Putting Up With The Pro-Am
It’s “wheelbarrow” season in the pro’s golfing calendar, as Ernie Els rather insensitively once put it. That time of year when the top names travel the globe playing events for nothing more than the bucket loads of appearance money on offer. Often these events include the obligatory pro-am to fulfil sponsors’ obligations and it will hardly be a surprise to hear that the pro-am divides opinion.
If you believe the rumours, the pro-am is loved by the amateurs and loathed by the pros. Alright, that may be a slightly unfair generalisation – a friend recently played with David Howell in the pro-am of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and David couldn’t have been better company or more engaged in their game. So much so that, on learning his team had won the following morning, he ran over to offer a congratulatory ‘high-five’ to his amateur team mates having already teed off in the main event. But I know from experience this is an exception. As far as the rumour goes, there’s no smoke without fire, and I can assure you there is no pro-am without a grumpy pro who doesn’t want to be there.
There are decent arguments on both sides of the fence. The amateur might tell the pro they can only stand to benefit from the luxury of an “extra practice round” in the pro-am, and highlight the weighty commercial benefits to the tournament prize fund, and, with any luck, the pro’s personal bank account come Sunday. On the flip side, the professional might stress that they can do without pre-tournament preparation when it involves a tortuous six hour round with amateurs and their endless requests for information on lines, clubs, and yardages (plus an array of more personal questions). It’s unfair to say there is a rift, but perhaps the stale nature of the pro-am format has the potential to encourage one.
As I see it, there are quite a few issues with the pro-am today. Firstly, whether it’s a pro at the top of the Order of Merit or one fighting to save his card, they aren’t going to look to the pro-am as the best use of their valuable pre-tournament practice time. Indeed, most players would rather be on the practice range or putting green with their coach as company. Secondly, this “extra practice round”, for whatever it’s worth, is only available to those select players in the pro-am. Isn’t that an unfair advantage over those not in the pro-am field? Lewis Hamilton doesn’t benefit from a few extra laps over his F1 competitors, so why give this advantage to the household names on tour?
Sadly for the amateurs, most professionals aren’t looking forward to playing with them quite as much as they’d hope. In their eyes its a chore and an annoyance, a necessary evil, and that can become quickly apparent, leaving the amateur treading on eggshells rather than enjoying a stroll along the fairways for what is supposed to be a uniquely enjoyable experience. Many pros today are indifferent, at best, with a handful having a reputation for being inexcusably rude during the pro-am. At the risk of stating the obvious, the amateurs and sponsors have paid a premium for their company and frankly deserve some courtesy for their investment. Not to mention the fact that, if it wasn’t for the commercial backing and the amateur interest in the sport, the pros wouldn’t be enjoying the lavish lifestyles they do. Let’s face it, take away the sponsors and the fans and whacking a little white ball around and tapping it into a hole doesn’t do a lot for the greater good of mankind, however fun it might be.
Every job in the real world has its boring and even unpleasant bits. Some top pros run the risk of appearing like spoiled children when they sulk around the pro-am – can’t they just pretend to enjoy themselves out of common courtesy? Crikey most of them can now draw on all their acting experience from those golf ball adverts on TV. On second thoughts….
The amateurs aren’t completely without blame, though. A better grasp of time (putting out every hole for nothing less than an 8 is going to test anyone’s patience) and a bit of improved golfing etiquette might go a long way to returning a smile to a few professional faces.
But perhaps the fundamental issue is with the format. Would it benefit from some minor tweaking? Something that appeases the professional, reduces the demand on their time, and gives a fairer “opportunity” to all the competitors that week? It’s too late to withdraw the concept of the pro-am entirely from the schedule of tournament week – all events are too heavily reliant on the commercial investment of the tournament sponsors for this to happen. There is no way the pro-am is disappearing, but, as the sponsors burden players with increased pre-tournament obligations, perhaps it’s a time to suggest a slightly revised format for the pro-am before relations sour completely.
Personally, I believe that the pro-am has become a mundane format in need of a little freshening up. Not wholesale changes, but perhaps something that encourages parity to all those on the tour, animates the participating amateur, and potentially changes the attitude of the pro-am-loathing pro. Don’t get me wrong, I am not for pandering to the pro’s every wish – if they want to enjoy the rich rewards offered by the tournament sponsors, then they should be prepared to uphold the duties associated with the tournament – but I do think that we all want to watch them perform to the best of their abilities come Thursday. Placing too many demands on their time will ultimately be reflected in their performance – no sponsors or fans want to see this, let alone pay for it.
A Solution
So, here’s my thinking – why not make every professional play in the pro-am for, say, six holes, with another pro substituting-in on the 6th and 12th holes? This could obviously be flexible, depending on the number of teams and competitors, but this way each pro gets an equal sneak peak of the course and they’re only out playing for a couple of hours. What’s more, the amateurs enjoy playing with three different professionals – it’s got to be even more exciting to discover you’ve got Lee Westwood, Jamie Donaldson and Matteo Mannassero than just anyone of them alone. Plus, there’s much less chance of suffering the disappointment of getting a pro you’ve never heard of before.
I like to think that most, if not all, pros could grin and bear six holes. Heaven forbid, some may even enjoy it! There’s room for a bit of banter with the other pros in the team, too, come the scores at the end of the day and the sponsors would be kept happy with the marquee names still on show.
For the amateurs, perhaps the organisers could provide a small educational factsheet so they all know what’s expected of them re speed of play, etc.
Add all this together and I’m convinced you’d see a change in attitude from the pros towards the pro-am. But who am I to say?!