The State of the Game in 1974
The more things change, the more they remain the same
Congratulations to Adam Svensson on winning the RSM Classic. This week, the PGA TOUR is in the Bahamas for an unofficial event, the Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods. We’ll be using the time until the TOUR returns for the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January to bring you some stories about the game in the 1960s and 1970s. We’ll return with our historical tournament coverage in January. This week, we check in on the state of the game in 1974.
We’re bringing back the Check it Out feature as we run up to Christmas. We’ll give you some gift ideas and other fun stuff to check out. This week, you've got to check out the headcovers that Ben Crenshaw is sporting. You can own some just like those.
We love to get feedback! Let us know what you think about Tour Backspin and the stories we tell. Email me at larry@tourbackspin.com.
Listen to The Tour Backspin Show podcast HERE or on Spotify and Apple Podcast.
Congratulations to Owen McClain, our leader on the leader board, for correctly answering last week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? The featured hole was #14 at Notts Golf Club in Nottinghamshire, England. Owen beat out two other correct answers. Submit a “Guest Post” picture for WHAT HOLE IS IT? and if we use it, you’ll win a prize and also be credited with a correct score on the leader board. Send your pic to larry@tourbackspin.com. Scroll down for your chance to win in this week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT?
Crown Royal and a hole-in-one. Scroll down to see this week’s vintage ad to learn more.
We’re playing 1974 PGA TOUR Trivia this week on the Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
Did you miss a previous newsletter? You can view it HERE. Forward this email to a friend. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? You can sign up HERE.
Okay, we're on the tee, let's get going.
Industry Leaders Speak to the State of the Game in 1974
In the February, 1974 issue of Golf Magazine, the Yearbook/74 issue, a panel of golf industry experts discuss the state of the game. Some of what these experts had to say is relevant today.
One of the panelists, Joeseph C. Dey, Jr., the former executive director of the U.S.G.A. before being enlisted by the new Tournament Players Division to be the commissioner, spoke about the state of the men’s professional game.
It has always been my view, and that of others as well, that the tour needs some greater climax and continuity, some more meaningful yardstick than just money. We have a proposal that would provide such a climax under discussion now, and I hope a favorable decision will be reached.
FedEx cup, anyone?
International play is increasing all the time and I feel there definitely will be a form of world tour some day.
We will hold our first TPD championship next Labor Day weekend at the Atlanta Country Club. It will have a field of 102 players, which will include all tournament winners after January 1, plus the British Open champion. The remainder of the field will qualify on points.
The Players Championship is born and has grown in stature to where it is the “fifth major”.
International play is increasing all the time and I feel there definitely will be a form of world tour some day. It won’t replace the existing tours around the world, but will probably be a select group of events that will fit into the present basic framework.
The World Golf Championship series fits within this model. LIV Golf does not.
Actually, the tour is in quite good health now. If you recall the situation five years ago, the players had just split with the PGA. However, that split has been healed and we have generally harmonious conditions today.
Fred Corcoran, the iconoclastic promoter and manager, and the head of the International Golf Association, was also a panelist. He spoke about the state of the international professional game.
For several years I have felt that eventually we will have a world tour, and the way things are going now, I don’t think the day is too far off. Not long ago, with the exception of the World Cup and Ryder Cup matches and maybe the British Open, you couldn’t get an American golfer to play overseas. But now you see groups of them going to South Africa, Australia, Japan, Britain and Europe.
This trend has only grown.
Formerly, most Americans would pass up a prestige tournament overseas in order to play for more money at home, but all that is changing.
With the advent of the LIV Golf series, this dynamic has been flipped on its head.
Today’s professionals have diversified business interests and more and more of them are finding that getting wide exposure overseas is beneficial.
And now, let’s just add some social media into the mix.
I think that, in addition to the existing tours in each part of the world, eventually there will be about 15 international events with players competing from everywhere.
