This Week at WorldGolf.com: Oct. 26, 2005

With golf at a crossroads,
Tours look to emulate NFL, NBA

The sport of golf is currently at a crossroads, whether it is aware of it or not. The game on both the PGA and LPGA sides appears to be strategically placing itself alongside other U.S. sports in order to maximize the potential of its stars.

Take this quote from PGA Tour vice president Ric Clarson, about Michelle Wie's acceptance of a sponsor's exemption to play in the PGA's Sony Open in January.

"We're in the entertainment business, it's more than just a golf tournament," said Clarson. "So when a player like Michelle plays in the Sony Open, it creates national and international attention on, 'Can she do it?'"

Now the public reaction and interest in Wie is pretty easy to figure out. She's a teen-ager, she has shown she can compete with the best players in the world in the LPGA, and even Chris Baldwin has to accept that her potential at this point is other-worldly.

But keep one important thing in mind: It's the end of October. Wie is also dominating golf headlines because, well, there's not that much else to talk about. Tiger Woods has wrapped up the money title in the PGA, and the tournaments now are suspenseful only for those rooting for their favorites.

Of course, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem may change that as early as next week, when he is expected to make changes to the PGA Tour to create a "playoff system" ala NASCAR. Starting after the 2007 PGA Championship, the tour would name three big-market tournaments as points-race sites, with the top players then advancing to the points finale at the Tour Championship, which would be moved to mid-September.

Basically, it comes down to the fact that it's tough to get Tiger, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and some other successful, popular players to commit to play in tournaments at the end of the year. They have nothing left to really prove by the end of the year, usually, so they kick it at home.

Finchem's goals have been pretty straightforward. He wants the PGA to rival the NFL and NBA in popularity, and he knows that the best way to do that is to get Tiger/Vijay/Phil to play in as many tournaments that "mean something" as possible.

The only real question is, why?

"Is our product really that broken?" Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA Championship winner, told the Orlando Sentinal. "It might be more entertaining for fans, but it seems like a radical idea."

As Finchem works mightily to make his tour more exciting (read: Profitable) to the corporations that support the PGA, he's taking a risk of completely alienating its fan base, as well as setting back recreational golf.

Part of the allure of golf these days is that it's not the NFL or NBA. By striving to market a select few, the golf tours could get what they wish for, and become just another soulless professional sport that crosses the line from athletic endeavor to entertainment spectacle.

As always, WorldGolf.com welcomes your comments.

Split personality golf
courses abound in New England

While North Conway Country Club and Lake Kezar Country Club are separated by only 20 miles, but the courses are light years apart in terms of style and vintage. Featuring the incredible New England scenery is just part of the charm of these two courses, as modern golfers will be thrown back in time to experience designs from top names like Donald Ross and Ralph Barton and some holes too quirky too be attempted today.

Full story | Blogger William K. Wolfrum: Michelle Wie famous, now 'Mi-Wie'

Sawgrass Marriott Resort &
Spa offers 'players' choice' to guests

The Official Hotel of the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass and the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour International Headquarters and home of The Players' Championship, the 4,800-acre Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa provides "The Players' Choice" sports playground and a private Atlantic Beach Club with privileges exclusive to guests. Bordered by a 26-mile stretch of beach, the award-winning Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa is the second-largest golf resort in America with 99 holes of golf.

Full story | Pukalani CC a hit in Maui

A Dye with a heart? P.B.'s Playa Paraiso
Golf Club delivers in Cancun corridor

It's a mountain bike course recast in green, a bunch of skateboard vert ramps stacked up next to each other. But what's a /golfer/ supposed to do with it!? That's what you'll be asking yourself as you face down the eighth hole on P.B. Dye's brand new Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Riviera Maya. The course is eye striking, inventive, challenging and more than a little crazy, Chris Baldwin writes. In other words, it's pure Dye.

Full story | Golf boot camp a hacker's last resort