9 questions for 2024

Hey there! Hope you had an awesome holiday and happy new year! It's been a nice couple of weeks away, traveling with the family. But it's good to be back.  

The new year means that some meaningful golf is just around the corner. Still, the men's professional game has never had so many unknowns heading into a season (at least in my lifetime). Hopefully, throughout the course of this year, we'll get some answers. 

For now, here are my top nine questions heading into 2024: 

On the pro side... 

1. Will the PGA Tour strike a deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund? 

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf's financiers had a Dec. 31 deadline to reach an agreement, which has obviously come and gone. Now, reports suggest an April timeframe — before the Masters.  

What comes of these negotiations will shape the future of the men's pro game for decades. The PIF is expected to inject billions of dollars into the Tour. But more importantly, the deal will likely change the PGA Tour's structure/schedule drastically. 

Does that mean we'll see more team golf? Tournaments around the world? A total merger with LIV? 

So much is up-in-the-air. 

2. Who will win more majors — PGA Tour players or LIV golfers? 

It’s wild that this is even a question. But here we are. 

When looking at some of the best players from both circuits, it’s close.

LIV: Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson.

PGA Tour: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Vikor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele.

Ultimately, I'd still wager that more PGA Tour players will take home majors in 2024 because of its overall depth.

3. Who will breakthrough and become a household name in 2024? 

The PGA Tour had a good article on nine guys that could make a big leap this season, including Ludvig Åberg, Cam Young, and Sahith Thegala. But I think it's going to be Australia's Min Woo Lee who will catch the most attention in 2024. 

Min Woo's been cooking as of late — winning on the Asian and DP World tours to close out 2023. And, this year, he's fully exempt on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career. 

Expect long drives, stingers, and a self-led thunderclaps from Min Woo in 2024. Heck, maybe even throw in a major. 

4. Will the TGL even happen? 

Remember when Tiger and Rory's virtual golf league was supposed to launch in early January, but then the stadium deflated and the whole thing was delayed for at least another year? 

The TGL has plenty of well-known investors, which offers some confidence that an inaugural season will happen in "early 2025," as promised. Still, with so much happening in the potential PGA Tour/LIV merger, it's hard to imagine how simulator golf fits in. 

I sorta think the endeavor unravels and never actually happens. 

On the personal side... 

5. Will I watch more LIV Golf? 

Probably, yes. Jon Rahm and Cam Smith, admittedly, are two of my favorite golfers to watch and now both play on the rebel tour. 

Am I happy about this? No. 

Golf is so much more fun when the best players in the world are competing against each other, and — as people have said ad nauseum over these last few weeks — this should happen more than four times a year. 

6. Will I watch more YouTube golf? 

Mayyybe. 

I hardly watch any YouTube golf today because ... I dunno. Maybe at 35, I'm too old to really get it. (FWIW, I don't watch much of anything on YouTube outside of Lion King music videos for my kid.) 

Maybe if I followed popular channels like Good Good, Fore Play, or Bryan Bros closer, I'd care more about the people playing and the storylines. 🤷‍♂️

I do think the rise of YouTube golf (some channels have 1 million+ subscribers) comes at such an interesting time — when the men's professional game is in disarray. 

Imagine if you were young and new to the game — would you rather flip between CBS and the CW to watch golf or just stream shows on YouTube whenever you want? Probably the latter. 

7. What's my bucket list course for 2024? 

With two kids under two-and-a-half, my expectations aren't high. 

But I'd love to get back to San Francisco this year to play the newly renovated Golden Gate Park par 3 course. It looks so epic. 

Having recently moved from the Bay Area to the Midwest, I also have my eyes on the Sand Valley courses in central Wisconsin. One can dream. 

On the business side... 

8. What's on tap for the Quick Nine? 

Like the future of professional golf, honestly, it's a little TBD. 

My initial idea for the Quick Nine was to create an easy way to follow PGA Tour events on a week-to-week basis. But with the pro game divided, covering just one tour doesn't really make sense anymore. There's also so much more to write about with golf, like the courses we play, the equipment we use, and our never-ending quest to improve. 

If there's one guiding principle I have for the Quick Nine in 2024 it's to tell more original stories rather than simply recapping the news. 

9. Will the newsletter reach 10,000 subscribers? 

I have a long way to go, but that's the goal. 

You can help me today by sharing the Quick Nine with a friend or two who loves the game as much as you do. 🙏

That's all for today! Thanks so much for reading y'all and as a reminder, the first tournament of the PGA Tour season (The Sentry) starts on Thursday. Hawaii golf means prime time golf for those of us on the mainland.

Enjoy! And talk soon. - Nick B.