‘This isn’t your grandfather’s golf tournament’: LIV Golf tournament tees off for the weekend

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new way of playing golf teed off at The Grove Friday morning.

For the first time, LIV Golf competed in Tennessee. It brought crowds and energy all weekend long. LIV Golf, an upstart league formed in 2021, is known as a laid-back version of men’s professional golf with the motto: “Golf but louder.”

“With the loud music, you got the vibe going,” LIV Golf attendee Phil Jacobs said.

Forget a strict dress code and hushed crowd. The LIV Golf tournament at The Grove began with paratroopers landing on the first hole, fireworks, and cheers. The crowd got especially excited as LIV golf fans watched their favorite players, such as Bryson Dechameau, John Rahm, and Carlos Ortiz, take to the course.

“Lots of fun,” LIV Golf Broadcaster Arlo White said. “This isn’t your grandfather’s golf tournament.”

“I love the concert element of it,” Nashville LIV Golf attendee Barrett Wood said.

Contrasted to the PGA, LIV Golf has 54 holes instead of 72. It also has a shotgun start instead of a staggered format, which makes for a faster-paced game. The tournament features 48 players grouped into 12-person teams led by a captain.

“So many sports around the world have shortened versions,” White explained. “That’s not to say that isn’t super competitive and world-class golf, which it absolutely is.”

The varied format of the game can create a divided conversation between golfers who may be used to the prior experience.

“I think it was only natural that people were like, ‘Wait, a bit different of a format, a shotgun start, only 54 holes,’” Wood said. “But once again, I think it’s a little too early to judge.”

“I see people bashing LIV Golf online and all this stuff,” said Andy Alvord, LIV Golf attendee. “But if you actually haven’t come out to a tournament, you have no idea what this is about.”

White told News 2 that people are interested in this new format, and the numbers show that best.

“The golf is the same,” Jacobs said. “It’s really the environment that’s different.” 

A prior tournament this year in Australia brought out 94,000 fans.

LIV Golf is anticipating a high turnout this weekend. A LIV Golf representative told News 2 that they reached near capacity Friday. They are also anticipating selling out tickets for Saturday and Sunday, and the tour is just starting.

“This is going to be wild here for the next three days because Nashville has embraced the LIV Golf league,” White said. “I hope we come back every year after this. But all the information I have is it is going to be tens of thousands, and it is a complete sell-out.”

After Nashville, the tour will travel to Spain and the United Kingdom before returning to the States for the final rounds.

“It’s the first time we’ve been here,” White said. “It’s the 12th state we’ve visited with the LIV Golf League, but we are also taking this across the world. That is the mantra of the LIV Golf league, which is to spread the game globally.”