Mack Daddy Caddy may have an answer to Finchem's dreams

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has made it clear he wants his sport to have more and new viewers with his new plan for finishing the season with a “World Series” of sorts.

Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Luke Kohl, along with partner Mike Yohay, are looking to introduce golf to an audience that Finchem and a good part of the rest of the golfing industry has avoided – inner-city kids.

Kohl, who was a caddie on the Senior PGA Tour as a young teen-ager, has created an ambitious plan to create an environment that will introduce new players to the sport he loves. That he’s doing so with an ample use of hip-hop music and culture is where he veers off the normal road and becomes the Mack Daddy Caddy.

“Just by saying ‘Play Golf America’ isn’t necessarily going to get people to play golf,” Kohl said. “We’re trying to do something to get kids away from the video games and away from MTV and give them something outdoors like golf.”

Kohl and Yohay envision promotions that will include youngsters being introduced to golf in an environment they can readily accept, with golf, fashion, discussion and music creating a party with a purpose.

Obviously there will be obstacles. Looking to create promotions on driving ranges, Kohl and Yohay have heard “no” repeatedly from golf course owners. Yet they keep pushing on, other-worldly confident that the time for hip-hop to meet golf is now.

They may or may not be right, that remains to be seen. You can check it out for yourself in the feature on Mack Daddy Caddy at BadGolfer.com

One thing seems certain, however. When the PGA Tour commissioner makes it clear that he’s looking for more viewers, and when golf courses are being bulldozed throughout the country, maybe it’s time the golf industry starts looking harder.

–WKW