The jet airplane has done as much as anything to make an international tour feasible. This was really brought home to me not so long ago when I played nine holes in Paris and nine holes at Winged Foot in the same day.
Today, it is private jets that the pros use to play all over the globe.
I think that, in addition to the existing tours in each part of the world, eventually there will be about 15 international events with players competing from everywhere. And it should do more for international understanding than all the high-level diplomacy between governments.
Again, the World Golf Championships fit this vision. Is LIV Golf contributing to international understanding? The jury is still out.
These two golf industry insiders spoke eloquently about the state of the game in 1974. All these years later, the issues of the day can be strikingly similar.
What were they dealing with when it came to the golf ball in 1974? Scroll down to see in our bonus story.
We’ve got a new playlist for you this week. It’s a second volume of songs from 1974. Listen HERE.
Please help us grow by forwarding this email to a friend who would enjoy it. Thanks.
Enjoy!
Larry Baush
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube
Tour Backspin Playlist
Thanks for reading! Please let your family, friends and colleagues know they
can sign up for email delivery of this free newsletter through this link.
Bonus Story
The 1974 state of the game panel in the Golf Magazine Yearbook/74 issue included Paul R. McDonald, the President of the Golf Ball Manufacturers Association, who weighed in on issues concerning the golf ball.
Our efforts through the Association to assist the USGA in its testing programs, particularly with respect to the matter of the so-called uniform ball (resolving the differences in size and other characteristics between the smaller “British” ball and the larger “U.S.” balls).
It would be unfortunate, in my opinion, to tamper with our present ball merely to demonstrate the continued goodwill of our Anglo-links heritage or satisfy a narrowly conceived area of concern, such as neutralizing the apparent increasing skills of the professional hierarchy to the detriment of the average golfer, who still enjoys and needs every plus the present rules permit.
We’re still debating whether the characteristics of the ball should be rolled back to offset distance gains that equipment technology has provided, as well as to whether there should be a different ball that the pros play.
WHAT HOLE IS IT?
Are you on the leader board?
Tour Backspin Quiz | 1974 PGA TOUR Trivia
What was the lowest score shot on the 1974 PGA Tour in which tournament, by which player?
Answers below
Pro Pointer
Blind Shot
Click for something fun. 👀
You may not be able to find the coat, or the pants, but you could score your own set of those great headcovers. Jan Craig has been making custom hand knit headcovers since 1962. While they hand knit custom headcovers that you can design, the lead time is six weeks. They do make a handful of their most popular designs ahead of time and can ship them in time for delivery by Christmas if ordered in the next two weeks. Learn more HERE.
You can get a cool, daily dose of golf history at Your Golfer’s Almanac podcast. This short podcast provides interesting nuggets from the history of golf. Check it out HERE.
A signed copy of Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema makes a great Christmas gift. Order directly HERE. Be sure to include inscription instructions.
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Bert Yancy shot a 61 in the Bob Hope Desert Classic
Larry:
In 1968 I was stationed @ Atlanta Army Depot, Forest Park, Georgia. They had a 9 hole Golf Course on the base which was actually 18 holes (2 sets of tees) I played with the Depot Head Pro James Hazelwood, at the time I had visions of playing golf for a living. One of Jim's friends would play 1-2 times a week with us and he would always shoot under par. I could not believe how good he was, it seemed like he never missed a shot. Well he turned out to be the 1970 PGA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Teddy Hayes Jr. He won the Georgia Open 2 times and the ALL SERVICE TOURNAMENT at least once !!! Many years later (20 at least) I watched him play in a Senior Tour Event (Satellite) in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He knew who I was (after I talked for a few seconds) because I have a raspy voice and he said how could I ever forget that voice. I just finished reading your book on Tony Lema, it certainly brings back a lot of memories because 1968-1970 all I did was play golf in the service every day. How lucky can you get !!!!!
MH
Good stuff on the rule changes LB, didn’t know much about those changes ;)
MM
Vintage Ad
