Observations, Critiques, and Celebrations

On Halloween weekend of 2022, I had the chance to research the rumored ghouls and goblins of LIV Golf Miami. This final event of the pilot LIV Golf season was held at the fitting Trump National Doral from October 28th-30th. Twelve teams competed for an unprecedented prize pool, and the Dustin Johnson-led “4Aces” narrowly defeated Cameron Smith’s “Punch GC.”

This article describes my general sense impressions: what I witnessed, saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched at the event. I am a good candidate to offer that feedback since I have attended one PGA Tour event (the Honda Classic just before the COVID pandemic broke out in late February 2020) and now one LIV Golf event. Where I can, I’ll offer a direct comparison.

I will also preface those observations and opinions with a general takeaway:

The PGA TOUR has responded to LIV since the initial LIV event in early June by announcing new versions of “The Match” and introducing “TGL” (a “tech-infused golf league”). This isn’t a bad thing. I’m in favor of watching those events, but such exhibitions might ultimately position the TOUR to seem more like a casual exhibition, thus weakening its differentiation. I would compare it to watching a hall-of-fame champion boxer practice leg kicks and wrestling in hopes of competing against a hungry but amateur MMA fighter with unlimited stamina and confidence (i.e., not a strategy for success or longevity, in my opinion). 

If the PGA TOUR wants to position itself in response to LIV by claiming a moral high ground, then the opportunity remains to make deeper investments that genuinely lead sustainable development and community engagement while still enhancing the sensory experience of spectators.

The Sensory Experience of LIV Golf Miami

Hearing

LIV Golf claims itself as “Golf, but louder,” and the Miami event certainly satisfied that general description. A live Nelly concert on the main stage followed Saturday golf action. Following awards on Sunday (wrapping the debut season for the LIV tour), popular EDM duo The Chainsmokers played in front of a younger crowd. LIV plays fun tunes during the whole event – music that makes people want to move, giving a “heartbeat” to the course and a pulse to all the spectators throughout the venue. The majority of spectators there who paid no attention to the golf still enjoyed themselves to some vibey dance music. A prominent sound for me was also hearing “Jump Around” by House of Pain as the 4Aces sealed their victory. I associate that song with the montage from Happy Gilmore as he climbs Tour leaderboards and brings crowds to life.

Sight

I can’t say that “The Blue Monster” at Trump National Doral impressed me as a golf course. Before the event’s later start time, I had the opportunity to walk around the whole course, and it failed to differentiate from any typical Floridian layout – lots of water. Of course, there were many bunkers, palm trees, and large LIV Golf signs everywhere. However, I did enjoy seeing the UK-style clocks around the clubhouse and opening tee box, reminding me of Scotland (and acknowledging the interesting moment that LIV Miami played in golf’s history). 

I spent most of my time outside of the golf course itself, and I was impressed by a large screen situated by the food truck area with bean bag chairs where spectators could relax (if the “SoFlo” sun would allow comfortable temperatures). Even more impressive was a woman walking around on stilts dressed as a flamingo. She smiled the whole time (and I thought my dehydration experience at the Honda Classic was a test of endurance…).

Smell

I don’t have a lot to add here. LIV Miami smelled like most of South Florida. While I love living down here in general, I’m referring to a sense of consumer capitalism, opulence, and artifice in all of its forms. With that said, the LIV event performed better than the Honda Classic at engaging my sense of smell, particularly considering that parking for the Honda Classic shuttle was held at a literal landfill with buzzards swarming about. The entrance to a venue or any event is a preamble to the broader experience. It is where the event begins. In the case of the Honda Classic, rather than the hopeful anticipation of something like the Magnolia Lane at Augusta, my brother and I were picked up in a school bus shuttle near a landfill. Simply by not making me smell methane emissions, LIV Miami outperformed the Honda Classic.

Taste

LIV had a surprising variety of quality food options, hosting many local food trucks in multiple fan engagement/fan village zones. On Saturday, I had Latin-style food and an island smoothie. On Sunday, I indulged in a cauliflower crust pizza (so I could at least pretend I had a healthy option) along with a Jamaican Jerk burger. LIV far surpassed the low baseline of expectations I developed from my one prior golf event experience (the 2020 Honda Classic). I expected basic concession food, a la frozen burgers and hotdogs, such as what I washed down with $5 bottles of Dasani water before walking probably 10 miles a day at the Honda Classic. In contrast, I also commend the LIV events for providing reusable water bottles and water refill stations (which $50 tickets should include if they are meant to satisfy the needs of patrons).

Touch

At several points, I saw golfers walking around like spectators, including Abraham Ancer and Martin Kaymer. Martin returned my head nod and reciprocated my fist bump. On my way to find a coffee, I was guided back to the clubhouse, which led me to a near collision with Patrick Reed as he marched to the practice area. Once I made it inside the building, I found the one available coffee shop I could find, which happened to be across the hallway from the players’ locker room. To my surprise, I was within arm’s length of Brooks Koepka as he chatted with Eric Trump simply because I walked into a coffee shop. I found that the event put me much closer to the players than a PGA TOUR event would. What impressed me even more than being close with the players was the offering of many interactive games to keep fans engaged. These included a long drive competition, putting challenges, and multiple chipping challenges. One of the chipping challenges helped raise funds for Hurricane Ian relief in the LIV Golf Miami event’s fan “Eco Village.”

