least to listen in as a player discusses a shot with his caddy, could be an experience to draw more viewers.

While the PGA Tour is showing that it is progressive when it starts to restarting its season, that trend needs to continue with Barkley’s suggestion. Not every player will agree to this, of course. It’s hard to imagine Woods wearing a mic in a tournament that actually matters. However, for players like Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and even someone like Ian Poulter, this could be a fascinating trip inside the ropes.

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Players could use this as a public relations or marketing tool as well. A player could easily use this opportunity to turn himself from bad guy to good guy by letting the fans into their mind and into their round.

While this is not going to happen 100 percent, the idea of players wearing microphones during rounds, especially rounds that count, is a great one. It’s perhaps the best thing Barkley has ever done for golf.

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