Various takes on 07 PGA Tour, New TV Deals

[FrankoSport]

Greetings ...

A PGA Tour player (he's also an about-to-be-out-of-work TV analyst), a former USGA exec and an online sports journalist each offer opinions on both the 2007 PGA Tour -AND- the new TV deals.

Paul Azinger (from CNN-SI)

Frank Hannigan (from Golf Observer)

Gary Van Sickle (from CNN-SI)

With regard to Azinger's comments -- I do think that the tour pros take the Players Championship quite seriously, but if true, why don't they say so more often? At the very least, I would think that the pros would get on the media for not supporting the Players more.

Zinger is dead on when he says the Fed Ex Cup idea is likely to NOT catch on with fans, and smartly compares it to the quick rise and fall of the Tour Championship.

With regards to Van Sickle's comments -- We're definitely seeing the last of the PGA Tour as it has existed. Several events left out of the Fed Ex Cup mix will probably be gone soon, some as PGA Tour events, some just simply gone.

No one specificly offered comment on the "butchering" of both the Western Open (turned into part of the Fed Ex Championship Series), as well as the Canadian Open (wedged in between the British Open and PGA, with the WGC-Bridgestone event thrown in).

[Kilroy]

Interesting reading. Thanks Franco

I wonder if the decline of golf's popularuity will level off soon. Tiger made golf bigger than ever before, and it seems logical that nothing can grow that fast and keep growing forever. After the dust settles (2010?) golf will still be far bigger than 10 years ago.

I don't think we need a new phenom. What we need is suspense during the events and rivalry between equally skilled players. Watching one dominate like Tiger did is only interesting for so long. I'd much rather have seen more players step up and challenge him than for his game to have deteriorated to join the rest of the field.

So will the PGA Tour's decline be reflected in rounds played by amatures over the next few years? It won't affect me. I'm hooked. But will golf keep the general playing population stable, adding as many new players as it loses over the next 5 years?

[FrankoSport]

Greetings ...

Golf Observer's Geoff Shackelford weighs in with his thoughts.

[sharkhark]

Thanks for the links, some interesting articles,plus I have discovered some new columnists that I have never read, thanks Frankosport.

Re the schedule:
I am glad the golf channel will finally have golf. Watching infomercials about magic necklace ju ju beeds can get tiresome.
Now they have golf movies, and golf.
Like the columnist and myself have said before, they gotta improve their poor production standards, plus the comment that no hotels have golf channel I neve thought of, small point but valid.

Overall, I think these days it has more to do with tiger than anything else. IF he played every single week, the pga would be laughing, but he doesnt. It's not the schedule, its all about tiger.

And he has the right, golf has given him alot, but its not his responsibility to shoulder the entire tours success, if he wants to play where he chooses, what can you do.

Cheers,Shark