The Prophet 22;401900 wroteNot to take away from Arnie but golf didn't go main stream until Tiger. Golf was moving in the direction because of Arnie and Jack, but the numbers didn't change to big numbers until Tiger; both those watching and the money that could be won.
After Tiger had his meltdown, the numbers dropped. Nike has even cancel it Golf Division be Rory can' do for it what Tiger could do.
I am sure there will be a nice tribute at the Masters and I will be looking forward to it.
Prophet22
Due respect, but that's horse shit. Before Arnie, you had not TV presence, minimal crowds but for the largest tournaments, and little trans-Atlantic travel by pros. Who says so? Every golf historian and writer. And they were saying it before Arnie died.
Arnie brought crowds, he brought TV, and he brought ratings. Did Tiger boost those numbers higher? Absolutely. But it is far easier to increase ratings that are already solid and robust, than it is to take a fledgling sports product (from the marketing and TV perspective) and make it a successful going concern. Arnie did that, with help from Nicklaus and Player. But it was Arnie who drove the bus.
