Rory McIlroy Believes There Is Too Much Golf

Is there too much golf, or is the season too long?

The easy answer is yes, but how do you control a global game that is all-encompassing with contingencies on six continents?

The Official World Golf Rankings lists 24 eligible tours, including the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, PGA Tour Australasia, Sunshine Tour and Japan Golf Tour. Most have a full schedule of 20 or more events each.

Of course, the LIV Golf League, not an OWGR member, adds more to the equation.

There are over 150 golf tournaments worldwide, and at some point, that is just too much golf. Most tournaments are broadcast on terrestrial and cable and streamed throughout the year, adding to the overexposure.

Most sports expect their athletes to compete in every event on their schedule except for professional golf and tennis.

Most golfers play in less than 50 percent of the scheduled events, making some events more compelling than others, creating diluted fields that ultimately reduce the viewer's interest.

The dilution factor is real, and the effects are evident as the PGA Tour, the biggest and most successful professional golf tour is struggling to maintain viewership.

When Austrian Sepp Straka won at the American Express by two shots over Justin Thomas a couple of weeks ago, the viewership numbers on the Golf Channel, which broadcast the event, were disappointing at less than 300,000.

If that had been Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth instead of Straka, the viewership would have spiked higher, and fan interest would have been higher not only during the tournament but also the following week, in turn boosting interest in the following week's event.

Before his 2025 debut on the PGA Tour at Pebble Beach, McIlroy was asked if TGL, LIV Golf and YouTube influencers are additive to or diminish the core product, the PGA Tour.

“I think it already has been diminished,” McIlroy said, referring to the PGA Tour. “I would say yeah, look, the one thing about like TGL's only going to last two months. You get this sort of big burst of it in January, February and a little bit of March, then it's done. It's gone for 10 months basically. I would say that is hopefully somewhat additive to the ecosystem.”

McIlroy sees YouTube as golf entertainment that has found a niche and it's “really cool,” and it serves a purpose for many people.