My First LIV Golf Experience

Golfshake's resident golf equipment expert and PGA Pro Ryan Rastall recently attended LIV Golf UK at the JCB Golf and Country Club and offers his thoughts after attending his first LIV event as well as some behind the scenes access in a short video.

Last week I travelled over to the JCB Golf and Country Club to the Pro-Am day of LIV Golf UK. Whilst I have watched many of the events on YouTube and have kept up to date with the progress of the tour since its first event at Centurion in June 2022, this was my first face to face encounter with LIV Golf.

The well documented politics within the world of professional golf have really done nothing to grow its appeal amongst the nearly 5 million new golfers since the pandemic. In truth, golf has struggled for many years to make the game look anything other than an elitist, inaccessible sport that requires a certain level of wealth to participate regularly.

As regular golfers, we know different and as a PGA professional myself, I think that the accessibility to the game has never been easier. The level of diversity that I have witnessed over the past 5-10 years is also extremely encouraging with many women and girls picking up the game as well as players of different cultures and socio- economic backgrounds. So where does LIV fit into all of this?

The Venue

I must confess, I have wanted to visit JCB Golf and Country for some time as I have heard many positive things about the course and in particular the massive changes in elevation and tough tee shots that are a feature of the layout. It is also quite difficult to actually get a tee time on the course due to the exclusive nature of the resort. The 7,308 yard course designed by Robin Hiseman has already played host to The Legends Tour and Rose Ladies series but this would surely be the sternest test of its short history.

There are many holes that would class as feature holes at JCB but the one that many of us will have seen is the 17th. This hole is 244 yards and has an elevation change of 30m downhill to the green making club selection very difficult. The thing that struck me about the course in general is the amount of blind tee shots facing the players and I would imagine it to be very ‘marmite’ with some of them. It would definitely qualify as a quirky golf course but the condition was immaculate and the green surfaces exceptional.

JCB Golf & Country Club - Course Review

When arriving at the course I headed straight for the media centre where The Crushers were giving a press conference. The team consisted of Ryder Cup star Paul Casey, John Catlin who is enjoying great success as a stand-in for the injured Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri who narrowly lost the previous event at Valderrama to Sergio Garcia and the enigmatic Bryson DeChambeau. It was great to get access to these great players, ask questions and hear how much they were looking forward to the test of the JCB course just a few days removed from The Open at Royal Troon.

LIV Golf Fan Experience

At the conclusion of the press conference I headed out to the tented village. The fan experience has always been a big focus of LIV Golf. The offering of food and beverage around the course was similar to many events that I had attended previously with two main differences, ‘The Party Hole’ which we will come to later in this article and the activation zones for kids. I was really impressed with the putting challenges, chipping areas which of course featured JCB’s, a kids play area and craft tent as well as a ‘Little Sticks’ area for coaching and for younger children to try the game.

While at the event, LIV Golf announced the creation of its Impact Leaderboard that establishes a competitive aspect to the impact and sustainability work being carried out by the league's teams. As part of their ongoing potential, unleashed initiative, the impact leaderboard will track the efforts being made by the leagues 13 teams to make a difference to their communities and support young people around the world.

Going back to our earlier question as to where LIV Golf fits into the landscape of professional golf, I would say firmly front and centre alongside the PGA Tour and DP World Tour with arguably the philanthropic element doing more to grow the sport and help communities by giving back some of the astronomical wealth that LIV Golf possesses.

When heading out onto the course and chatting to the players, it was clear that they were enjoying themselves, building camaraderie within their teams and also remaining fiercely competitive. They were also extremely generous with their time and didn’t look like it was a chore to engage with the fans and fulfil their media obligations.

The team aspect is something that is heavily criticised by those who are against LIV and feel like it’s a pointless element to the proceedings. I actually feel like it enhances the fan experience much like the way that Formula One does with its allegiances to Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull. I appreciate that The Crushers, Legion XIII and The Fireballs have a long way to go to reach those dizzy heights, on the evidence of what I witnessed at JCB it is definitely gathering momentum. The merchandise store was packed with items from each team as well as generic LIV Golf branded products and was doing a roaring trade. The prices there were also fairly punchy which didn’t seem to be putting the fans off from buying their chosen teams merch.

I couldn’t leave without paying a visit to the aptly named ‘Party Hole’ this has been a feature at many of the LIV golf events and the JCB influence meant that this incarnation featured ‘The Digger Inn’ making a tongue in cheek reference to the iconic Jigger Inn that skirts the 17th fairway at the Old Course. This golfing amphitheater on the 14th hole would provide an incredible vantage point for the fans, an impressive food and beverage offering as well as a cauldron of noise for the players as they walk through the tunnel and onto the tee. The course in its entirety had been decked out in speakers lining every hole and the public areas but the epicentre of this was definitely the party hole.

Overall I was impressed with the event and how LIV golf is attempting to try and modernise golf and appeal to a much younger demographic rather than the traditional blazer and red trouser brigade at many elitist private members clubs. I appreciate it is not for everyone but in my opinion it was a breath of fresh air.