Korean Press Greets Commissioner With Some Tough Questions

With the inaugural CJ Cup at Nine Bridges over and another nine playings on the docket, Commissioner Jay Monahan and tour EVP of Global Business Affairs Ty Votaw traveled to Korea. They kindly sat down with the assembled media before Sunday's final round and took some interesting questions.

Q: It’s great that we have got another event in Asia. From the next season, 2018-2019 season, you are going to make some big changes with possibly the playoffs coming soon  and the PGA Championship moving. It looks to me as though you are going to free up more dates in the fall, in the post-labor day area. Are you planning more tournaments in Asia? Japan or China?

Jay Monahan: I would answer that by confirming that we have what you just mentioned, which is we have the commitment to move the Players to March and PGA Championship to May. You were right in that it does freeze some time in the fall. The next step we are going to take in order affect change is to essentially complete other parts of our schedule the tournaments that exist in that pre-labor day window in the U.S.

But we are a global game. If you follow the logic trail of being here, you look at the fact that you’ve got 3.5 million participants and 36 million rounds of golf played, we love what we are seeing in terms of emergency screening technology, the fact that we’ve got such a rich number of players.

Wait what? Uh, I'm chalking "emergency screening technology" up to a translation gaffe. Go on...

As you look out into the future, the reason that we are putting so much resource into key international markets is so that we are prepared when an opportunity presents itself to expand to be in the right position. But to say something is imminent would be a miscalculation and a mistake at this point.

We'll put them down for no further Asian expansion at this time.

Q: Are you surprised to see only a few foreign press covering the event, given that this event is quite significant? Why do you think that there aren’t many global press covering this event here?

Ty Votaw: There is no question that we are very excited about the opportunity to be here, first time being an official event. The media landscape in all countries is changing and as you know, the golf media in the US is also changing with decreased budgets and decreased stabilities to cover even some domestic events in the US. We now have opportunities with other platforms and other areas.

Opportunities!

I know that our own platforms are here covering extensively for the US and for other countries around the world. I will say that, much like the reactions of our players, when they go home and talk to other players about their experience here, I think you will see over the next 10 years when we are coming to South Korea and to Jeju for this event that a broader swath of media coverage will follow.

Actually, probably not.

Q: The Korean fans are grateful that Sang-moon Bae and Seung-yul Noh were given exemptions, given their situation with the national service, and that PGA has shown a lot of respect for the Korean golf. However, given that is a Tier 1 tournament with a decent sum of prize money, don’t you think that we are missing a lot of the top-class players? For example, Hideki Matsuyama and Ernie Els pulling out and not many players from the top 20?

Ty Votaw:As I mentioned earlier, I think that the experiences of the players who are here this week, when they take those stories and those experiences back with them to the PGA tour it’s going to be very positive story that they are going to be telling. As any PGA tour event on our schedule, our players choose their schedules according to what fits their specific need and their specific goals and desires. Certainly, we have added a third event in Asia this year and there has been a significant support of all three events by the top players but, perhaps not all three events by the top players.

Uh, no way.

I think what you are going to see is, the ability for players to evaluate what their experience was this week and last week in CIMB and in HSBC, and they will set their schedules accordingly. I think we are very pleased with the feel that we have this week, as commissioner mentioned earlier, our ability to have our Fedex Cup champion, our rookie of the year, former number ones Jason Day and Adam Scott plus all the other great players who are on the field this week. It’s a great start to a long term commitment by CJ and I think we will continue to do everything we can to make sure that our players support these important sponsorships.

All fair points, but it's hard to read this and wonder about the impact on up to four sponsor-less U.S. stops and many other domestic events get poor fields because players may now skip those for $9.2 million purses in Asia.

Q: I think there are a few things that can be improved in the future. The tournament is over at 3pm and it seems to feel a bit loose and it’s difficult for the gallery. Would it be possible to increase the field?

Monahan: This is just the first of our ten-plus years here. One of the things we knew going into this week was that we're going to do our very best to execute a world-class THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, but when we left at Sunday night there’ll be a number of things we could learn from over the course of the week, and our constant pursuit to improve and get better and do the best we can in South Korea.

That’s exactly what will happen. We’ll look at every facet of the tournament. We'll make significant improvements in any facet of this event. We're not done yet. This tournament will be finalized in the next several hours but I would say that at this point on Sunday, what has happened on the grounds here, the response that we received, the things we learned from the fans here, we’re really pleased with where we are.

First on tap, ordering extra satellite time!

