Is European Tour > PGA Tour?

[Shankster]

After the last 3 weeks of wonderful EuropeanTour venues, we head to Memphis for the Shriners WGC.. for a great cause don’t get me wrong this tournament is wonderful for charity, and the kids that benefit from it. Bravo for this move.

 

It seems the PGA Tour is watered down with the same sort of set up week in and week out. As a TV viewer, it’s boring. Especially with the moving of the majors around, for this nascar cup playoff thing that I personally don’t care for.

 

I guess I’ll just have to get up earlier to catch the European Tour events.

 

It’s time to find some new courses to play for the PGA Tour.

 

Thoughts?

[PMookie]

I only watch MAYBE 2 European Tour events: the one before the British, and the British. The times I’ve had them on early in the morning otherwise, I didn’t get any more excited. Their courses just don’t seem that much more intriguing, to me, and I don’t even know the golfers, so it’s even more boring from that standpoint.


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[Shankster]

I only watch MAYBE 2 European Tour events: the one before the British, and the British. The times I’ve had them on early in the morning otherwise, I didn’t get any more excited. Their courses just don’t seem that much more intriguing, to me, and I don’t even know the golfers, so it’s even more boring from that standpoint.


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Good points. I watched quite a few last year. Got to know a few names, and venues. Probably makes a difference.

[RickyBobby_PR]

The euros play links courses twice a year. The rest aren’t much different than the us courses imo. 

[Shankster]

The euros play links courses twice a year. The rest aren’t much different than the us courses imo. 

3 Links to be exact this year so far, but they play an abundance of different style courses, some parkland, heathland, Links, desert.

Just better scenery. Especially when they play in Switzerland.

[Kenny B]

I watch the European Tour events for an hour of so each weekend around 5-6am Pacific time in bed with coffee and Baileys.  The biggest difference between them and the PGA tour events, other than the links courses, is they tend to be a little more open and not so tree-lined.  They have those courses too, but generally trees are further from the fairway and  big misses are not that penal.  Also, most tournaments have much slower greens than on the PGA Tour.  I keep commenting that nobody can get the ball to the hole.

[sixcat]

I enjoy the European Tour much more than the PGA Tour on television.  The presentation is infinitely better in my opinion.  I guess I have always been drawn to the "less is more" philosophy.  The PGA Tour seems to have gotten a bit wrapped up in trying to create the story rather than letting the golf tell the story.  The European Tour caters to the avid golf fan where the PGA Tour tries desperately to get the attention of the fringe or casual fan.  Besides, nobody tunes in to a PGA Tour broadcast excited to hear or see Jim Nantz.  Most who watch European Tour coverage don't even know who the commentators are and they seem to revel in their anonymity.  While Jim Nantz is busy crafted the next god-awful-cheesy-one-liner.

As for the courses, nothing with the name "TPC" is going to compete with Portrush, Lahinch, Walton Heath, Lake Karrinyup, Himmerland, Rinkven, Munich, Valderrama, Renaissance, Wentworth, Le Golf National, or The Old Course at St. Andrews.  All of which are on the 2018-2019 European Tour schedule!  At least not in my eyes.

I fully realize that I am in the minority being an American who prefers European Tour golf.  Before I had children, I worked for a company that did an awful lot of work for the PGA Tour and the PGA of America.  I've seen first hand how they choose the TPC model over established golf clubs with history for nothing more than sheer profit.  They own the TPC's, therefore they don't have to pay the clubs to host events like they do Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Colonial or Riviera.  Which adds to my disdain for TPC's!

Ask yourself this!  Why did the WGC move from Firestone to Memphis.......in late July?  Because the PGA Tour wanted to keep FedEx as the title sponsor for the season series.  Why the sudden need to placate FedEx?  Because the season series is losing interest by the second with avid fans, casual fans as well as Tour players.  The Tour raised the $10 million dollar FedEx Cup 1st prize to $15 million.  Another off the cuff question, ever notice how PGA Tour broadcasts will show the Nascar like branding for Rickie, Tiger or anyone not named Louis Oosthuizen?  What can brown do for you?

Quick, without Google, who were the last 5 FedEx Cup champions?  Who were the last 5 Masters Champions?  One is infinitely easier to remember than the other!