“Spidey Sense” (AKA general vibes and gut impressions)

Now for the most important sense! Does it generally feel worthwhile to go to a LIV Golf event? Generally, yes. It seems like an event that families, frat bros, and kids alike can all enjoy. For myself, LIV Golf Miami was a much more engaging experience than the Honda Classic, although, at that PGA TOUR event, I cared far more about the leaderboard and paid much more attention to the golf itself (mainly because of my DraftKings lineups that I hoped would recoup the $50 I spent on concessions).

LIV wants to attract a general audience that mostly includes non-golfers. Thus, it is positioned to compete with a broader market of many different entertainment offerings in a place like South Florida (the land of random festivals and excuses to socially day drink). I found that LIV differentiates itself from a PGA TOUR event. However, it hardly felt different from other food truck events that have music (seafood, fall festivals, etc., which populated centers in Florida seem to host every weekend). 

To ultimately draw real revenue and find its financial legs for the long term, LIV needs to get a TV deal, which means creating a golf product that would be as worthy of attention as some of the PGA TOUR’s biggest events. As of now, I don’t feel like LIV creates an on-course, competitive event that spectators (or even the golfers, for that matter) can be emotionally invested in or care about. The event included playoff hole match play, but even with sudden-death golf and close team competition, I found that I personally cared little about the result when I knew that even the “losers” would earn a much better paycheck than the major champions of 2022. Cameron Smith won this year’s Open Championship at the Old Course. While “losing” the seeming exhibition of this year’s final LIV event, he has been promised by LIV a total compensation package over 50 times what he earned by winning the prestigious Open.

Concluding Critiques and Celebrations

Can Golf be Fun and Responsible?

LIV lacks in sporting drama on the course, but it certainly makes up for it in spectacle (and drama provided off the course). Nevertheless, because it is a new experience that engages the senses with plenty of spectacle, I expect LIV Golf to continue attracting audiences as a mysterious and forbidden fruit within sports and entertainment.

The PGA Tour has responded to LIV by creating similar tech-infused updates to its competitive structure, along with increased pay and reducing barriers for talented players to get on the TOUR. I am curious about how the latter affects some of the PGA Tour’s core stakeholders, such as those involved with the Korn Ferry Tour.

Pro golf is changing, yet opportunity remains for the ideal golf event to

• Optimize spectator experience while also leading social and environmental stewardship

• Embed itself in the community through engagement of local artists, artisans and businesses

• Lead and showcase models of sustainable business, event management, and circular waste management; while also

• Bring joy and festivity so that new patrons can see golf as caring for the community and environment AND well worth the investments of time, attention, and money

Here’s how the two pro golf circuits might make that happen:

How LIV Can Create the Ideal Sustainable Golf Event

1. Create a standard operating model for a robust sustainability program.

Unlike the PGA TOUR, LIV operates its tournaments as a centralized organization, giving it more freedom to create efficiencies and consistencies with its sustainability programming so that the LIV brand (not just individual events) can become associated with sustainable innovation.

2. Explore radical innovations.

More importantly, LIV is at a nimble and entrepreneurial stage (while LIV also has the added advantage of unlimited funding) that encourages experimenting with more radical innovations in sustainable design. One idea for sustainable golf events previously discussed through Driving the Green includes portable EcoLus as a waste-reducing alternative to port-a-potties. Yet another could be a partnership with a company like ActiveGiving to track spectators’ calories burned while walking at a golf event and plant trees as a result. The possibilities are endless.

3. Embed sustainability into the developing LIV brand.

Along with the two points above, the critical opportunity for LIV at its nascent stage remains to embed sustainability into the core of its operating model and brand. While the PGA TOUR has a clear brand trust/reach advantage, LIV remains undefined. Thus, it can choose to define itself through expanding its “LIV to Give” offerings and leading innovations for social and environmental good.

How the PGA TOUR Can Create the Ideal Sustainable Golf Event

1. Lean into social sustainability and emphasize work with local charities.

TOUR events largely operate as independent non-profits, which also gives them the advantage of embedding closer with local needs and charities. With well over $3B in all-time charitable giving, the “people” part of “people, profit, planet” is where the TOUR excels.

2. Leverage brand trust/reach to be the undisputed leader of sustainable golf.

With respect to LIV, the TOUR has the current advantage of brand respect and attention. Relatively speaking, LIV Golf has had a small nationwide viewership (LIV’s final rounds averaged just under 70k viewers on YouTube). The PGA TOUR meanwhile gathers 1.4m viewers across 4 rounds for even its lowest-rated events. We can say that a typical PGA TOUR event attracts at least 5 times the viewership of the typical LIV event (thus far). Of course, it will be interesting to observe how that changes if/when LIV can strike a TV deal and gain public awareness (even if it’s notoriety).

3. Leverage TOUR brand to attract socially responsible sponsorships.

With a name recognized as the pinnacle of professional golf, the PGA TOUR is best positioned to lead sustainability initiatives by using its visibility to attract the resources, know-how, and “halo effect” of high profile brands that are synonymous with sustainability. The TOUR’s largest current sponsors include brands in financial services, hospitality, energy, and luxury goods. Imagine socially responsible brands like Patagonia, Seventh Generation, or even Tesla getting involved with golf. As of now, it seems unlikely that a sustainability-focused brand would benefit from working with golf. However, if the TOUR can apply its resources to redefine how golf relates to sustainability, then such partnerships could help both PGA TOUR and sponsor.