Why John Henry investing in the PGA Tour could be good for golf
Yes I’ll admit I’m drinking the Kool-Aid a little bit as someone who is a diehard golf fan. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic but I do think there are numerous reasons to be excited if you’re a golf fan about John Henry and other investors investing $1.5 billion dollars into the PGA TOUR. Now Red Sox fans aren’t gonna want to hear this, but John Henry is a successful sports owner. Say what you want about the Red Sox now and how John Henry currently operates the team. However there is no denying that when John Henry invests in something it succeeds especially early on.
So maybe I am being a little overly optimistic, but the PGA TOUR has needed a shake up and an influx of money for a while now. The golf world has been flipped on its head by the LIV tour forcing the PGA to make changes. As someone who loves golf as a whole, I’ve tried to give LIV golf a chance but the whole thing just seems like a bad infomercial that’s extremely gimmicky. From the weird team names, and the team format in general. Which isn’t what golf is or should be except for in special circumstances. To the large sums of money that no real fan cares about that’s turned a lot of people off to the sport.
Reasons to be optimistic:
So now you’re saying why would you care about the PGA TOUR getting a ton of money and more golfers getting rich. For me, this is simple the PGA TOUR has been run as a nonprofit organization in the past. Now with John Henry and other investors getting involved it will be run for profit. Forcing the PGA TOUR to make changes that benefit the viewer and consumer of their product.
The biggest problem for a long time with golf is actually watching golf. The tour has made it hard to watch golf on Thursdays and Fridays and even at times on the weekends. The biggest gripe a lot of golf fans have is you simply don’t see enough golf shots during the broadcast. Now do I know John Henry’s gonna for sure fix any of this no. But I’m operating under the belief that John Henry is a smart businessman. Something Red Sox fans will probably disagree with, but he is a savvy businessman. Which is why I expect him to make changes to the PGA TOUR to make it a more consumer friendly product.
Fans will rightfully be skeptical of these changes and could be turned off by the influx of money going to the golfers. For me it’s not about the money though it’s about the product golf needs to be more welcoming to it’s viewers and find a broader audience if it wants to continue to strive and survive. Am I blindly trusting John Henry to fix all of this… no I’m not but I am optimistic that this is a step in the right direction to improve the product for it’s consumers.
