A New Generation of Golf

“It really has been incredible seeing so many young people, so many new players out on the course, playing and investing themselves in golf in the past couple years. It makes me real happy to see that more and more people are finding a love for golf and getting to enjoy the courses that we work to create for them.”

Tommy Naccarato – Golf Historian, Course Architect & Greenskeeper

Via USA Today

As 2021, 2022 and 2023 continued to see a steady climb in the popularity of golf, some of the world’s wealthiest groups began getting involved in the sport. Beginning in 2021, the drama between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf immediately thrusted golf into the spotlight of the sports and entertainment world. As news trickled in of the jaw-dropping contracts and lucrative tournament purse sizes, the Saudi-backed tour headed by PGA legend, Greg Norman, quickly challenged the identity of traditional professional golf. Music on tee boxes, players in shorts and varying tournament formats directly challenged the rigid “country club” etiquette of the PGA Tour and appealed to the growing population of new golf fans.

PC: Getty Images
Via Alex Zito / Getty Images

The initial reactions to LIV Golf around the golf world were mixed, those who supported LIV argued the PGA Tour was outdated and golf needed to be reenergized. They were met with stubborn scrutiny from the PGA fans who hold the tradition and history of their tour sacred. In the spring and summer months of 2022, some of the game’s biggest stars like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau signed nine digit contracts to join and legitimized the LIV’s stature as a top professional golf tour.

As LIV continued to gradually sign a number of PGA players, the PGA was forced to take action. The total prize money awarded throughout the season more than doubled in the three years after LIV was announced and they also announced the implementation of Signature Events on the schedule with elevated purses.

Clearly emphasizing a more modern approach to golf, in 2022 the PGA Tour announced the creation of the Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), founded along with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The events are going to be held in stadiums and feature PGA players duking it out in engaging, two-hour weekly matches on prime time TV. With next-gen technology implemented to give fans and viewers a new perspective of competitive golf, the TGL is hoping to cement themselves as the face of the next generation of golf.

PC: The Athletic

The PGA also diversified their marketing efforts, launching a Netflix series in 2023, called Full Swing, that covered the 2022 PGA season in-depth and gave viewers and behind-the-scenes looks into the trials and tribulations of their favorite golfers. Produced by the same team as Formula 1: Drive to Survive, the show was a massive success obtaining new golf fans as 42% of viewers who had never watched the PGA before were surveyed to have become regular fans.

As the seismic shifts that have defined the recent years of professional golf have shown us, it is evident that the sport is at a crossroads, poised on the brink of a new era. From the newfound passion millions of Americans have found whacking a ball into a hole at their local munis to LIV Golf emerging as the first real threat the PGA has faced in it’s over a century long lifespan, the landscape of golf from top to bottom is undergoing a profound transformation.

Yet, amidst these changes, the timeless allure of the game persists. The serenity, beauty and isolation that can be found on the links is something unique to the golf and is the reason why the sport has continuously grown since the Scottish started playing over 500 years ago. As golf navigates this exciting new chapter, one thing remains certain: the inherent power of the game to bring people together regardless of age, background or technological advancements. For Chris Staples and the leaders of golf’s of the future, maintaining golf’s importance in communities will bridge the gap between generations and bestow the gift of golf upon the fairway finders of the future.

Voice of Chris Staples