Not Trumped! 45 Delivers The Presidents Cup To Team USA

Team USA's victorious 2017 Presidents Cup team received the gold trophy from President Donald Trump who kept his remarks brief.

Golfweek's David Dusek on the presidential arrival and visit.

Things got off to a rocky start when the President hit send on a Tweet that criticized his predecessors.

The full transcript for those eager to relive the moment, the video and the text:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They are very talented, and they really are people that have good hearts. I want to congratulate the Internationals.

On behalf of all of the people of Texas, of all of the people of -- if you look today, if you see what's happening, how horrible it is but we have it under really great control, Puerto Rico, and the people of Florida, who are really suffering over this last short period of time with hurricanes. I want to just remember them and we are going to dedicate this trophy to all of those people that went through so much.

And I tell you what, I've been watching this from the beginning, and I have to say our Team USA, wow, did you play well.

That great putter that I've been copying his putting stroke for many, many years, but it hasn't worked; Steve Stricker. We're going to present Steve with the trophy. I want to thank everybody. This is a special group of folks, tremendous money is donated to charity by the TOUR every year.

Stricker said it was a great honor to be the first captain to receive the cup from a sitting President of the United States, Will Gray reports.

The circumstances led to some fascinating scenes, including this sight of Commissioner Jay Monahan having been commissioned by Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky for a photo with Donald Trump.

PGA Tour Commish Jay Monahan is commissioned to photograph Paulina, DJ and The President as Davis Love & Rickie look on. @presidentscup

A post shared by Geoff Shackelford (@geoffshac) on Oct 1, 2017 at 6:11pm PDT

PGA Tour Doing "Comprehensive" Slow Play Review

Bob Harig kicks off Players week with an extensive ESPN.com profile of new Commissioner Jay Monahan.

Much of what Monahan says mirrors comments he made on ShackHouse (message discipline students take notice!), but one area we did not cover on the show stood out in Harig's piece. Monahan, to date, has brushed aside most pace of play talk. But this sounds like he's taking a harder look at the matter.

"As it relates to slow play, a lot has happened behind the scenes in the last 12 to 18 months. We've developed a Shotlink dashboard for our rules officials where you can at any point in time see where a player is relative to time-par, see where a player is relative to their own historical averages. And we disclose all that information to the players, and so the players are well aware. (Players are only given information about themselves, not other players.) They have access now.

"And we're in the midst of a comprehensive review on pace of play. It's not something that we just say it's our policy and that's how it's always going to be. We recognize that with technology, we can be far more intelligent about what's happening. Now what do you do with it? I would venture to say at this point we are taking a good hard look at it.''

ShackHouse 34: PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan

New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan enters the ShackHouse to chat about his new gig, the latest USGA/R&A announcement, future format possibilities, Golf Fights Cancer, his bucket list courses and more.

For a good pre-show primer, earlier this month SBJ's John Lombardo filed this piece on the business matters Monahan is confronting.

Prior to the Commish, House and I kick around the exciting new Zurich Classic format, our favorite teams and set up the Monahan interview with a chat about the current issues facing all sports commissioners.

As always, you can subscribe on iTunes and or just refresh your device subscription page.

Here is The Ringer's show page.

Same deal with Soundcloud for the show, and Episode 34 is here to listen to right now!

Or listen via this embed:

As always, ShackHouse is brought to you by Callaway, makers of the Epic Driver that is now part of Callaway's very groovy Customs program along with Mac Daddy's and Chrome Softs. Check it out.

Jay Monahan's Golf Digest My Shot On Playoffs, The Value Of League-Owned Networks, Slow Play

New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan spoke to Guy Yocom for another excellent Golf Digest My Shot and while I always urge you to read the full interview, a couple of comments stood out.

Much to chew on in this first one:

WHAT DO I ADMIRE MOST ABOUT OTHER MAJOR-LEAGUE SPORTS? Two things. One, the way the NFL, MLB, the NBA and the NHL conclude their seasons. I love where we are with the FedEx Cup, but keep in mind it's only 10 years along, is still evolving, and we're always on the lookout for ways to sharpen our postseason-playoff structure.

Oh yes, the playoffs are definitely ending before Labor Day. But those sports also conclude their seasons with much more compelling playoff formats, so let's hope this is more than just a calendar adjustment.

Two, I admire the way they build and market their brands through their own networks. Having a 24/7 presence has served those sports very, very well.

Someone wants his own network!

