You will need to be a golfer to understand everything I am about to say. And beware, I will be stepping on some toes. Some of those toes are quite large and clearly have a lot more money and power than me. This story will be my views about the new LIV Golf tour. Perhaps you know about it. LIV is actually roman numerals for 54, meaning this new tour plays just 54 holes instead of the traditional 72-hole professional tournament. They tee off in a shotgun start, which just means every player tees off at the same time on a different hole and therefore finishes on a different hole. They have signed some of golf’s biggest names, who have in turn been banned from the regular PGA Tour. It is all the talk in the world of golf.
This new tour is funded by the Saudi government which is generally agreed to be a murderous dictatorship and archaic in their treatment of women. Billions of Saudi dollars fund the new tour in hopes of ‘whitewashing’ their horrendous image. Each weekly tournament gives away $25,000,000 dollars to just 48 players. Last place makes $120,000. The winner makes $4 million. Bonus contract money up to $200 million has been paid out to players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Bubba Watson even joined last month, making my heart sad.
But now, let me preface this story with some personal background. I have had a front row seat for many years to the heartbreak, filled with tears of both joy and sorrow, of young people trying to make a living as professional golfers. I was the chaplain and volunteer assistant coach at the University of Kentucky men’s golf team for over a decade, and I stay connected with some of these young men trying to fight their way onto the PGA Tour.
Every 18-year-old Division One freshman golfer has a dream—the PGA Tour. For some that dream dies early. I was such a kid, although my journey was short and sweet. In high school, I was mostly the 5th man on a four-man team. College coaches were not looking at kids who shoot lots of 77’s on easy golf courses. So, I went off to a small college with no golf team. We started a team while I was there, and since I could break 80, I was the fledgling team’s superstar. I was getting better and better until the Kentucky golf coach, coming off a disappointing year, noticed that I did well in the state amateur and, being desperate, offered me a scholarship. Wow. I could dream the dream. SEC golf. Someday- the PGA Tour. Why not? I was getting better on a daily basis. Why not me?
College golf quickly proved that I was a better candidate for law school than Q school. My 75 was never going to beat Gary Koch’s 66. My 74 was always going to lose to Ben Crenshaw’s 65. I was able to see, up close and in person, what future tour players looked like, and it was not me. Far from it. Their golf balls even sounded different than mine.
But…truthfully, almost no one really makes it to the TV screens of America. Some kids with the dream are good enough to battle into their 30’s before going off to sell insurance or golf balls. Several of the UK players have had the occasional wonderful moment of success, like my buddy Chip McDaniel beating Brooks Koepka one 2019 Saturday in the Golf Channel’s featured group. Or finishing 5th in one event. He still might make it.
But the PGA Tour doesn’t hand out gift cards. They hand out tour cards that are earned. And even then, it is merely an invitation to show up with a tee time. No guaranteed money. The road to glory is filled with potholes. And the drama of working your way to the coveted tour card is what makes it all so glorious when a kid makes it.
But for many, it doesn’t take long to realize that travel, and hotels, and non-stop golf is actually not all that glamorous. The few moments of birdies and applause on a golf course are not enough to off-set the other twenty hours of hotels, combined with laundry or diapers or loneliness or practice or boredom. Junior golf is pure fun— and college golf is fun for those who are successful enough to make the starting five and travel and play on great courses, like the SEC tournament at Sea Island every year (the greatest shower in the world and also the best bacon in the locker room ever).
But…once the college years are gone, so is the fun. It all turns into a grind. A job. Play becomes Work.
Phil Mickelson
Of course, some guys make it, and not just barely. Some get Nike contracts right out of college. Some move up the ladder quickly. No minor leagues of tough knocks. They quickly go from Economy to First Class, then to NetJets, then to owning a jet, with agents and companies and ‘charities’ and more. Typically, each year shows us two or three like this. Names you would know. Phil Mickelson comes to mind, but he is just the tip of an iceberg that melts for the vast majority.
So now we come to the reason for this rant. People like Phil decided that the PGA Tour has not been fair to them. The tour lifestyle is somehow too tough for their narcissistic sense of self-importance. The superstars don’t get enough of the cash cow, they think. Mickelson’s income since turning pro adds up to $925,000,000. Not enough, he says. The tour makes too much money and doesn't give enough to the narcissists at the top of the food chain.
