F1 may have the formula that golf needs

With the proposal of the Premier Golf League (PGL) this month, the attention of the sporting world has turned to Saudi Arabia once again. The financials are the immediate headline-grabber for the newly proposed league, with the purse amounts on the 18-event, 48 player circuit running in the neighbourhood of $10m per tournament. However, it is the format that is worth a close look – largely due to its ability to generate viewers and bolster golf’s bottom-line. The league would reportedly follow a Formula-1 based team model, including four 12-player teams simultaneously competing against one another weekly and together towards a larger, end of season prize money pool.

Golf legend Greg Norman, who previously tried to create his own break-away golf tournament in the 1990s, has highlighted that the opportunity for select players to earn ownership equity in PGL teams – think David Beckham’s Inter Miami – is a particularly exciting proposition of the league. It is certain that this could potentially provide a pull to players and fans a-like. While players may wish to cash-in on their current fame, the PGL needs all the help it can to build loyalty towards the league and teams to-be.

There are certain players that, if drawn in, would make the PGL a proposition hard to turn down. In 2017, a similar model was proposed by the IAAF in the form of Nitro Athletics. The tournament, which involved athletes competing across various events to gain points for their respective teams, ran in a similar format to the one being suggested by the PGL. The man used to draw crowds in Melbourne was, of course, Usain Bolt. For golf, the answer is as definitive. The PGL needs Tiger Woods.

The PGA and European Tour are almost certainly threatened by this new kid on the block, not least because of the financial backing, but also because they must know that team golf draws crowds. In the build-up to the last Ryder Cup, Nielsen reported that the number of fans globally had increased by 6.7m since it was last hosted in Europe in 2014. Furthermore, the PGA of America launched PGA Junior League Golf as its answer to Little League back in 2011, opting for team golf formats due to their ability to be more inclusive and drive participation – which trebled in the 3 years after launch.   

Smaller rights-holders are already seeing the benefits of creating an F1-like model. Ukrainian billionaire, Konstantin Grigorishin set about forming the International Swimming League (ISL) in 2017 despite strong opposition from swimming’s governing body, FINA. The ISL aimed to provide a greater spectacle for fans. Beyond the flashing LED lights and DJ booth, the major change for the ISL was that swimmers would battle it out on behalf of teams, with results tallied in points rather than best times. The ISL signed up stars Katie Ledecky and Ryan Murphy to add legitimacy to the league. The budget for the first edition was reported at around $20m. Turkey-based team Energy Standard won the inaugural ISL title in the final match hosted at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

With far greater popularity than swimming, which is viewed by many as a sport that occurs only once every four-year cycle, golf can harness a team model like few other individual sports. In F1 we see car manufacturers sponsoring teams – Mercedes and Ferrari compete across the Constructors’ World Championship. Why not see a similar evolution in golf? Manufacturers such as Callaway and Nike could compete, with the potential to be spearheaded by sponsors and suppliers. There are countless opportunities.