The Essence of LIV Golf
Many sports have evolved and changed over the years. At first, it may seem like an unwanted change to many fans, but as time moves forward the change and/or evolution either sticks or dissolves. In 1869 a man named Walter Camp altered the rules of Rugby and what is now known as American football was formed. Everyone thought Camp was a lunatic for bringing the position of quarterback into the game, but now we recognize many names with the word quarterback, Johnny Unitus, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Joe Montana, Tom Brady and Bart Starr to name a few.
Along with golf, you have American baseball, basketball and hockey that have made many changes over the decades that had a strong impact on the game itself. Over the centuries, golf has been banned by Kings and many changes to the game of golf have taken place from debates on rules, clubs, balls, course design and much more over not only the decades but over the centuries. Now there is a new game in town. A game that many said wouldn’t exist past its first year. That game is LIV Golf.
I have been a golf fan all my life, I have played in the Houston Amateur Tour and played in national events, therefore when I heard that the new league would be only three rounds and with a louder concept than the traditional golf I knew, my first response was “I really don’t know about this”, but I kept an open mind and I couldn’t be happier for doing so. I witness so many fans that have been split and are so negative towards LIV Golf and I find that the largest majority of what is called “LIV Haters” have been swayed by the main stream golf media by influencers such as Brandel Chamblee and players such as Tiger and Rory who have turned against the very players they used to rub shoulders with. I cannot state one time that a LIV Golfer has started the negative narrative against a PGA player and when there was a counter attack it was in defense and started by a PGA player. These fans that only listen to the Golf Channel and believe everything they say have never looked at the facts as to why Greg Norman and others like Phil Mickelson brought LIV to life. In essence, the PGA players were and had been getting screwed for years. That is another story in and of itself.
Compared to the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA the PGA has been managed by a politically motivated comminsioner and the players were being left behind. Politics should never be brought into sports. I guess when the great Bobby Jones made the statement that money would be the ruin of golf, he never knew that it would have been so politically motivated. The PGA turned very political pulling the PGA Championship from Trump’s Bedminster owned by The Trump Organization in 2022, which has been settled in a lawsuit and the PGA even moved the WGC from Trump Doral to Mexico. It’s apparent that the PGA has become extremely political and they influence everything that The Golf Channel says. One must only analyze that LIV Golf is a sport and the only golf news channel that exists does not cover any LIV moments. Pretty telling…
There were fans in the AFL and NFL that would not give in to the merger and the new Super Bowl. Both made fun of each other, but now look where football has evolved. There is no reason that all true golf fans shouldn’t follow all leagues without the influence of the media and there is no reason that players should not have the right to play in all leagues. The pressure of the OWGR, the PGA and the DP World Tour to damage LIV is very apparent.
Going back to the changes LIV has brought, lets start with moving from a 4 day schedule to 3 days. If you analyze 4 day tornaments over the years, the majority of players on Sunday (Day 4) who are in the last couple of groups and sometimes just the last group dominate on Sunday, therefore, is it really so bad playing for only 3 days? I know change in sports is difficult but look at the stats over 3 days in LIV Golf and you may be surprised as to not only the change in the competitive nature of the players, but also movement on the board during all 3 days of play. And then there’s the new startegy of team play. A player can be 10 back on day 3, but one putt can have a serious impact on the their and their team’s finish and ranking.
No player or fan can deny that LIV Golf has signed most of the best players in the world and the competitive nature is well enahanced with the shotgun start and the fast pace with players striving for individual and team titles. I challenge all fans to give it a chance. You do not have to stop following the PGA and I believe you may be surprised as to the difference and how it now works in this new niche of golf.
This all boils down to the essence of sports. What is the essence of sports? There’s one answer. The essence of sports, especially in golf, is simply how the actions of players while acheiving greatness portray and instill in our children the enthusiasm, will and drive to be their best in whatever the endeuvors are throughout their life. I remember worshipping Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson when I was younger. I learned how to play sports with class and honesty, not to get angry when I lost, but learn from my defeats in order to be better the next time around and many other things. I even applied things from all sports. I learned from quarterbacks, like resilience from Terry Bradshaw to calmess from Joe Montana and have applied that to my businesses throughtout my life. Adult fans, players, such as Rory and Tiger, and especially the Chamblee’s of the golf news world should be ashamed of themselves. LIV Golf is another sports franchise with many of the best players in the world. Instead of going political against them, raise the greatness of the players up through the essence of sports for our kids. With all the social media rants and kids on games all day, real sports is one of the rare mechanisms left for them to learn and apply positive markers to utilize in their future. Quit bashing a sport because it gets you ratings or you’re a sheep of the golf media. It’s as simple as that.
Tee Box Times would like to thank all the personnel who have had a part in developing, essentially a new sport, based on the golf concept. From Greg Norman to Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson and all the others who have taken the chance with LIV. I personanlly thanked David Feherty in Tulsa 2023 for making the move and sacrifice. He responded with that Feherty grin. I truly believe that 50 years from now all of you will be written about as the new pioneers who helped in changing the game to benefit the players, who sacrifice many years of family time and other normal life happenings. All of these LIV deniers have no idea of what sacrifices are given by a player, his caddy and trainers to become successful, only to be basically crapped on by their own league and its rulers.
Again, if you are bold enough to step out of your box, watch some LIV Golf as they’re here to stay. When a tournament can draw crowds all over the world at their events, especially in middle America like Tulsa Oklahoma, you know it’s successful. Tee Box Times has inserted many images and a video from LIV Tulsa 2023 herein. Enjoy…
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