Sorry, that got a little more in-depth than I intended!  I love golf but I hate what televised golf in the US has become.  So, to answer your question @Shankster, yes, European Tour > PGA Tour!

[BigtazzGolf]

@sixcat agree it is a money deal for sure. One reason Memphis moved the event in previous years was because of the heat. Note, we are winning the weather lottery this year. Temps will be in the 80s this week with mild humidity.
As a volunteer. This makes me gitty lol.@shankster to the question of which is better. Not easy to answer. It's all about what you like in golf.
If you like pristine looking courses it's the PGA. If you like the more rougher look then I think the European tour is for you. I don't mean rougher in a bad way either.

And this event is WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational. No affiliation to the Shrines Hospital event in Las Vegas.
Both great charities and events.
Watch and you might see me on hole 7 at the ShotLink station ️




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[sixcat]

I honestly don't mean to be offensive to anyone with my opinions.  But these are my opinions and I am not bashful in sharing them.

I would argue, many of the clubs I mentioned are "pristine" in a way the TPC's are most certainly not!  Geoff Ogilvy described the best courses in the world as being "elegantly disheveled" on a Golfers Journal podcast a few months ago  I really like that description.  And given how water is the least valued and conserved commodity we have in the world, more and more courses should follow that "elegantly disheveled" look! 

Glad to hear the weather will likely be better than one could reasonably expect for Memphis in late July.  But the tournament will still be played on a cookie-cutter golf course in the middle of an office park.  Someone mentioned to me earlier today, they should change the name to the Swampass WGC presented by Initech.  I thought that was hilarious!  I'm not likely to tune in at all.

[TR1PTIK]

20 hours ago, Shankster said:

 

After the last 3 weeks of wonderful EuropeanTour venues, we head to Memphis for the Shriners WGC.. for a great cause don’t get me wrong this tournament is wonderful for charity, and the kids that benefit from it. Bravo for this move.

 

It seems the PGA Tour is watered down with the same sort of set up week in and week out. As a TV viewer, it’s boring. Especially with the moving of the majors around, for this nascar cup playoff thing that I personally don’t care for.

 

I guess I’ll just have to get up earlier to catch the European Tour events.

 

It’s time to find some new courses to play for the PGA Tour.

 

Thoughts?

 

I agree as far as courses, players, and dispersion of TV coverage goes, but I cannot tolerate European Tour commentary. There's not enough of it, and it's too quiet at times when it doesn't need to be. If you aren't out on the course, you don't need to speak in a whisper... 

Perhaps if the PGA Tour found more interesting courses and changed the formula for tournaments from birdie fest, to some sort of actual challenge, the US Ryder Cup team would actually stand a chance on foreign soil.

[sixcat]

27 minutes ago, TR1PTIK said:

Perhaps if the PGA Tour found more interesting courses and changed the formula for tournaments from birdie fest, to some sort of actual challenge, the US Ryder Cup team would actually stand a chance on foreign soil.

And have living grass on the putting surfaces, thus slowing down the green speeds.  That is the biggest detriment to US Ryder Cup teams.  They cannot putt the slower greens in the UK.  There are some other issues as well but that is the biggest factor in my opinion. 

Ryder Cup green speeds in the UK are even slower than European Tour green speeds.

[fixyurdivot]

I watch whatever Sling TV Golf Channel package airs. Lots of LPGA, plenty of PGA (though not always Sat/Sun rounds), plenty of Champions Tour events, and to a lesser amount Euro Tour.  No way Euro > PGA imho... unless you have issue with the bash and gouge approach to the game .  Kidding aside, I think they each have their qualities.

[revkev]

I think someone wrote it earlier this is a matter of money. While there are lots of great Euro players and many fine courses used the money is here so the strength of fields are here.

Sixcat and have had our go round in regards to courses. There are lots of very good and yes great courses that host tour events. Two in Florida that jump out are Copperhead and Sawgrass. Pebble Beach, Harbor Town are okay. :)

There are also a number of adequate ones.

It’s tough to find courses that are big enough,accessible enough to traffic and willing to be subjected to the rigors that a tour event creates.

In the end the PGA tour tops the European tour because of strength of field IMO.


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[BADFanBoi Scotty]

Oh definitely. Various styles and conditions requiring different plays. US is basically pin seeking all the time. Plus European Tour isn't afraid of trying things that increase interest (Even if some ideas aren't great, they're thinking).