EarthGolf

The times, they are a changin’ - and so are the golf courses that the PGA Tour will be stopping at over the next couple of years. After the Forest Oaks to Sedgefield move that has been discussed here over the past few weeks, the change from the regular stop at Cog Hill, it was announced another venue is being dropped. Westchester Country Club, a popular stop on the PGA Tour, is out in favor of one of the more well publicized new courses in recent memory - Liberty National. If Liberty National has its way, this will be small-time compared to what it’s attempting to lure.

If the course holds up to professional competition and if the tournament is viewed as successful, Liberty National may continue as a PGA Tour site and also begin courting major championships, Ryder Cup matches and Presidents Cup matches.

Tim Finchem makes the case for the move.

“We wouldn’t at all have a problem with our home base being Westchester,” he said. “It’s great as far the tournament goes. The only thing is, you are trying to reach and excite a metropolitan area of 10, 11 million and make sure it has a full flavor that is really part of New York. It would just make it a bigger event. That’s not to take anything away from Westchester at all. It’s just to say that we’re in the business of trying to make big events.”

I think the changing venues - or rotating venues - is actually a good idea in most cases. It allows large metropolitan areas to expose the tournament to more golfers, it allows the TV audience to see more courses, and it may draw more players to the event if it rotates among courses. I think the declining TV audiences are an indication that changes are needed and this is a good one.

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