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European Tour Gets a Makeover Complete with Pyrotechnics

Justin B. News Comments

There has been much talk in recent memory about trying to get younger golfers involved at the highest levels of the game.  To accomplish this task, the European Tour set up a bunch of exciting stipulations for golfers last week.

In its inaugural  tournament, the European Tour made wild alterations that made this tournament unique compared to anything golf has ever seen before.  The tournament was a two-day long, six-hole match play event that pinned two-man teams from different countries against each other with the winning team receiving 1.1 million euros.  While this wouldn’t help the English team much after Brexit, that’s still a hefty sum.

 

Other than the quirky new tournament format that came about for this event, the GolfSixes tournament seems to be a mix of golf, WWE, and basketball, mixed with a little TV drama on the course.  This strange mix is found by the different actions that are taken on each specific hole.  Each of the six holes has its own special action, from pyrotechnics and walk out music on one hole, to a 40-second shot clock for every shot on another.

Outside of those ridiculous add-ons, there are other competitions that are more reminiscent of your typical golf wagers, such as the longest drive challenge, a closest to the pin challenge, and on-course interviews during the final holes.  There is even a charity aspect given to the wacky event, as players who birdied or better on the second hole guaranteed a charitable donation to those in need.

Keith Pelley, the chief executive of the European Tour, had been attempting to expand the game to younger people and he may have found a winner with this event.  “It’s an innovative way to get young kids to play, bring it out of the old age a bit and into the new age,” England player Andy Sullivan said.

“It’s based around being more fun, more relaxed, but still being competitive.”

While I doubt that you will see any event similar to this on the PGA TOUR anytime soon, it would be fun to see Bubba Watson walk out onto the course with the entrance music of the WWE’s Big Show.  Until then, anyone looking to catch this event will have to watch the events happening over the pond.

Cover Photo via YouTube