European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said that if golf does not "continue to modernize," it will be "left standing in the same place" it currently occupies instead of moving forward, according to a first-person account written with Guy Yocom for GOLF DIGEST. Pelley offered several ideas for innovation, including playing a "portion of a tournament" within the "confines of three holes, enclosed by grandstands, using different tee boxes." Pelley: "What if there were a match in which two players could use only a 1-iron and a wedge? Mixed-gender teams, age-group showdowns, more nation versus nation?" These are the type of things the European Tour has an "open mind on." The 72-hole stroke-play tournament will "always be at the core of any tour," but the future growth of the sport is "going to demand some interesting departures." Pelley said that music is "going to become commonplace over time" in golf, something the European Tour wants to take the "lead" on. Pelley: "What sport doesn't have music, at least during intermissions? We're on the verge of taking it further -- players choosing their theme song to be played when they enter the first tee." Pelley added that it would be "irrational" to view the European Tour as "being in direct competition with the PGA Tour." Pelley: "I relish us as a slightly different brand, very much global and expanding." The European Tour is in a position where it is "perhaps less protective" than the PGA Tour and has "all kinds of room to explore, innovate and lead" (GOLF DIGEST, 7/ '17 issue).
