This proposed golf event would be a must watch

If you have been following headlines in the world of golf during the past few years, you will have likely read a considerable amount about corporate dealings, sportswashing, private equity, massively inflated prize funds, ridiculous signing fees, and a lot of tedious waffle about growing the game espoused by multi-millionaires who are chiefly concerned about pocketing even more money for doing less.

The intrigue and controversy surrounding these stories has kept many of us busy, that's undeniable, but when such attention is placed on this ongoing soap opera way ahead of the actual playing of the game, it's a stark reminder that modern golf is fundamentally boring to watch.

Why is Golf Boring to Watch These Days?

We've seen LIV Golf try (and largely fail) to reinvent the wheel. TGL may appeal to some people - but it's certainly not for me. The reality is that however you dress it up - whichever format or gimmick you introduce - the game itself is less compelling than it was in decades past.

Unless weather intervenes or course setups are pushed beyond all sense, most professional events in the men's game are simply a succession of guys hitting long drives and wedging the ball towards defenceless greens.

That's not to decry the players of today who are immensely skilled, and the majority of whom can legitimately refer to themselves as being athletes, but it's the hand they've been dealt, the era in which they play that has diminished the appeal.

Advances in golf club and ball technology have turbocharged the best players in the world - who have now far outstretched the limits of the courses that typically stage tournaments.

Turn back the clock to 1996, when Nick Faldo saw off a beleaguered Greg Norman to claim a third Masters title, Augusta National measured 6,925 yards. 

30 years later, the revered layout is now over 600 yards longer and its greens, once rapid, are today a comical speed.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

My beloved Old Course in my home of St Andrews has been pushed way beyond its boundaries to 7,445 yards in time for the 2027 Open, 500 yards longer than it was when big-hitting John Daly triumphed here in 1995.

There are back tees quite literally out-of-bounds, encompassing the Himalayas putting green, the New Course, Eden Course and driving range. More egregious than that are the "enhancements" that have been made this winter, which have added and moved bunkers, all in a desperate effort to keep the venerable links relevant. 

Why should the greatest venues in the sport be adapted to fit the modern game? Shouldn't it be the other way round?

Ultimately, all of this has created an unsatisfying golf product. You only have to watch highlights and old films on YouTube to see how the game was once more dynamic at the highest level, witnessing the likes of Lee Trevino and Seve Ballesteros at their best, when the variety and difficulty of shots played was greater, and when the jeopardy over a long approach or recovery was more pronounced.

But there could be a solution - at least once a year - and how good would this be?

Would You Watch This Unique Golf Event?

Responding to a post on the site formerly known as Twitter, which presented the idea that there should be an event on tour played each season with persimmon woods and classic blades, golf author and journalist Bradley S. Klein went a step further and suggested further stipulations that would include: "No caddies, carry your own bag, no yardage devices, no yardage charts, no yardage books, no pin sheets, no AimPoint or straddling the line. Just play golf."

This would be simply incredible to behold - a genuine must watch showpiece. No music, no giant simulator screens, no showbusiness fluff, just golf, pure golf, the game as it was meant to be played and enjoyed.

We'd have the opportunity to see the biggest names, like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, using far less forgiving equipment, placing more emphasis on their individual ability to manipulate the golf ball. 

Creativity would be demanded, while the absence of numbers and data on the course would reward those who can be more intuitive. 

Even Bryson DeChambeau would lose a dramatic amount of distance using an old-fashioned driver and ball, meaning that classic layouts, otherwise completely obsolete or heavily compromised, would suddenly become suitable to host such an event. 

Golf fans want to see the finest players on the planet tested, and they most enjoy seeing them play an architecturally rich venue, rather than the identikit championship hosts that we routinely see each week these days.

This would be a remarkable TV spectacle, an event to rival the major championships, something we'd look forward to, and a moment that the more open-minded and interesting players would fully embrace.

For all of those reasons, it will never happen, because nothing good ever seems to these days, but we can still dream, right?