‘Hard to keep up’: Pro explains issues with PGA Tour changes

The reality of more adjustments to the PGA Tour schedule became a little more serious when Tiger Woods talked about it at length at the Hero World Challenge last week.

“We’re trying to figure out what the best possible schedule is so that we can create the best fields and have the most viewership and also the most fan engagement,” said Woods, who is also chairman of the Tour’s new Future Competitions Committee. “Looking at different timeframes of when we start and finish, different tentpoles throughout the year and what that might look like.”

Whether some of these changes will happen in 2027, 2028, or at all has yet to be determined. One thing that isn’t in dispute, however, is that the Tour has changed its structure and schedule so many times: Signature Events; calendar season versus continuous season; number of PGA Tour cards awarded, etc. – which can be difficult for average fans to follow. It turns out it’s not easy for players either.

Beau Hossler is a longtime member of the PGA Tour, although this year Hossler — with cards down from 125 to 100 — finished 104th in the FedEx Cup Fall and lost his full-time membership. Hossler was a guest on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar Podcastand while he said don’t feel bad for him — he made no apologies and said he’ll still get plenty of starts with his conditional status — he did say something needs to change in how the Tour structures its schedule and how often top players compete together.

“It’s definitely been a bit of a whirlwind. I think the intention is obviously to get it right, but I think there’s some value in getting it consistent,” Hossler said. “I really believe that if you want your fans to really be involved, I think they have to understand. And I can tell you with certainty that your players have to understand what’s going on. And there’s been so many changes over the last X number of years that it’s been hard to keep up, even internally, honestly.”

An example of some semi-recent changes: The Tour’s top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings will be invited to Signature Events, although there is still room for others to qualify through the Aon Next 10 or Aon Swing 5. This year was also the first year that only 100 PGA Tour cards were distributed following the FedEx Cup Fall Series, and only 20 cards (10 fewer than last year) were given to Korn Ferry Tour graduates.

Hossler said he recently met Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour’s new CEO, and had the opportunity to express some of his opinions.

“At the beginning of last year I was about 64th [in the standings]so let’s say I’m the 70th best player in the world, roughly, maybe I’m the 80th best player in the world, I’m in that range. I told him the number of times I’m going to see a top five player in the world at a tournament this year is on the one hand,” Hossler said. “And the number of times I’m going to see seven of the top 10 players in the world at a tournament this year is literally only if I’m playing in a big or high profile event, or a Players. So if you go to the 70th best baseball player in the world competitively, they’re playing at the highest level every night.

“And I think there’s something to that because that’s the kind of competition you want,” Hossler continued. “And from a player’s perspective, you feel like you’ve earned the right at that moment to compete against the best players in the world. Having finished 104th this year, I’m going to get what I’m going to get. I fully accept that. I’m just talking about a broader spectrum: the number 55 in the world should be playing against the best player. The way the schedule is worked out, the best players in the world, those top 50 guys are playing against each other. But when you’re literally one player of that, you see they almost never. I just don’t know that that will be the best model in twenty years’ time.’

Hossler added that his meeting with Rolapp went well. He called the new boss “exceptional” and said he is an expert in a number of key areas, but also had the humility and awareness to know which areas he still needed to learn. He said Rolapp created an environment where he felt he could speak freely and seemed to listen to feedback.

“I really think that’s an exceptional quality in someone who’s going to lead everything,” Hossler said. “To say, Hey, I know exactly what I’m doing and I know areas where I need to listen to people who are living it. We had a great conversation.”

To learn more from Hossler about the program, his coffee company, and his Ayahuasca experience in Costa Rica, listen to the podcast here or look further YouTube below.

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