While those networks were all essentially offspring to the Golf Channel and have been successful to some degree, has the 24/7 presence of the MLB Network really sold that many more seats or created new fans? And is that a risk worth taking, or just a negotiating ploy for 2021 when the current Golf Channel deal ends?

As for slow play, like his predecessor, he's punting for now:

WHICH TAKES US TO THE SUBJECT OF SLOW PLAY. I don't see a problem with rounds on our tour taking four hours, 45 minutes, because it's been consistent around that number for a long time. What drives the small amount of criticism is the impulse in the modern world to do everything faster than we did it last year. So am I going to push for faster rounds? As it stands, no.

When It's Okay To Be Slow vs. Just Plain Rude

After getting to see some solid PGA Tour action and some not-so-solid pace of play, I have read with interest Karen Crouse's New York Times story from Riviera on the topic. Leadership in golf has generally--with exceptions--signalled a desire not to act. 

Going forward I believe we need to separate the issue a few ways so as to not allow the issue to be clouded by excuses.

1.Length of round for the everyday game.

WSJ's Jason Gay included golf in this humorous roundup of what sports are doing to speed things up for an increasingly distracted younger generation.

It isn’t just the big leagues that are worried. It’s every sport. And it isn’t only the sports we watch on TV—it’s the sports we all play, too. Every game needs to be fast. Golf, in particular, is in a high panic that asking anyone under 80 years old to play 18 holes is like asking them to take a month-long canoe trip down the Amazon.

Are you kidding me? Eighteen holes of golf? What do you think I am, dead?

Speed is the rage, we’re all constantly told. People want experiences that are quick and effective and capable of being packed into a torrent of life events. My Journal columns, for example, are now mostly read on mobile phones by readers who are parachuting out of airplanes while using Instagram, fighting robot dinosaurs and making lunches for their kids.

2. Consistently slow golfers who disregard the 45 second rule and fail to play ready golf. There are some--like Ben Crane--who has spent over a decade taking too long to play even a basic shot. Because they're "nice guys" or they make light of their pace in lame videos, they get a pass. When their play is so disproportionately slow compared to their peers, the behavior is unbecoming of a professional golfer. From an in-person spectator view, such play will make people stay at home instead of coming to pro golf tournaments. And its rude to a player's peers.

John Feinstein and I tackled this question on Golf Central today. While I agree with those who say penalty shots are the only solution, I'm increasingly of the view that the only way to make people speed up is to shame in the form of huge (published) fines, reporting each week's bad times and/or having a bonus pool that rewards faster golfers based on ShotLink data.

3. Golfers taking their sweet time in a high-pressure situation. This is the issue Crouse considers in her piece, with Jason Day as the centerpiece. While he is perpetually slow, I think we all understand his view that he should not rush a key shot down the stretch. He even cites the support of Tiger Woods.

However, Day's argument falls flat because he is slow all of the time. Tiger plays at a normal clip, buying some political capital when he has set up shop over a key shot. Same deal with Phil Mickelson. And from what I saw of Jordan Spieth last week when paired with rabbits Bubba Watson and Bill Haas, he's moved into the same category as Tiger and Phil.

Crouse writes:

The movement to speed up the game is driven by the fear that it will not appeal to today’s youth with their increasingly short attention spans or older golfers with limited free time for recreational pursuits. “Is there a way to take 25 minutes off the average round, and is that necessarily going to make for a better product or presentation?” Monahan asked. “It’s not apparent.”

It's also not apparent what the bonus is of watching any round of golf take 25 minutes longer than is necessary.

He noted that events not affected by weather delays or extra holes were being completed within the telecast window, which, like airline flight schedules, is padded to allow for lag time.

“So much of the beauty of what you see week in and week out is what a player faces and how they deal with that,” Monahan added. “Do they change their mannerisms? Do they change their preshot routine? How are they handling that situation?”

Which speaks to the last point: such slow play is interesting when it's a leader down the stretch. But on Thursday to Saturday, the sport is turning people off who come to golf tournaments and watch people stand around.

Boston Globe Profile Of New Commish Jay Monahan

Jim McCabe profiles Jay Monahan for the Boston Globe and gives fans a little insight into his personality and background in both sports and charity work.

It's well worth your time, but two parts I wanted to document for posterity, starting with a rare admission of weakness from Monahan's predecessor.

Marveled Finchem one day about Monahan, who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., with his wife, Susan, and daughters Sophie, 13, and Phoebe, 10: “He’s from Boston, and he’s Irish. Making a relationship is a slam dunk for him. Makes me jealous.”

