More than 40 years after leading the All Exempt Tour, which became the model for all of professional golf, Gary McCord has brainstormed a new business model for the PGA Tour.
“Now, 42 years later, that idiot has another idea,” he said on The Favorite Chamblee, a podcast hosted by husband-and-wife duo Brandel and Bailey Chamblee.
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McCord envisions the tour selling the tournament as the equivalent of a franchise to the highest bidder, splitting it into two leagues (equivalent to Major League Baseball’s American and National Leagues, named the Jack Nicklaus League and the Tiger Woods League), each playing 18 times, then competing in five majors (in this scenario, The Players would officially become the fifth major). That’s 41 tournaments in total. There are versions of the draft, and each tournament becomes its own franchise, competing against each other for the best talent. A total of 140 players will be drafted, with a field of 110 and a slot of 70. It will conclude with a Super Bowl of sorts, a match-play finale between the top 12 players from both leagues in a winner-take-all format.
more: Gary McCord analyzes the PGA Tour in the for-profit era and says ‘follow the money’
“Our pyramid has been turned upside down. It’s been all about one guy, Tiger Woods. We’re going to be successful because of Tiger. It’s not a good business plan long-term. We don’t have a base,” McCord explained on the Chamblee podcast. “100 of the greatest golfers in the world to come? That’s it? There can’t be a more signature event. No matter what they call it crap, it’s insane. The other guys have to play incredibly to get in. That’s bullshit.”
The idea of a franchise model could be attractive to SSG, the tour’s private equity partner, which is made up of owners of several professional sports franchises.
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“Jerry Jones bought the franchise in 1988 for $148 million, and according to Forbes, it’s now worth $10.5 billion. That’s their business, that’s their franchise,” McCord told Golfweek. “So this is an open competition between 36 franchises to get their players and the players they want to play in the league.”
In October, in an article published in Golfweek, McCord pitched his views on how the tour’s private equity partner, SSG, would recoup its investment. What McCord didn’t expect was that so many people in the golf industry would read the story and express their belief that the concept might work. Among them was Rory McIlroy, who said in a press conference while playing in India that he was intrigued by McCord’s ideas.
“That’s when I went, I thought, okay, here we go again,” McCord told Golfweek. “There are eight guys on the team. They’re called ‘The Watchers.’ I haven’t told anyone who they are, and I can’t tell them, but they’ve helped me a lot with their inside eyes, no matter where they are in the world. It’s really amazing that they’re willing to help me for free, but that’s how much they love golf.”
McCord was quick to point out that his concept wouldn’t work until 2030, when the tour’s media rights deal expires, but negotiations are likely to start well in advance.
Gary McCord watches Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Change at Stone Canyon Golf Club on November 27, 2020 in Oro Valley, Arizona.
“Think about it. We’re going to reduce the number of tournaments that are held and we’re going to more than double the number of players that are exempt from playing. The people who are 100, 101 and crying on TV because they lost their jobs are going to be 220. We understand the economics, we understand the ROI of SSG, we understand the future revenue streams for each franchise,” he told Golfweek.
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McCord appeared on Chamblee’s podcast this week to explain why he wanted to explain his vision in more detail.
“In 54 years on tour, I’ve learned to be sneaky about placement and marketing, and I know it’s going to spark some serious conversations. For all the big boys sitting on the practice field at Tiger tournaments, I want you to sleep on this and chew on this a little bit, because you’re going to have a few weeks with nothing to do,” McCord said, referring to the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, hosted by Woods.
McCord also made sure to see J.J. Spawn at the practice range at Whisper Rock, a private golf club in Scottsdale where many tour pros are members.
“I wanted him to know first-hand when the buzz was going to happen. I thought he was (on the field), so I went to him,” McCord told Golfweek. “That way I can actually say he talked to me from the POV and here’s what he said and his interpretation of it. Everybody sits on it, everybody sees it. I think I’m going to get a call from (Tour CEO Brian) Rolup. But I’ve already talked to his boss. So I’m making the final adjustments as I would with a full-waiver tour.”
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McCord was referring to Rolup’s boss, Arthur Blank, founder of Home Depot and PGA Tour Superstore, owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, one of the major investors in SSG and TGL, and a member of the tour’s board of directors. Influential figures in the game, including Blank, have taken notice of McCord’s concept. McCord, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., said he was invited to the blank owner’s box when the Arizona Cardinals took on the Falcons on Dec. 21.
“After I finish my negotiations with Arthur, if he gives me the nod, I’ll report that to the Player Advisory Committee. I’ve already spoken to one of them,” McCord told Golfweek. “I’m going to give them the whole structure, and it’s theirs. Let them do what they want with it. It’s the structure. This is a new way of doing things, and the Tour is talking about going smaller. And when we get Tiger, it’s a really good thing. There’s no more Tiger. So what do you do now? Your pyramid is upside down, it’s completely upside down, so we deal with that and deal with the sheer volume of how many good players there are going to be in the upcoming battle with LIV and the world. ”
More than 40 years ago, McCord convinced tour pros that expanding the exemption limit from 60 players to 125 made business sense. Could he do it again? At the end of the podcast, Brandel Chamblee told his wife: “We could be sitting here right now, sitting in a Holiday Inn boardroom, when Gary came up with this idea.”
“I’ve already done it once for free. I’m going to do it again for free. No copyrights, no patents. I’ve already talked to a lawyer and it’s out of contract. So I know this is just for the game,” McCord said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Gary McCord’s vision for the PGA Tour: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods’ league
