John Hawkins' Ideas to Fix the PGA Tour

Golf World's John Hawkins has a column this week about some ideas for how to make golf leaner and/or meaner during this economy.  If several of the ideas in the piece sound familiar, that's because I've been talking about them for years, and as recently as in the last 10 days.How about the 1 in four rule?  Hawk goes for one in five.  Very original change up from the one concept that the LPGA Tour really has over the PGA Tour - despite the LPGA's measly fines.

The Five-Year Rule -- Viewed by some as the logical fix to what many perceive as pro golf's biggest problem: more than half of all tour stops have virtually no chance of getting Tiger Woods to show up at their tournament. Thus, the tour would require every player to tee it up at every event over a five-year period, a mandate that ostensibly affects a select few.

Or, maybe appearance fees?

Invisible appearance fees -- When Mickelson signed an endorsement deal with hotel chain Crowne Plaza a couple of years ago, those paying attention knew it meant Philly Mick would be playing regularly at Colonial, a tournament with a long and deep history that has struggled to draw quality fields in recent years. Mickelson won at Colonial in dramatic fashion last spring, so the event got its money's worth -- even if it was a lot of dough.

Hmm, that sounds familiar.  Actually, a lot of Hawk's ideas sound familiar.  They're familiar to me (and maybe to you) because I've been writing about them for years. 

Just to round out the others that Hawk mentions, he talks about:

• Making Q-school and the Fall Series one in the same - something we've touched on here by what to do with the Fall Series.
• Creating more opportunities for pros to interact with their amateur fans - an idea that came up in our all-star game discussion.
• Taking the Timberlake Vegas event to the regular season - an almost automatic fact as soon as the Hope determines it cannot continue.

These are generally good ideas, and it will probably be only a matter of time before a smattering of these columns come out in the media.