There was also this from Seth Waugh and on his work for Fenway Sports Management.

A trail of success at Arnold Advertising, Woolf Associates, EMC, as tournament director of the DBC, at FSM, and eight years in training at the PGA Tour bodes well for Monahan as PGA Tour commissioner.

“I’m excited for him,” said Faxon. “I’m excited for the Tour.”

“It will look like a calmer and gentler Tour, but he does have a steel backbone,” said Waugh. “He’s not afraid to say no, but he tries to say yes.”

Monahan counts MLB commissioner Rob Manfred as a friend, and it’s not forgotten by Red Sox ownership that it was Monahan who spearheaded improvements to Fenway Park by creating the EMC Club and State Street Pavilion.

“There was a trust factor, so much appreciation and respect [at FSM],” said Monahan.

Commish Monahan Pledges Tour Return To Miami, Shorter Playoffs

New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sat down with Golf Channel's Rich Lerner at Kapalua, with part one of their chat airing on Monday's Golf Central (part two is set for Tuesday's Morning Drive).

He touches on slow play at the 7 minute mark and the answer isn't encouraging given that he cites the tour's ability to sign off on time for television as a sign that things are okay.

But of more immediate note were remarks on trying to return to the Miami market, but probably not to the president-elect's Trump Doral.

“Like any relationship, we’re committed to finding a way to get back there.”

Monahan said the Tour continues to seek a new sponsor for the Miami stop, which has been a Tour stable since 1962, and that it’s “highly likely” that the circuit would return to South Florida.

But at Trump Doral? Monahan was not that specific.

As for the impact Trump’s presidency...

“We see president-elect Trump as being probably the best golfer to ever sit in office and probably the most golf knowledgeable,” he said. “For the game, that’s a tremendous thing.”

Best golfer to ever sit in the White House? They say the president from Massachusetts was pretty good.

He seemed to lower expectations for a potential PGA Tour schedule ending by Labor Day, but did confirm that if the PGA of America moves its championship to May and all other dominos fall, that the playoffs will be shortened by one tournament.

Monahan said no decisions on possible changes have been made and that the other players in the mix, most notably the PGA of America which would give up its spot as the year’s last major, would need to see the value of a possible makeover.

“It’s not as though we’re going to say this is the schedule, everyone has to adapt,” he said. “Our responsibility is to work very closely with the PGA of America and it’s got to work for everybody.”

Another piece of those changes would likely be a reduction of the number of FedEx Cup Playoff events, from four to three, and Monahan confirmed postseason contraction is a consideration. “If we were to execute the schedule that I just mentioned I think it’s likely,” he said.

Based on sponsorship contracts, that would likely mean the end of the Boston stop, leaving New York and Chicago/Midwest as the two "playoff" events.

Part one here:

New Commish Likes Tiger's Energy And "Countenances"

Look, he just spent the last two years as Tim Finchem's fixer. We're talking about a now-retired Commish who probably wears a blue blazer and grey slacks in lieu of pajamas and who speaks in lawyerly jargon like few others. So it'll take time for Jay Monahan to flush a few of these out of the system.

Speaking about Tiger's comeback to Rich Lerner in an interview set to air on Monday's Golf Central and Tuesday's Morning Drive, this preview quote had me running for a dictionary:

“I don’t think it’s just the performance he had at the Hero World Challenge,” Monahan said. “I think the way his energy, his countenances ... the joy that he had that week lends itself for all of us.

“It’s very exciting to think about what he could potentially accomplish in the coming weeks.”

PGA Tour Clarifies: We Really, Really Love You May!

Perhaps the month of May phoned in a suicide threat, because the PGA Tour has sought to clarify that it still loves The Players Championship in any month, including May. At least, until it can move to March in 2019 at the earliest.

Garry Smits reports the clarification for the Florida Times-Union and also goes on to talk to locals/Players champs David Duval and Mark McCumber about their thoughts on a move back to March. Both are in favor.

“Regardless of when it’s played, we’re really proud of the showcase of excellence that The Players represents — from the field to the course, to the incredible history and fan experience,” the statement said. “With that said, the Tour is always looking to not only make the tournament better, but also the PGA Tour schedule as a whole. The possibility of The Players moving to March is part of a bigger, ongoing discussion about the flow of our season. Nothing specific about The Players changing dates has been decided.”

