September end is always a good time to take stock of the past ten months in Golf. Men’s golf, that is. The PGA Tour is ended—at least the one tournament that draws the bigwigs. DP World Tour has all but a few tournaments left. And the latest addition, LIV Golf, is done and dusted. These three entities are supposed to work together at some point in time in the future. 

While there is no confirmation on the time frame, LIV has quietly taken another step forward. Behind the ‘no-one-watches, no-body-cares’ shouts on social media, there is a reality that’s only slowly coming to the forefront. Whether we like it or not, Greg Norman & Co. has found success of varying degrees across the globe.

LIV Golf’s economic impact in 2024

Greg Norman’s vision of a community-driven game that injects dollars into the economy turned out to be a realistic one. Look at the numbers after LIV Golf Adelaide. 

• $71.1 million into the South Australia economy — 10% y-o-y increase
• 94,327 attendees across three days—a 22% y-o-y increase
• Averagely nightly revenue of $2.8M in the greater Metropolitan region 

While no doubt, it’s hard to replicate across the globe, Adelaide gave them a blueprint. A few other countries have taken notice as well. Hong Kong is one prime example. You have to think from a country like Hong Kong’s perspective. Golf, while not its major sport, does attract eyeballs when stars descend on the course. And, in 2024, LIV has quite a few. Local newspapers reported more booked nights at hotels surrounding the area during LIV Golf Hong Kong.

South China Morning Post reported that around 12,000 spectators, including the Sports and Tourism Minister and Legislative Council President, were among those bunches that braved torrential rains to witness the final round. LIV Hong Kong raked in around $38.52M in revenue. The tournament was funded by Hong Kong’s Tourism Board for $2.05M (HK $16). Remember Phil Mickelson saying tourism boards are paying LIV to host an event in their country? He wasn’t exaggerating. 

Yes, the PGA Tour does it too. Possibly on a much bigger scale. But, here is the fact: LIV is still a start-up. And, for a start-up trying to one-up or at least carve a place for itself in the market, it has done a fairly decent job. But it’s not just about the money. Its future potential is yet to be fully unlocked. 

Anirban Lahiri reveals the crux of the LIV Golf puzzle

That LIV Golf teams will be a franchise is a well-known claim. Claim, and not fact, because they are yet to be. But what does being a ‘franchise’ encompass? It’s not just having fan clubs—something that LIV has done, although the success rate of those is doubtful. 

But here is what we forget and very few in LIV Golfers take time to remind. When Greg Norman floated the idea of owning golf clubs, it was not just because of a home-away format. Rather, it’s modeled on European soccer, where every top-tier club runs their training academies. 

In the USA, where munis and public courses still fuel and fund aspiring golfers’ dreams, the case is not similar in counties LIV is trying to set a step on. Try to think of the impact an academy run by Stinger GC will make in Johannesburg, Cape Town, or Durban. The next question inevitably follows: is someone doing it?

Bryson DeChambeau and Crushers are taking the first step forward. “We want to, you know, eventually have maybe a golf course, you know, Crushers Golf Club. An actual physical golf club where we can do certain things. We want to have academies, you know. We want to be able to do a lot of work at a social level,” Anirban Lahiri told EssentiallySports when we sat for an exclusive interview.

What does an ‘academy’ entail? One, making golf more accessible to common people. Two, funding the development and dreams of amateur golfers. Think of the impact Bryson DeChambeau or Jon Rahm’s appearance can make on a teenage golfer from India, Singapore, or any other Asian country. 

PGA Tour, for whatever reason, hasn’t been able to globalize the game. Let’s not harbor any delusion here. Greg Norman and PIF are no inventors like Thomas Edison or Nikola Tesla. They sailed on the same ship as Marco Polo and Ferdinand Magellan. LIV showed that a broader market is already there, the question is, can Golf utilize it to the fullest? And will the PGA Tour too take notice?