Does LIV Golf Have a Shot With Serious Golf Fans? Survey Says…

Golf Datatech, a research firm focused on the golf industry, has conducted a new survey of hardcore golf fans

Paul Casey at the LIV Golf Invitational - Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Paul Casey and the rest of LIV Golf have a popularity problem.
Chris Trotman/LIV Golf via Getty

In July when the controversial LIV Golf series was just teeing off, a Morning Consult poll of self-identified PGA Tour fans found that the top priority for 80% of Tour supporters is watching the world’s best players. Per the survey, the second-most important factor most would consider before following a golf tour would be the accessibility of watching matches. In other words, hardcore golf fans want to easily watch the world’s best players.

LIV Golf does have a couple of the top players in the world, but getting eyeballs on the streamable Saudi-backed circuit is going to be an issue until the new series gets a TV deal or a Netflix show. As it was in July, that is a big problem for LIV when it comes to getting serious golf fans to take its product seriously.

According to a new survey of golf fans by Golf Datatech, a research firm focused on the golf industry, LIV Golf has not impressed with its revamped product (shotgun starts, loud music, 54 holes, team play) or its broadcast strategy.

“Due to very limited distribution of viewing of their events through YouTube and the LIV website, very few golfers have seen or experienced the LIV product,” the survey says, according to Golf.com. “In‐person attendance at LIV events has been limited, so real experiences with the properties, either via being at an event or watching it on television, has been minimal. Until LIV can generate broader exposure, they will not be able to change many hearts and minds.”

The hearts and minds of members of the advocacy group 9/11 Justice, which is made up of individuals related to those who died in the attacks on 9/11, have also not changed as they have resumed their protest of LIV Golf ahead of the tour’s season-ending tournament at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers from the 2001 attacks on the United States were from Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom has long denied a role in the plane hijacking that killed nearly 3,000 people.

“This is the second LIV tournament hosted by Donald Trump at his golf courses this year, and that is painful and really disappointing,” said 9/11 Justice president Brett Eagleson. “The evidence of Saudi government officials’ participation in this attack on America could not be clearer.”

Regardless of the protests and the lack of viewership, the LIV Golf Miami Team Championship at Trump National Doral Golf Club will tee off on Friday.

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