I know it's only February and the golf season is still a long way off in most parts of the country. And this time of year soccer takes up most of my time. (In fact it does all year long.)
Nevertheless the mild days this week are beginning to stir the golfer in me. But as we all know, these are troubled times. There are foreboding tales of sponsors disappearing and taking events down the drain with them.
No doubt you've heard about PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem's plea for players to enter some extra tournaments this year and schmooze with the sponsors and fans a little more. In fact, in a players' meeting at the Buick Invitational last week in San Diego Finchem spent most of his time talking about the issue.
Led by PGA Tour Policy Board member Davis Love III, the message that came from the meeting was a reinforcement of Finchem's earlier plea. Sign more autographs, be a good guy at the pro-am, be media-friendly, smile a lot and make nice.
For some of these guys that's foreign territory. For others it won't be so hard. But will it make a difference? I don't think so. Fans don't go to tournaments to watch players smile and get their autographs. And viewers don't tune in to watch smiley faces during interviews.
Sure sponsors might be pleased. But they write the cheque based on ticket sales and TV viewership. How else are they to gauge if they're getting their money's worth?
People buy tickets, watch on TV and sponsors sign up based on the hope that the strongest field possible will play that event. In other words, if Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Vijay, Sergio -- well you get the picture -- if they all show up, everyone is happy and nothing else matters. That's obvious.
Unfortunately it's also impossible. All this other stuff may create a blip on the radar, but nothing more.
What do you think?