So please May, don't jump off that bridge on 295 that gives us all The Willies. Because if the PGA of America balks, we may need you to keep hosting The Players. Even if it's hot, it's Mother's Day and the TPC just isn't as vibrant looking in Bermuda grass as it is in March's overseeded rye.

Pros And Cons Of A PGA Tour Schedule Shake-Up

We've heard hints and now we know the plan is serious: new PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan would like to move The Players back to March. This opens up May for the PGA of America to host the second major of the year, the PGA Championship, all while freeing up August for the PGA Tour playoffs. Then, America can turn to football.

Once every four years this would allow for Olympic golf to not be played so close to a major championship. This will not, however, end the wraparound silliness, Rex Hoggard reminded us.

John Feinstein and I debated this on Golf Central Tuesday (13:00 mark), with Feinstein saying the new schedule is a done deal.

I can't see enough compelling reasons for the PGA of America to give up their August date, particularly as they prepare to cash in on a new TV deal starting in 2020, making it an uncertainty this actually happens.

So let's make lists!

Pros

- Main PGA Tour season finishes prior to NFL and college football starting
- Clears a major out of the Olympic path every four years
- Strengthens PGA Tour playoffs by killing primary storylines of fatigue or whether will players skip a week
- Puts strongest possible tournament on the schedule two weeks prior to the Masters
- Creates new possibilities for PGA Championship venues in places like Texas, Arizona, Florida
- Ends "glory's last hope" sensibility that taints PGA Championship

Cons

- Agronomically eliminates Northernmost venues that have been PGA Championship venues (Hazeltine, Whistling Straits, Oak Hill)
- Places greater agronomic and infrastructure-construction pressure on northern venues still able to host
- Ends PGA of America's hold on sports-light August, weakening their position for next TV contract
- Likely ensures permanently smaller audience watching the PGA (sports-busy May vs. sports light August)
- Condensces majors schedule between second week of April to second week of July
- Introduces new weather issues for PGA Championship venues in places like Texas, Arizona, Florida
- Ends traditional Masters-U.S. Open start to major season
- Endorses the PGA Tour playoffs as a competition worthy of bumping a major to May

What else?

New PGA Tour Commish Opens Door To Big Schedule Change, Seeking Partial Network Ownership

New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has started giving interviews and telegraphing a post-Finchem strategy that involves a big schedule change concept and a desire for golf network ownership stake.

Speaking to WSJ's Brian Costa, Monahan confirmed a desire to move The Players back to March and wrap up the "playoffs" before NFL opening weekend:

“That’s certainly something that we would like to see happen,” Monahan said. “Having big events every month, culminating in the FedEx Cup playoffs in August prior to the NFL season, that would be a very powerful schedule.”

Such a change would require the cooperation of the PGA of America, a separate organization that runs the PGA Championship but also has a seat on the policy board that oversees the PGA Tour. Monahan said it is unlikely to happen in 2018.

You will recall that PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua has dangled this idea as well, but as I laid out in this post, such a move will, at least agronomically, likely mean the end of visits to beloved PGA of America markets in Minneapolis, Rochester and Milwaukee/Sheboygan. The greater New York City area even becomes dicey in years that have rough Springs.

While the concept is largely brilliant in concentrating golf to a tighter, more fan-friendly season, the central question remains: will the PGA of America take this risk that also could mean a smaller TV audience than they usually get in sports-light August, all so that the low-rated FedExCup playoffs can be finished prior to the NFL and college football seasons?

To put it another way, all of the risk taken here is taken on by the PGA of America to essentially save the FedExCup playoffs. What is their reward?

In regards to a network opt-out that would be almost require a new network schedule, Monahan was asked by Costa if the long term, post-2021 goal might be to start a new PGA Tour network.

“That’s not a core goal,” he said. “Could it happen?” He remained silent for several seconds, leaving the question unanswered.

At the very least, Monahan said it would make sense for the Tour to gain partial ownership of a network as part of its next broadcast rights agreements, rather than simply selling those rights for cash. “That would be a great result,” he said. Golf Channel is owned by NBCUniversal.

I'm always fascinated by the desire for ownership over having someone pay you for the privilege. Given the state of the other sports league channels, I'd take the checks.

Monahan also gave a lengthy interview to PGATour.com's Mike McAllister, who covers virtually every big topic on the table except the state of renewal talks with FedEx.

You can head there to read the explanation of a global tour and many other topics.

A few highlights from Monahan talking to McAllister...

