Justin Thomas was only trying to suggest how his peers can make golf better through his memo. After all, following the path of the Tiger is what many of the professionals already do. So why not make it a bit more dramatic on the course to pump up the atmosphere? But the drama slayer was not a big fan of the ideas. As Scottie Scheffler stated, “If people want to watch and enjoy, then come on out and have a good time, but I’m not going to put on a show or do anything crazy to try to get more people to watch me.” Scheffler’s dominated stroke play, but will he stick to his moniker while being compared to Tiger Woods?

Well, Mr. Inevitable is not the only one who questioned Thomas’ memo. Charlie Hoffman shared his own letter to the PGA Tour officials. Going against his fellow golfer’s request, Hoffman stated, “I’ve had no interest when someone asks for an interview mid-round or suggests trying something new,” before acknowledging how the fans love it. However, the 48-year-old added, “The 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 have the awareness to realize that we are out of position and speed up even before the rules official shows up.”

Hoffman’s appeal to the players to self-reflect to improve the game is justified. After all, slow play has been an issue in the PGA Tour for a while now. But his memo gave Dylan Wu the opportunity to take a dig at Justin Thomas. He said, “Honestly think he (Charlie Hoffman) was pretty spot on. He’s not a huge name but a well-respected guy with a great, long career. It’s a better email than JT telling us to be better with the media.” It is evident that not everyone is a fan of Justin Thomas‘ suggestion to be more entertaining. But he seems to have finally found some support from one of his peers.

Gary Williams asked Billy Horschel, “What is your view of the televised product of golf?” on the latest episode of 5 Clubs of Golf Channel on YouTube. Horschel immediately used Thomas’ memo as an example as he said, “Golf’s over such a long window. It’s not a two or three hour time window. So there’s a lot of things that can be done. Could we show more golf shots? Yes, I think we’re trying to do that. I believe the players themselves; as Justin Thomas talked about in his letter, can be more open to having conversations with announcers and golf as they are walking the golf course. Whether it’s before, during, or after a round.”

Horschel was eager for on-course interviews since the DP World Tour approached him in 2019. That’s because he understands “the value of that. I understand giving insights to golf fans. That’s what they want. It’s no different than me wanting to know the insight of what the coach is thinking after the first quarter of a football game. What changes they may make or what he’s seeing. That’s such great insights that fans just crave.”

The 8x PGA Tour winner gave the example of Johnny Miller who was very vocal on the course. The legend was never afraid to criticize or commend someone for their efforts. Horschel believes that the commentary team has been “too nice” to the players even when they make bad plays. Going back to Miller, he said “I miss a guy like Johnny who can be a little controversial and say something that you may be thinking, but he’s not afraid to say it.”

Billy Horschel may have shown support for Justin Thomas’ ideas. But do fans really want the players to be more entertaining to keep them hooked? Recent criticism about the broadcast may give us some clues.

Was Justin Thomas right all along?

Fans have been more critical than ever about the PGA Tour’s coverage recently. In fact, this began during the 2024 PGA Championship which was filled with controversies. Fans were eager to see how Scottie Scheffler might perform after his brief jail time. Xander Schauffele was leading the field after he hit an insane 9-under 62 in the first round. Jordan Spieth was on the mission to become a grand slam champion. But fans were missing out on all that action for the most absurd reason.

The coverage of the major event was cursed with commercials after every few minutes. Fans were frustrated to miss out on vital moments just because the broadcast partners wanted to fill their pockets. The constant breaks in every round caught their nerves as someone even tweeted “Coverage Is HORRIBLE”. Alternatively, fans would be hooked to their screens if the short timeouts had on-course conversations. Watching the biggest golfers share their trail of thoughts as they walk to the next hole is a win-win for everyone.

While guys like Hoffman and Wu might still object to it, there are more ways than one how the PGA Tour can get better ratings. In fact, the pace of play; that they mentioned, might also improve if the players listen to Jim Nantz and Brandel Chamblee and stop wasting time with AimPoint. Wouldn’t you agree?