Golf Bizz Review

Could we be 15 minutes away from a deal between the PGA Tour and PIF? That's how long President-Elect Donald Trump claimed it would take to negotiate a deal if he had his way. While this might come across as a typical Trump remark regarding his abilities to solve the world's problems, he rightly goes on to state that he simply wants to see the best players in the world performing on the same platform. In that regard, is Trump stating anything different to what the rest of us think? Trump's election victory is seen as a positive by Rory McIlroy. McIlroy was quoted as saying, "help 'clear the way' for a peace deal in?golf's civil war." His thoughts were shared in a press conference ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which Phil Casey covered in the Independent. Can Trump make the difference? Share your thoughts in the comments below. #pgatour #PIF #GBR #golfbusiness #donaldtrump #newpresident https://lnkd.in/d5yKE7PH

Is Greg Norman leaving LIV Golf? Reports today suggest that LIV Golf is looking for a new CEO, and it is unclear what Norman's role will be going forward. The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has mobilized Odgers Berndtson, a London-based headhunter, to begin the search. Odgers Berndtson was previously used by PIF to find a director for Newcastle Utd Football Club, which is owned by the PIF. LIV Golf is carrying out its own search for a CEO, using CAA Sports and Egon Zendher to find candidates. What does this mean for the charismatic Norman? Does he have a future role with LIV Golf? Will a new CEO help mend the bridges between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf? Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have intimated in the past that negotiations would be smoother without Norman. Post in the comments below what your thoughts on the news are. #livgolf #pgatour #pif #golfindustry #golfnews #golfbizzreview https://lnkd.in/eEArHnkR

Jon Rahm won a combined $22 million last weekend. Not a bad weekend, you might say. Rahm's earnings are $4 million for winning LIV Golf Chicago and $18 million for winning the individual element of the 2024 season. His play throughout the season certainly merits finishing first. He won twice and never finished lower than T-10 all season. This standard of play can partially justify the amount of money LIV Golf paid Rahm. However, Rahm has made it clear that his objective was to be considered for the European Ryder Cup team that will face the US in 2025. This has created a headache as Rahm still has unpaid fines to the DP World Tour, which supposedly total somewhere near $1 million. The equation is simple. If Rahm pays his fines, he will be able to play in a number of?DP World Tour?events outside the majors, which could boost his chances of qualifying for the European team. Reports last week indicated that LIV Golf was looking to find a solution with the DP World Tour, which would see Rahm's fines paid, removing any obstacles to Rahm teeing it up in the Spanish Open later this month. Reports indicate the DP World Tour was not willing to consider LIV Golf's recommendations, and Rahm has gone on to appeal against the decision. Now we wait for the next move. Comment below: with Rahm's earnings this year, should he just pay the fine and be done with it? Does it make the DP World Tour look bad? ?? One of Europe's biggest stars may be unable to play on the DP World Tour for the foreseeable future. ?? Could Rahm's star power attract more sponsors and fans to DP World Tour events he can play in? ?? If the DP World Tour did accept LIV Golf's proposals, would it weaken its position with the PGA TOUR in the ongoing negotiations with the Saudi-funded PIF? Take a moment to also check in on our latest edition of Golf Bizz Review. Click on the link below and subscribe to catch up on all the latest news in the golf industry. #PGATour #DPWorldtour #LIVGolf #Golfbizzreview #golfindustry https://lnkd.in/eXGBbH9V

The game of golf grows from strength to strength. With healthy growth in the game, you might think there is an opportunity to create the next great innovation in golf. Can it be done? Where are the opportunities? How could you compete with huge, established brands in the industry? As a relatively new business ourselves, we know that it takes time, patience, and the right backing to get your ideas off the ground. This is where Old Tom Capital could be of help. In a great interview with GolfWRX.com, founding partners Evan Roosevelt and Matthew Erley provide some really fascinating insight into: ?? Where the opportunities lie in the golf industry ?? What the future looks like over the next 5-10 years ?? How the golf landscape has changed post-pandemic Click on the link below for the full interview, and use the comments section to let us know how you see the golf industry shaping up. #golfindustry #golfbusiness #oldtomcapital #GBR

The PGA TOUR announced its 2025 schedule last week. What did we see or not see from the released schedule? For starters, there is no contingency for the proposed merger with PIF and the impact that it could have on the calendar with 2025 LIV Golf events. To be fair, there is no other position here for the PGA TOUR to take. Planning and organising a full playing schedule takes time as host courses and sponsors must prepare for their week in the spotlight. We will likely see something similar from LIV Golf when they are ready to announce their schedule. Picking out some key highlights for the 2025 PGA TOUR season: ?? Players Championship remains the jewel in the crown. Prize fund has not been announced. ?? 8 signature events form the next tier. 700 FedEx Cup points are on offer for the winner. ?? Tour Championship will be played in mid-August to help players who qualify for next year's Ryder Cup to recover from the full season and be ready for the bi-annual showdown with Europe at Bethpage Black next September. The controversial scoring system for the Tour Championship remains in place, which Scottie Scheffler does not appear to be a fan of for good reason. What are your thoughts? Comment below. Is the PGA Tour right to keep the same formula for this year? Should the scoring system be scrapped for the Tour Championship? Will anything change if the merger between the tours and PIF goes ahead? Read the full breakdown in our latest newsletter below. #PGATour #LIVGolf #PIF #golfbusinessreview #golfindustry https://lnkd.in/ejkcNj3J

