LIV Golf accused of having an issue which is ‘really hurting’ them at every tournament with ‘unprofessional’ set-up slammed

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If there’s one man in the golf media world know who knows how to trigger the LIV Golf fans, it’s PGA Tour analyst, Brandel Chamblee.

Ever since LIV Golf came along, Chamblee has been outspoken about the quality of the product on offer, while he’s also slammed certain players for making the move.

Chamblee has previously claimed LIV is on ‘life support’, while Chamblee also said LIV has tried to destroy the PGA Tour from day one, albeit he feels they’ve failed.

Still, in more recent times, Chamblee admitted to a chat with Donald Trump that changed his mind a little.

However, back speaking on the Dan on Golf YouTube channel, Chamblee has now said that he believes LIV are just making mistakes which are costing them.

Brandel Chamblee aims fresh dig at LIV Golf’s coverage

Speaking to Dan Rappaport on the latest episode of the podcast, Chamblee was asked about his views on LIV and while he wasn’t over the top, he did point out some fresh concerns.

This time, to do with how they actually present their golf.

“I would say TGL is resonating because for a lot of the same reasons that YouTube resonates with people,” Chamblee said.

“These guys go on there and there are a few of them that are very good players but they go on there and shoot 80, or Trent from Barstool shooting a gazillion over. It resonates with people because you get to see his personality, they look like we do, and TGL is about tapping into YouTube golf. It is about tapping into the spirit that underpins the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open. Let’s celebrate life, have a bit of fun and not take ourselves so seriously.

“That’s what YouTube golf taps into. Very entertaining, you get to see their personalities. Well, in TGL why would we seed all that ground to Youtubers? Let’s create a scenario where we can literally have some fun watching the best players in the world and hit some really seriously cool golf shots.

Bringing LIV Golf into the discussions, Chamblee suggested they are almost confused as to what they are.

“LIV Golf is stuck in the middle. It’s a competition ostensibly, but it is chaotic. The staggered start really hurts them. Nobody who is seriously a golf fan would accept the fact that you’re starting at different holes,” he continued.

“The architects design golf courses to give you a building crescendo. You think about where we just came from, to the Florida swing, and you think about the finishing holes at the Players, the Cognizant and the Valspar. There is a reason that architects build to a crescendo and if you disrupt that with staggered starts,

“I think you are starting from a pretty poor place. And it boils down to you are not getting their personality, that’s not what LIV is about. It is somewhat, but you are not going to get it because they are trying to compete but on the other sense everybody watching knows that they are not really watching anything that matters.

“I am sitting here getting ready for the Masters, so one of the things I am doing is assess who is playing well and who is not. What aspects of their game are ‘vibing’ and what they are not.

“You can’t get a real sense of that when you look at LIV because the golf courses are set up in an unprofessional manner. Not a lot of rough, not real long, not real tough, not real fast, not tough pins. So it’s really hard unless they cross pollinate and start playing other events to get a sense of how they’re playing. I think you put all that together and that’s the reason nobody is tuning in.”

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How LIV Golf’s TV ratings compare to the TGL

When it comes to viewership, LIV Golf are still struggling in the main while the TGL are more than happy with their opening season’s ratings.

The TGL has attracted differing numbers but they’ve been up around the 900,000 mark at times and have dipped to the 300,000 mark as well.

However, LIV Riyadh, for example, attracted less than 50,000 viewers and even last year as Jon Rahm won the individual championship, they struggled to break 100,000.

LIV has to do something to get the fans onboard in terms of TV. The deal with Fox is a start but with tournaments around the world, the US audience is simply not tuning into certain events.