Do you love golf? Do you have a busier schedule then most? Do you have a laptop or smartphone? Well do we have a product for you!
No, seriously… And I think its time for us to take notice of these products available right at our fingertips. This installment of “Take a Bow” isn’t about a course, golfer, or personality, but more about an application. If you haven’t heard of it yet, well let me introduce you to your bosses worst nightmare. Pga Tour Live.
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PGA Tour Live was brought to us in July of 2015, and is a subscription based platform provided by the PGA for never before access. For $5.99 a month, or for a much discounted $39.99 for the year pass, you get access to top featured groups Thursday-Sunday morning. Once you subscribe, all you have to do is click on the PGA Tour Live App on any mobile device, your Laptop, or your Apple TV, and start watching some of the top pros in the morning rounds.
Without Live, the earliest you can watch golf is roughly 3 P.M. eastern time on Golf Channel. With Live, it starts anywhere from 6-8 A.M., and goes up until TV broadcasting. For just $39.99, you get over 400+ hours of exclusive golf coverage.
Think about a couple golf courses you play on a regular basis. What’s the average cost for 18 holes, a sleeve of Titlists, and a couple adult beverages while on the course?
I would have to assume, if you play anywhere decent, that the total cost is significantly more than a year supply of PGA Tour Live. Pay once, and have almost unlimited access to your favorite golfers.
Do you sit at a desk all day, and watch the arms of the clock slowly tick? Well why not watch the featured group of the day instead? Now you know why it’s your bosses’ worst nightmare!
For me personally, I work in the restaurant industry, so I don’t have a solidified 9-5 job, so it makes it difficult to carve out time to watch golf. I know I cant watch late round coverage on T.V., because I am at the restaurant, however, I can watch on my phone while getting ready, and on my way to work on my phone! Before 2015, that wasn’t possible.
As an example, I watched Justin Thomas, Brent Snedeker, Tiger Woods, and Sergio Garcia, just to name a few Thursday Morning while getting ready for work. Friday morning I will watch Rory, Rickie, and company starting at 7 A.M. Makes anyone’s morning routine a lot easier doesn’t it!
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The different major sports have their own subscription based platforms, but they can only go so far. Golf has a chance to actually make the subscription based content even better then the televised content we know and love. Think about it. PGA already has all its cameras and sound equipment at the course anyway, so why not fire them up a couple hours earlier, and have fans pay for the exclusive content.
I know it is two totally different facets in sports entertainment world, but if the PGA was smart, then they would take notes from the WWE network, another subscription based platform that gives wrestling fans who are willing to spend money, a closer look inside the ropes. If the WWE method shows us anything, it is that fans are willing to spend money for access they didn’t have before.
Understanding, and taking advantage of all the technology we have available to us will give the PGA a much needed boost in popularity, especially with the new crop of fans constantly on their phones or wireless devices. If they were smart, they would add additional content that the everyday viewer doesn’t get on regular Golf Channel or NBC, to make the experience that much more exclusive. Maybe mic up golfers or caddies in the featured groups, or add different ball tracking technology on screen. Maybe have golf featured shows, introducing us to some of the up and coming stars we aren’t to familiar with. And while we are at it, lets introduce an all new PGA Tour Live Original show, “Country Club Cribz”, where we take virtual tours of the worlds greatest courses. The possibilities are endless!
The ball is in your court now PGA Tour Live! And if you want to thank me for all my great suggestions, my yearly subscription is coming to an end soon. Instead of adding me to the payroll, just pick up the check for my 2018-2019 season!
In all seriousness, this is something that has changed my golf viewing standards over the past year, and if you are reading this, and have experienced watching golf while you should be working, then you too can welcome PGA Tour Live to Take a Bow for all the great work they have done. And if you are reading this, and not sure if you want to spend the money, then check out the PGA Tour Live twitter page. Every Thursday and Friday for the first 60-90 minutes of coverage, they give a free sample to get the idea of what to come. Check it out https://twitter.com/PGATOURLIVE.
Thank you for reading, and enjoy watching golf on the go!
Cover Image via WikiCommons
