Tour CEO on shorts debate

European Tour CEO Keith Pelley has admitted his surprise at how well his shorts change has gone down.

In what was seen as a bold move, Pelley allowed shorts to be worn during practice rounds at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. But the very fact that it was seen as a bold move, especially given that it only applied to practice rounds, should say a lot about the state of the game. And they’re playing golf in the desert for Christ sakes!

“Shorts was a lot bigger story than I thought it would be, but it is something that the players have certainly embraced,” Pelley told bunkered.co.uk on Tuesday at a press conference in the R&A clubhouse.

“We’ve also now extended it to our staff and I’ve received a number of pictures of our staff in Dubai in shorts. It’s more than just the players that are enamoured with it, it’s the staff as well.

As Martin [Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A] and I discussed earlier, the history of the game and rich tradition is critical. But at the same time, we need to look at modernising the game in areas that we can that doesn’t jeopardise the rich tradition and majesty this game has.”

The players are behind it too. Rory McIlroy said: “I don’t think it should be too big a deal. You look at every other sport and people are allowed to expose their legs, so I don’t see why we’re not allowed to do that either.”

“I don’t think it takes anything away from the tradition of the game or etiquette or how guys look on the course”, Tweeted Ian Poulter.

Jordan Spieth is also behind it. “It’s awesome,” he said. “It will be something I would love to see on the PGA Tour. Guys seem to all love it over here. I’ve not heard one person, one player complain about it.”

The very fact that the wearing of shorts on a practice round should garner such consternation should give us cause for concern.

For our take on what needs to change in golf click here or on the image.