Callaway Golf has had an interesting couple of weeks. They have launched their new Apex Ai200 and Apex Ai300 irons. Callaway Golf's third launch is the new TiFusion, which successfully blends titanium with steel to create a concept iron that will offer something completely different, similar to what TaylorMade Golf Company did when it launched its first carbon-faced driver. As Topgolf/Callaway announced its Q2 and H1 financials, we got an indication of potential trouble for the brand. Topgolf could be sold off. On the surface, Topgolf is a successful brand; new locations are opening worldwide, including its hundredth location in California. We understand now that the existing (same-venue) locations aren't creating a solid financial foundation on which the business can build. Attempted synergies between Callaway and Topgolf haven't turned things around, leading to the CEO of Topgolf/Callaway, Chip Brewer, announcing an immediate review to take place. So, what will happen? Will Topgolf be sold off? Post your comments below. You can also find out how Acushnet faired in Q2 by clicking on the link below to read the full details in Golf Business Review's latest weekly analysis of the golf industry. #golfindustry #golfbusiness #financialstatements #golfbusinessreview https://lnkd.in/da7u4iqM

Aaron Rai captured the Wyndham Championship yesterday. Rai has had a successful first season on the PGA TOUR and currently stands a great chance of getting to East Lake for the season-ending Tour Championship, sitting at 25th on the FedEx Cup standings. What is interesting about Rai (aside from his two gloves) is his coaching staff. Rai has been working for a number of years with Piers Ward and Andy Proudman of Me And My Golf, one of the most successful and longest-running YouTube channels. Tiger Woods was asked during a golf clinic he was part of what his thoughts were on how amateurs could improve their golf games. Woods' succinct answer was that amateurs should avoid YouTube (or words to that effect; we've missed out on the expletive he used!) Ward and Proudmen are qualified professionals via The PGA and have built a community through their YouTube channel and website, helping golfers of all abilities. Many other professionals have also taken to YouTube to pass on hints and tips for golfers. So, with the overall explosion of golf popularity on YouTube, should golfers not bother getting lessons and just watch the latest videos on how to improve? While YouTube is a medium for professionals to set up a channel and pass on hints and tips, these are not a replacement for going to a professional for lessons. If we go back to the guys at Me And My Golf, they still spend lots of time with golfers on the practice ground, working to improve their games in the same way they do with Aaron Rai. They know as much as any other coach that they need to be standing there with the golfers and watching them hit shots to diagnose what's wrong with their games effectively. It's also important to note that before social media came on the scene, golfers devoured golf magazines, which were full of the same instructional features that we see on YouTube today. However, golfers still opted to go and get lessons from a qualified professional to improve their game. Share your comments below. Is YouTube golf lessons a good thing or a bad thing? Are fewer golfers coming for lessons because they are improving via social media? Is YouTube and other social media getting more people interested in playing golf? #golfinstruction #pgaprofessionals #pgatour https://lnkd.in/e6v2HE4i

How big a role can AI play in teaching golf? It seems there are not many areas of our lives where AI isn't creeping in. When we look at golf and how the game is taught, we've made big advances in recent years, from being able to initially video our swings to a raft of modern coaching apps. Now, we see the introduction of AI and motion-capturing to give us a new perspective on how we swing the club and build tailored teaching programs to help golfers improve. In our latest edition of the Golf Business Review newsletter, we covered two major announcements: ?? Golf Digest's new partnership with Mustard ?? Sportsbox AI's announcement of Bryson DeChambeau becoming a partner in the business DeChambeau spoke in the aftermath of his victory in the U.S. Open about how he was able to get dialled in for the tournament with the help of Sportsbox AI, and we've been lucky enough to sample what the Sportsbox app has to offer with the help of Chris Reh, and it's impressive! These tools present a blend of technology but still with the human element key to teaching golfers how to improve. Comment below if you have had the opportunity to try Sportsbox AI or the Mustard app. Our latest newsletter also covers: ? PGA TOUR finds a new sponsor for its first Fall series event next month ? Funding announcement from ShotScope to further their business ? The first interactive billboard promoting the AIG Women's Open ? New launches from Titleist and TaylorMade Golf Company #golfindustry #golfbusinessreview #golfbusiness #aitechnology https://lnkd.in/efXHhFrm

$389,000,000 Always nice to start a post with a big number! $389,000,000 represents the size of the total prize funds available on the PGA Tour for the 37 events that make up the 2023/24 season, excluding the season-ending Tour Championship. The PGA Tour's event structure has undergone subtle tweaks for this season, with eight events now designated as signature events with total prize funds of $20 million on the line. The Player's Championship commands the biggest purse of $25 million, $4 million ahead of the highest-paying major championship, the U.S. Open. So, where are the majors left in the financial war that has raged ever since LIV Golf came on the scene? Is the PGA Tour's desire to compete with LIV financially sustainable? What impact does the need for ever-greater riches have on title sponsors? Our latest article looks at all these relationships. Click the link below to read further. ?? #golfindustry #golfbusinessreview #pgatour https://lnkd.in/e7ziKscP

What was the economic impact of Italy hosting The Ryder Cup in 2023? The answer is €262 million making it the most successful Ryder Cup played outside the US. The move away from the UK as the default venue for Ryder Cups in Europe has proven to be a successful gamble. Following France's hosting of the 2018 edition at Golf National, the Marco Simone Country Club hosted the biggest Ryder Cup to date, and the figures indicate just how economically successful the event was. The economic research was carried out by the Sports Industry Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University. Some additional headlines of the research were: ?? 271,000 people attended the 2023 Ryder Cup ?? 11% increase in total revenue over the 2018 Ryder Cup hosted at Le Golf National, Paris (€235 million) ?? €34 million in revenue for the local accommodation sector Read more about the findings in the latest edition of Golf Business Review by clicking the link below. #golfbusinessreview #rydercup #golfindustry https://lnkd.in/ePdhKwp3