Departing R&A chief 'proud of Open' but urges men's pro golf to 'sort itself out'

Martin Slumbers succeeded Peter Dawson as R&A chief executive in 2015

Martin Slumbers, the outgoing boss of the R&A, has called on men’s professional golf to "sort itself out" or risk being left behind despite a continuing boom in the recreational game.

The 64-year-old is leaving his role as chief executive of the St Andrews-based governing body after nine years in charge. And the former banker told BBC Sport the current cash rich model for the male side of pro golf is "unsustainable".

Slumbers also called for the sport’s emphasis to shift away from the money dominated narrative that has developed since the arrival of the breakaway LIV tour.

His tenure has coincided with increased commercialisation of The Open and significant rises in the number of people playing the game.

But, while prize funds have sky-rocketed for leading players, television audiences in several key markets have declined.

And the departing administrator believes a peace deal between the leading tours and the Saudi Arabian backers of the LIV circuit, which embarks on its fourth season next year, is vital for future stability.

"We do need the professional game to sort itself out in that regard and support what is a great momentum for our sport generally," Slumbers said.

In response to the arrival of the LIV circuit and its $20m (£16m) tournaments, the PGA Tour has responded with a series of 'Signature Events' which offer similar rewards.

The four majors, including The Open - which is now worth $17m - have also boosted purses in response. However, Slumbers said: "It's not financially sustainable.

"I don't fully understand all the nuances of all the business models that are out there in professional golf, but I've got a pretty good understanding of it. And I don't believe it is sustainable, whether that's today or tomorrow.

"It needs to be addressed and I think that the regular consumer of our game is turned off by it being led by a financial driver."

Slumbers added: "We've got to go back to leading with values and history of the game.

"And if we can get those together the professional game will reconnect and will connect very well because there are some fantastic players out there playing brilliant golf and people do want to see it."

The professional element is mired in its so called 'civil war'. Slumbers points to "divisiveness" causing "reputational challenges" and "damage to the game".

"And we're seeing that in terms of audience figures in a number of events," he added.

Paradoxically, participation in golf has boomed - especially in global territories outside the United States and Mexico, which are administered by the R&A. The initial significant boost came in the wake of the 2020 Covid pandemic.

"We've grown more since Covid than we did during Covid," Slumbers observed. "We now have 62.3m people consume golf and that's a million higher than it was a year ago and it's 10 million higher than it was in 2018.

"I don't think many sports have kept all their Covid bounce like golf has, and perhaps that's a story that's not been told nearly well enough."

And he believes it is no longer the game’s biggest stars such as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and world number one Scottie Scheffler who are the prime drivers of interest in the sport.

"I think there was a feeling in the game, let’s call it a pre-covid feeling, that you needed the big personalities playing in the professional game and then the recreational game would follow," Slumbers said.

"And I think that has been turned upside down, and while key players do drive interest, it's not as generic or broad - I believe - as it was 20 years ago, maybe even 10 years ago.

"That may be a little bit to do with the challenges we're going through, it may be a little bit to do with societal change.

"It may be a lot to do with the fact that the recreational game is now so much bigger, and much broader and diverse in the type of people who are playing it."

'I'm proud of The Open'

Slumbers is a staunch defender of the way The Open has developed into an all-ticket event, attracting 250,000 spectators, with a much stronger commercial emphasis. "I think we've moved it on a long way," he said.

"We've very much focused it around wanting to be one of the world's great sporting events. Its size has grown. Its branding has grown. I think its reputation has grown. And I'm very proud of The Open."

He also points to the development of the AIG Women’s Open, which is now worth $9.5m. He said it was previously "run on a shoestring" but insists now it has turned into "one of the best championships in the world for women".

Elevating female influence in what has always been a male dominated sport is one of Slumbers’ biggest success stories. Merging the R&A with the Ladies Golf Union occurred early in his reign.

"It's not just about getting more women and girls playing," Slumbers said.

"We started this whole program about how do we build the middle management to senior management of women and girls. Without it they won't be given the exposure and the opportunity.

"And we created a scholarship program within that. I think we're on the ninth or 10th cohort now. And I jokingly say, I've got the best Rolodex of the next talent of women administrators in the game worldwide from that."

Slumbers departs his role on 13 December and will be succeeded by Mark Darbon who moves from his role as boss of Northampton Saints rugby club.

What will be the new chief executive’s biggest challenge? "Once we know what the new world is going to look like, how do we make sure that The Open and the R&A sit comfortably in that new world," Slumbers replied.

The effects of Slumbers tenure will be felt in the coming years by all golfers. New distance regulations - balls will not fly as far as they do today - come into play in 2028 and will ultimately affect everyone who plays the game.

The process to change these rules took longer than he wanted and tested his patience. "The focus now is all about how do we implement that," he said.

"But I think, as importantly, it's also created a dialogue of discussion around what I’ve always talked about, this balance of technology and skill."

Golf has changed significantly since Slumbers took on one of the sport’s most influential roles in 2015. And despite the many challenges that remain he is cautiously optimistic for the coming years.

"I'm very positive about the future," he said. "But we do need to get some stability and we do need to figure out how to get it together and moving forward."