The PGA Tour’s viewership decline has been a big topic recently, and after Jay Monahan’s efforts didn’t quite bring the results everyone hoped for, Justin Thomas, along with Max Homa made their agenda to openly address the issue writing a pretty lengthy memo to their fellow players. The goal? To push for more engagement with fans and better communication with TV partners to ultimately boost viewership. As expected, the letter got people talking—some loved it, others didn’t. But Thomas made it clear that the real reason behind the memo was to hold the Tour accountable, something that’s seemed lacking lately.

Sounds fine so far, right? Well, the trend of open letters doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Recently, X user @Sean_Zak shared a tweet about yet another letter sent to PGA Tour members—this time from Charley Hoffman.

In his letter, Hoffman takes a hard look at the criticism the Tour’s been getting around slow play. “We’ve taken a lot of heat over the past few weeks about slow play,” Hoffman began. “And yeah, it’s an issue — for our fans, for us as players — cutting down field sizes will help, but only by a few minutes a day. As players, we still need to make a concerted effort to speed up. 

Pace of play has been a challenge my entire 20 years on Tour, and it was an issue 20 years before that. Golf is a tough game, and when conditions get extreme, it takes time to play it the right way. We all need to take responsibility to be ready when it’s our turn to play and having the awareness to realize that we are out of position and speed up even before the rules official shows up. We do it all the time, we just need to be more aware of it!”

It’s clear Hoffman knows the Tour from top to bottom. He’s been deeply involved in leadership roles, serving on the Player Advisory Council for multiple terms, and even twice on the Policy Board.

But Hoffman doesn’t stop there. He also throws some shade at the Aon Swing 5 implementation, sharing his concerns about the new system. And if that wasn’t enough, Hoffman dropped a bit of a bombshell by calling out his peers with a comment that resonates with some of the frustrations fans have had: “Many of you keep saying you want to play fewer events, yet you still find time for TGL, Race to Dubai…”

So, here we are with two letters in a short time, both addressing key issues, that the Tour needs to pay attention too, it’s clear that fans aren’t entirely convinced just yet.

Fans condemn Charley Hoffman’s letter

When you take a bold stance, you’re bound to get some pushback —that’s just part of the process. Hoffman’s recent letter to the PGA Tour sparked just that, with some fans firing back and questioning his place in the league. One fan pointed out, “The fact he’s been on tour for 20 years highlights the biggest changes needed — the need to cycle. You can’t be mediocre for 20 years and still have a job. The talent pool is deep but they can’t tap into it with guys like him holding spots and vulturing starts from young guys”

Then, there’s this take on Hoffman’s comment about players participating in events outside of the PGA Tour. One fan fired back, “Talking about players who play events outside of the @PGATOUR misses the point. Golf should be global, and not US centric for 11 months of the year. Having the Scottish Open on your rota is not going global.’ Well, that’s a point to be noted. The PGA Tour’s focus has been pretty US-centric for years. Meanwhile, LIV Golf is showing that there’s a huge global appetite for the game. If you look at the success LIV has had in attracting an international audience, it’s clear that going beyond U.S. borders is a big part of what makes golf truly global. The PGA Tour, by focusing so heavily on U.S. events, might be missing out on a whole world of opportunities. It’s time for the Tour to think bigger—golf is a global sport, and it should be treated as such.

Moving on, another fan weighed in, stating, “This feels like when your in a team meeting and somebody brings up a good point (JT) then everybody else feels like they need to add their two cents into it as well when it’s not necessary.” It’s kind of funny, right? Both Justin Thomas and Charley Hoffman seem to be speaking out with good intentions, but at a certain point, it feels like overkill. Michael Bamberger even called out Justin Thomas’ letter as unnecessary, saying, “a fan really shouldn’t need to be catered to. The greatness of what the athlete does—a golfer or any other sport—is what draws its views in the first place.”

Some fans aren’t even taking the letters too seriously, with one simply saying, “Tour players don’t care about these letters/memos.” Honestly, it’s a point that can’t be ignored. For a lot of Tour players, these letters might feel like a distraction rather than something that will actually drive change. They’re more focused on their game than on a memo that might or might not make a difference.

And then, there’s this comment: “Wonder if he would have referenced the AON top 5 if he would’ve gotten in to pebble instead of Lee Hodges…” Basically they are saying that Hoffman’s frustration with the Aon Top 5 rankings might be a little more personal than we thought. If Hoffman had made it into the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, would he have felt the same about the system? Maybe not. It seems like the exclusion could have sparked some of his feelings about how things are being handled.

All in all, fans are split. Some feel like Hoffman’s letter brings up important issues, while others think it’s just more noise. Whether the Tour will listen and make changes? Only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure: players are making their voices heard, and they’re not shy about calling out the things they think need to change.