“I really don't hear that much about the wraparound schedule. I hear a lot of positives about the wraparound schedule, but I don't get a lot of questions about why or whether it's working. I think the reality is that, again, going back to demand, there's such demand for the PGA TOUR and for professional golf that obviously if you can put 47 events on the calendar, you're doing something right. And if you were to make changes, and I'm not suggesting what those changes would be, but if those changes resulted in fewer events, that creates openings on your schedule that the demand will fill.

“I think we're in a position now where we feel like we're doing the right thing for our membership and for our fans because they're clearly responding.”

The fans have responded by not tuning in to watch the fall events since joining the FedExCup umbrella. That is indeed clear!

On new formats like the two-man event coming to the Zurich Classic, Monahan leaves the door wide open, especially if it delivers "non-core" fans.

“So you've got to look at formats. You've got to look at the way you present your product through the media. You've got to look at the way our players engage through their own social media platforms. You've really got to look at every facet of what you're doing and be intensely focused on trying to reach that audience, and I think we have.

“I know we all as an organization are giving a lot of thought to perhaps being far more aggressive in marketing to that audience to bring them in, and I think you'll see us be testing, innovating, and perhaps getting our message to audiences in areas that we haven't done in the past.”

He calls pace of play "complicated". Still, it was bold for McCallister to bring up a topic that would have had Tim Finchem asking the writer for a resignation letter upon the interview's completion.

“What we're trying to do, like every other part of our business, is be as close to and intimate with the data so that in working with everybody, we're doing everything we can to address pace of play. But I would tell you that we feel like we've taken a lot of positive steps in the last couple of years.

“You always have to look at the fact that everybody that's living today is trying to do what they did yesterday faster. And so it's no different for our game, and I think that's something we've got to continue to take very seriously. There's no easy solution, though.”

Never know until you try a penalty stroke!

Perhaps most fascinating was the reveal of a Silicon Valley trip.

In June, several key TOUR executives and digital officers made a West Coast visit to companies such as Amazon, Google, YouTube, Facebook and Apple. With each visit, the TOUR team gained insight and knowledge as to how the TOUR was viewed through the prism of digital users. The visit to Facebook was especially eye-opening in terms of how much work the TOUR needed to do in order to increase its brand exposure, especially among millennial consumers.

I thought millennials don't like Facebook? Go on...

Says Monahan: “The No. 1 takeaway that we all had and something we talked about as we were all coming back is as much video content as we're creating, we probably need to create somewhere in the magnitude of three to five times more as we go forward. We have a significant investment in our digital media across all of our platforms (but) I think you could expect that we're still fairly embryonic in the way we're approaching that in terms of investment level.

Embryonic. Someone's been spending too much time around Commissioner Coterminous!

“Producing more content, perhaps looking at some of the ways ‑‑ some of the guidelines that we have in place and making certain that we're welcoming content creation where appropriate, and we're starting to use the power of our players and their own networks to help build not only their profiles but the profile of the TOUR and the game. So I think that's a big opportunity.

“We also learned how much they knew about us, which was pretty remarkable, and I think one of the things that we took away was we know a lot about our fans. We know a lot about our spectators. But we really need to have a concerted approach to be as knowledgeable as we possibly can about our fans and their interests and their needs, and I think we're on a really good path there, and that's something that you'll see develop in '17.”

Even with all of the digital talk, Monahan wisely reiterated that they are not taking their eye off the ball, with television as the primary product, suggesting the idea of streaming the PGA Tour on alternate networks may not be ready for prime time.

“I strongly believe that the most valuable product is going to be our linear product, our television product, because that allows us to reach the masses and for the masses to experience the PGA TOUR and our players playing at the highest level.

“Social media, mobile, all of that augments what we're doing and improves the experience that the fan can have. So whether it's continuing to improve and enhance ShotLink, whether it's allowing players to shoot video earlier in the week from the tournament to create greater awareness of that tournament and help them build their profiles, that ability to be talking all the time is a great opportunity for us to grow our audience and grow interest in our tournaments and our players.

“But it has to augment and support what we're doing from a television standpoint, and we feel like we're doing a really good job on that front. But what we think of that world today, mobile and digital and now 80 percent of our fans are consuming their content via mobile, that will look very different in a year or two from now. Having the ability to adapt and being flexible about content and rights is something that is and will continue to be very important for us and our media partners.”

That seems like a pretty wise approach given the age of the golf audience and its willingness to search for the PGA Tour on something besides a television. Furthermore, the discussion of seeing social media and online video as a way to augment the "product" instead of a replacement will assure those concerned that the tour might move too quickly into unproven mediums.