The PGA Tour Enterprises BOD met Tuesday at the RBC Heritage for “nearly four hours,” according to sources cited by Rex Hoggard of GOLFCHANNEL.com. There was also a Player Advisory Council meeting that featured Fenway Sports Group Senior Advisor Theo Epstein. According to a member of the PAC, Epstein’s presentation lasted more than an hour and he outlined how MLB was “able to attract new fans and a younger demographic with rule changes and initiatives” that made the game faster and more appealing (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 4/17). A source said that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and the FSG folks “thought the players might gain from Epstein’s perspective.” The source said, “Very smart to start to show the players (and all golf constituents, especially fans) the chops SSG brings to the table.” PAC member Max Homa said, “I was really inspired by the hope and plan to make it better for the fans. I think we hit this year-and-a-half- or two-year rut as both golfers and golf leagues that was just about making the players happy, and unfortunately and quite obviously the fans were not benefitted by that.” Though the biggest takeaway from the PAC meeting, Homa said, was that “there’s light at the end of this tunnel for the golf fan. There’s innovation, possibilities. ... There’s ways we can manipulate it a little bit in a good way to gain fan engagement, make it more fun for them to watch. It was truly all about just what we need to do better as a Tour for golf fans to be more inclined to watched” (GOLFWEEK, 4/18).
