I’m so conflicted. Looks fun and an entertaining product, but also doesn’t look a genuine sporting contest, and seems quite contrived.
It feels very T20, so there’s likely a market for it, but it also feels like a bit of a sugar hit, that will become a bit boring.
Still, golf needed (needs?) a good hard look at itself, so anything that forces that is pretty good.
I’m not overly concerned about the Saudi money when compared to the PGA tour, or the European tour, who have been happy to take plenty of Saudi money in the past from what I can tell. (I mean whether anyone should be taking that money, and whether the US should be selling that regime arms is another debate).
I’ll end up talking myself around in circles, but hopefully it will be a good finish tomorrow, and anything that brings quality golf to Aus is good!
I don’t agree with the notion that it is bad for golf, even though it may appear that way for now. I think most of the people saying as much are those with an agenda to see it fail.
The US tour is insular, monopolistic, and conservative. Anything that forces it to be introspective and more open will eventually have a positive impact on it, though I don’t know how long that will take or in what form. Television will always be problematic for unique formats like match play or team events as traditional golf viewers don’t like it (again, old, conservative white men).
Ultimately though I don’t particularly care for LIV as a product so I’d rather it not become the dominant format in pro golf. I guess I admit to being part of the TV problem, lol, although I’m certainly NOT conservative politically.
As the game gets more Asian influenced, I think a new fourth major in the Asia-Pacific region, including Oz, could emerge to replace the US PGA championship which has always been the black sheep of the four and has always struggled to have a unique identity. It would be great to see a major played at Royal Melb one year, then maybe in Japan the next, then South Korea, maybe Dubai or something. Play it in like October/November, perhaps near the window of Ryder Cups and President’s Cups.
I am massively anti LIV from a sports washing a pariah state point of view. Only 1 step from allowing the taliban fund and host our sport.
That said, the pga tour needed a shake up and they destroyed our summer of golf by running events in the US all year round, so good things golf wise will come from it.
The coverage is trash though:
Commentators constant snarkey comments about ‘grandpa golf’
misc and noise drowning out caddie player conversations
not LIV’s fault but u dont watch free air tv anymore… wow the quality of reception is ao bad vs foxtel
Great to see a few of the top names down under, but still plenty of south african nobodies, old money chasers and US twats in th3 field. Really only a dozen top name players… very average field outside of that
Saudi is hardly a “pariah state” and they are not alone in our World with laws that some do not agree with.
If grandpa golf is where you watch a group walk around hitting a ball without music, massive noisy, disrespectful crowds and just enjoy the abilities of the person with the stick to put it in a small hole, then that is the golf for me.
Fair enough… but they will be in a decade and rhe inly difference will be energy sources.
They are still closer to the Taliban than they are to us culturally…anyway… back to golf…
Seeing these guys at the grange playing it the way they are is a reminder that rolling the ball back for the pros would make the strategic nature of old courses relevant again
I have been to sporting events all over the world for the past 50 years, and I go to watch the sport. My first Aust Open was at Kingston Heath in 1995 won by Greg Norman and compared to today there was no noise or rampant crowds, though at the time the golf diehards were unhappy with the stands at the eighteenth and all the hype around the event. I hate the music and all the razzamatazz stuff at any sport.
I like Tulla, Tight as they come, stay on your fairway
You par the last (18th) par 3 then your good, really good
was one of the only courses open all thru those wet days
My Grandfather was a member @ Tulla and on the committee in some capacity (treasurer I think) for years. Loved going out there to meet him. Good course to play.
Does Essendon not do the yearly outing anymore? They used to 20 years ago or so but back then I never had enough money to play in it. Not that I’m wealthy or anything these days, lol.
