Laurie Canter shares what he found difficult about LIV debut in 2022

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Laurie Canter has shared what he found difficult about playing in the first few events after he signed up for LIV in 2022.

Canter was one of the 48 players who was involved in the breakaway tour’s inaugural event, held at Centurion in Hemel Hempstead.

Of course, the event came under huge scrutiny with many of the players involved being asked about playing on a tour owned by PIF of Saudi Arabia.

Laurie Canter shares what he found difficult about LIV debut

LIV immediately tried to establish some key differences between itself and the established tours. Less than 50 players would tee it up over three rounds. And there would be a shotgun start to ensure that all players started at the same time and finished at virtually the same time, too.

But it does appear that they have also tried to create a more interactive atmosphere for their fans. Anyone who has watched any of their tournaments will know that music can be heard across the course at all times. Of course, that is dramatically different to most events on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, where you can regularly hear a pin drop.

Interestingly, it would appear that Laurie Canter found the change of environment a challenge, as he opened up on the move on The Chipping Forecast podcast.

“The vibe from the first event, I think I started on the seventh hole or sixth hole, which is right out in the sticks in Centurion, it was a par three. There were speakers everywhere, loads and loads of noise, but apart from my particular group, a fan club who had come up from the south west, the atmosphere on the back of the seventh tee, it wasn’t going off shall we say. It was a nice atmosphere,” he said.

“But that’s kind of the main difference that I see is that there’s a build up to play, and you’re going to be off on a hole round the course most of the time. Once it starts, it’s, from a playing perspective, it felt much like we always do.

“I found the beginning bit, the warm up, all the noise, I found that quite difficult first couple of weeks. It was so different to what I was used to. I’m someone who tries to really calm myself down in my warm-up so to have loads of loud music and that stuff, I felt I needed a bit of time to adjust to that.”

PGA and DP World Tours should take some inspiration from breakaway product

Although many will understandably have their reservations about working with LIV, there are aspects that the other tours would be wise to take inspiration from.

Of course, the purists will argue that a lot of what LIV offer is not for them. But if the PGA and DP World Tours want to attract fresh audiences, and perhaps not lose those who are intrigued by what LIV offer, they perhaps need to look at improving the experience for those in attendance.

Obviously, that does not mean changing everything about the presentation in every event. However, there is surely scope for changes to be made to modernise the product.