What if the PGA Tour Went Extinct?

Remember the old philosophical question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, would it make a sound? Well ponder this: If the PGA Tour were to disappear tomorrow, would anyone really care?

A couple years ago, I wrote about the economics of golf, and how the pro tours only contribute a measly 1% to golf's total economic impact.

So from a financial standpoint, the PGA Tour could dissolve overnight without much monetary backlash to the golf industry. The golf equipment and apparel machine would still be cranking-out merchandise to supply millions of weekend hacks throughout the world.

But for how long? With the tour defunct, wouldn't the average golfer begin to dwindle in numbers? Well, I guess that depends on how popular the tour is with the golfing masses to begin with. For example, a decade ago I would have been laughed at for even suggesting a post like this one - after all, the hero on tour was one of the most recognizable athletes in all of sports.

Ah, but today he's barley the shell of his former self and as a result, the PGA Tour has taken one giant leap back into obscurity. Perhaps more detrimental is that no one has taken his place. Want proof? Turn on ESPN any given Sunday an you'll see them lead the golf segment talking about Tiger's third-place finish, rather than the poor schlep who actually took home the trophy.

With no face to the organization and television ratings that are basically nonexistent, it makes you wonder if it's all worth the effort? Rolling into a new city every week and setting up shop on some corporate sponsor's dime (could have donated that money to build a new cancer wing at the local hospital or something); trotting out a B-list of tour pros to go through the motions in front of a sparse gallery of spectators; turning on the HD cameras that broadcast to an equally paltry television audience. One has to ask themselves: Does the ends justify the means?

Sure, if the PGA Tour were no longer, some diehard fans would be disappointed (not to mention some of our fellow golf bloggers) and local establishments near tour stops would miss the boost in sales. But the top pros would head over to the European Tour (which would subsequently be broadcast more frequently here in the U.S.) and golf life for you and me would pretty much remain unchanged.

Not many golfers I know are quitting because they stink - no sir, we just keep on playing no matter what the game throws at us. And perhaps that's the most fundamental point - We don't play this game because the PGA Tour is so great, we play it because golf is great (if anything, watching the scratch players gives us more of a complex).

So, what if the PGA Tour went extinct? As long as the European Tour added a stop at The Masters, I'd be happy. So perhaps I should re-phrase my question: If the PGA Tour went extinct, so what?

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