Many people, fans, and golf media are throwing around all kinds of accusations and “takes” on everything in the golf world right now. LIV this and PGA that. It’s enough to make people want to go out and milk the cows! There is a power struggle in golf, and ever since LIV split off from the PGA Tour, every day, we wait to see what the next big story is, who says what, and who will win. Unfortunately, in the middle, the most important things are not being talked about, or worse, some things are being used to smear one side or the other.
A gentlemen’s game is established with agreed-upon principles like fair play, honor, tradition, and integrity. Then we turn on the Twitter machine or PGA Tour radio and hear mostly everything but this every day now. While this battle continues to consume most fans, the bigger picture is lost daily. Some try to bring it to light and will say “the fans” and “the sport” are suffering from all of this. Then, 20 minutes later, they are back on the narrative train doing something to help create an even more significant divide with their take on the other side.
“Grow the Game“
One of the most significant points of contention is the term “grow the game.” My career has been about “growing the game,” so I don’t like that term being used lightly, especially in this back-and-forth word battle in golf. At one point, I asked many big names what a simple question should be: What does “grow the game mean?”
Well, I didn’t get any responses, which didn’t surprise me. So, I went deeper and asked, “If a person competes in a golf event that others choose to watch, wouldn’t this activity qualify as “growing the game”? These people watching might decide to play golf, take a lesson, or just learn something more about our game. Again, there were no responses.
The Reality of the Situation
The reality is that anything that exposes others to golf is “growing the game.” It’s not an activist’s position. Nor should it be used to smear anyone actively exposing others to the game of golf. LIV has used this term, which is probably irrelevant to their cause. However, that doesn’t disqualify the fact that they are “growing the game.” The way they are doing so can be debated. They’re choosing to tee it up in front of cameras, and people do grow the game. If you take the time to learn about the players, you will find they are doing a lot of other activities off the course.
The recent YouTube video of Fairway to Heaven with guest Anirban Lahiri is an incredible example of one of these players. He is using his situation to increase exposure to the game in his home country of India. He explains how important it is for him to play in significant events close enough to his home.
It is OK to hate LIV if you don’t like what they are doing with their tour. However, throwing mud at them is not OK, and saying things like, “It’s only for the money.” Undoubtedly, the money is life-changing. What comes with that money and the shortened tour is plenty of time to also “grow the game.” It is not OK to use this to smear these people.
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