The European Tour believes "it has found golf’s version of Twenty20 and over the next few days will announce details of a tournament near London featuring the new GolfSixes format," according to James Corrigan of the London TELEGRAPH. The event will take place from May 6-7 at the Centurion Golf Club in Hemel Hemstead and will comprise 16 two-man national teams playing "six-hole matches of greensomes foursomes matchplay," which means that both players tee off before selecting the best drive and then play alternating shots from there. PGA European Tour CEO Keith Pelley is "confident that backers will be drawn to the new quick-fire style which unashamedly aims to reach out a younger audience put off by golf’s staid and pedestrian image." In addition to amphitheater-style stands around the tees and greens, there will be "music and pyrotechnics on the first tee and at various points around the course, with all players miked up." Pelley added, "I think this is just an incredibly different way of showcasing our game." There is a "growing feeling" in golf that although it is vital to keep 72-hole, four-day stroke-play as the "bedrock of the sport," the format is "not entertaining enough for the wider market." Pelley: "We have to continually look to modernize" (TELEGRAPH, 2/11). In London, Ewan Murray reported the format "further illustrates a shift away from the sport's traditional form." Pelley said that he is happy to operate with a "blank canvas to combat golf's decreasing relevance." Pelley: "It is a trial, that's what this is. It is another opportunity to try something different, then follow that up with significant consumer research with the people who attend or those who view it across multiple platforms. ... The future of it? Who knows" (GUARDIAN, 2/11).