So, Phil and a few more are leaving behind the PGA Tour’s millions for the Saudi-backed LIV Tour gazillions.
In the process they have closed their eyes to the source of the money, flipped their fingers at the PGA tour leadership, and headed off to 54-hole shotgun start events with no cut. The music is blaring, the players wear shorts, and the players have three teammates who all testify to the new life of freedom. They claim to love the noise and the shorts and team concept.
Who would have thought that silence on the greens and long pants would be so traumatic.
I have watched almost every interview of the guys who signed with LIV Golf, all on YouTube by the way since this new tour has no TV deal yet. They all play golf better than they think or talk. Articulate is not a word that describes any of these poor guys who have obviously practiced their LIV talking points like parrots.
Thankfully for them, but sad at the same time, the PR machine has trained these robotic rich golfers to explain why they would take money from the murdering Saudis and abandon their dream job on the PGA Tour that made them famous.
Indeed, the LIV public relations machine has turned their golfers into greedy liars, not much different than politicians, saying things they are required to say to get paid. They don’t believe it themselves, or if they do, the deception is self-evident.
So, what do they say? It always goes something like this:
#1- “I just play golf.” When asked about the source of the Saudi LIV money and the connection to the attacks on September 11, 2001, they unanimously offer sympathy for the 9/11 families but then add that they are not politicians, just golfers. The lack of moral fiber and conscience is shocking and sad.
#2- ”This was the best decision for me and my family.” This phrase is usually uttered with a twinge of emotion to show what a good ‘family man’ he is. One guy even said he and his family had prayed about it. Ouch! It has also been used by guys with no wife or kids, other than ex-wives.
#3- ”This enables me to give back to my community through my charity.” The implication is that all that extra money will be given away. It is a half-truth that quickly becomes a lie.
#4- ”I love the team concept.” They harken back to their college and even high school days, when golf was fun. They can never explain what these teams are or who the four guys are on the team. The teams all have stupid names like the Aces that mean absolutely nothing. And the teams change every week. It is actually closer to the basketball pickup games we played as kids when I was usually the last guy chosen thanks to my shortness, slowness and whiteness. Last weekend a Korean player named Sihwan Kim shot 87 in the first round but still was paid (I will not say earned) $120,000 for finishing in last place. But he helped his team—- the announcers kept reminding us- when he somehow shot 63 on the second day.
#5- ”This is just a lot of fun.” The implication is that the PGA Tour is not fun. Listening to these guys makes it sound like the PGA Tour is a modern-day concentration camp, going to work under very difficult conditions every day, like a crowded putting green, too many guys on the range, and slow practice rounds. The guys left behind on the PGA Tour are considered nothing but bothersome to these superstars, mucking up the range and putting green every day. They have opted for the non-stop LIVcocktail parties, the loud music, the hip bluejeans, the shorts, all the things that college fraternity boys would envy.
#6- “I wanted to help grow the game.” I am not sure how they say this with a straight face. Since when is growing the game a goal for any golfer. The goal was simply to try to get on a tour to make a nice living and if it all went well, have a mansion, many cars, a cute wife, nice kids, a private jet, and the other perks of professional sports. No one wanted to play pro golf to ‘grow the game’. And what does this even mean? No world-wide TV. Crowds that are miniscule compared to the money being paid. Simply stated, that part of this new LIV is just a lie.
#7- ”Well, I admit the money was a factor.” When forced to discuss the money, and only after mentioning all of the above, they always respond with a guilty smile. The word MONEY makes them all smile ear-to-ear. They know that money is NOT one of the talking points, but they can’t help it. It is inevitable that the smile follows the money.
At the end of the day, this reminds me of the rich young ruler. When is enough enough? Jesus told him to sell all he had and come, “Follow Me”. Instead, he went away sad, says the Bible, and I suspect he was mumbling something like, “I really like this Jesus guy. But I didn’t know he was so radical.” And thus, we don’t know the name of this Rich Young Ruler. For more on this subject of money, click here for a devotional I wrote on July 22 for the LinksPlayers. The title is Nameless, a sad word when you consider that this rich man could have been one of the twelve- Peter, James, John and more…. instead, he went for the money instead of the dusty road with Jesus. What will you do? I wish I could speak directly to the guys who have opted for the money—— do you want LIV or would you like to LIVE??