ATLANTA \u2013 It\u2019s not likely that Brian Rolapp has an inspirational poster on a wall in his office with Newton\u2019s first law of motion etched in oversized type \u2014 An Object in Motion Stays in Motion.<\/p>\n
The PGA Tour\u2019s new frontman has been on the job a nascent three weeks and doesn\u2019t project the kind of leadership style that would rely on inspirational clich\u00e9s to motivate, but the speed and breadth at which he\u2019s moving suggests he\u2019s at least familiar with Newton\u2019s concept.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday at East Lake, the circuit\u2019s CEO announced the creation of something called the Future Competition Committee, an addition to the Tour\u2019s bureaucracy that, during a different time and under a different commissioner, would have likely gone unnoticed by the average golf fan.<\/p>\n
But these are different times and Rolapp is a vastly different leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to focus on the evolution of our competitive model and the corresponding media products and sponsorship elements and model of the entire sport. The goal is not incremental change. The goal is significant change,\u201d said Rolapp of the new committee, which has been tagged to take a \u201cholistic relook of how we compete on the Tour,\u201d with a focus on both the regular season, playoffs and off-season.<\/p>\n
Since Rolapp was unveiled as Jay Monahan\u2019s successor, a few talking points have emerged, including, and perhaps most interesting, his unabashed embrace of being a golf outsider. From the outset, he\u2019s made it clear he wasn\u2019t hired for his golf acumen; he was hired to innovate and lead, and that leadership has been on display the last few weeks as he\u2019s canvased his ranks in search of insight if not consensus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it was clear he doesn\u2019t know anything about golf,\u201d said one player who had recently spent nearly an hour talking with Rolapp.<\/p>\n
That potential problem is actually seen by many as an asset as the Tour begins its journey to bigger and better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to spend a good 90 minutes with him just talking through everything to do with the Tour, the whole thing over the past three or four years and what the future looks like,\u201d Rory McIlroy said. \u201cI like him. I like him a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like that he doesn\u2019t come from golf. I like that he doesn\u2019t have any preconceived ideas of what golf should look like or what the Tour should look like. I think he\u2019s going to bring a fresh perspective to everything, and I think he wants to move pretty quick, so I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rolapp estimated he had met with \u201cover 20\u201d players the last few weeks but his reach seemed much wider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought his initiative was really cool of calling some guys on the Tour. We probably talked for 45 minutes, and I didn\u2019t know how long we were going to talk. He had some great questions and kind of opened the floor to me,\u201d Harris English said. \u201cI\u2019ve been out here 14 years. I\u2019ve seen a lot of changes out here, and kind of my thoughts on what\u2019s good, what\u2019s bad, what needs to be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the accolades back Rolapp into a \u201cplayers\u2019 commissioner\u201d corner, know that the new chief executive appears fully prepared for a complete and calculated overhaul of every aspect of the Tour at a speed professional golf is not familiar.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to focus on the evolution of our competitive model and the corresponding media products and sponsorship elements and model of the entire sport. The goal is not incremental change. The goal is significant change,\u201d Rolapp said.<\/p>\n