R&A’s Outgoing CEO Martin Slumbers Praises The Open, Calls for Stability in Men’s Professional Golf

Martin Slumbers, the R&A’s departing chief executive, has issued a call for men’s professional golf to “sort itself out” to prevent it from being overshadowed, despite the ongoing growth in recreational participation. Slumbers assumed the role of chief executive, succeeding Peter Dawson, in 2015. The 64-year-old, who is a former banker, is concluding his nine-year tenure as chief executive of the St Andrews-based governing body. He informed BBC Sport that the current financially robust structure within men’s professional golf is “unsustainable”. Slumbers further advocated for a change in the sport’s focus, moving away from the financial narrative that has become prominent since the introduction of the breakaway LIV tour. During his leadership, The Open has seen increased commercialization, and there have been substantial increases in golf participation. However, despite a dramatic increase in prize funds for top players, television viewership has decreased in several important markets. The outgoing administrator views a resolution between the prominent tours and the Saudi Arabian financiers of the LIV circuit, which is set to begin its fourth season next year, as crucial for long-term stability. Slumbers stated, “We do need the professional game to sort itself out in that regard and support what is a great momentum for our sport generally.” Following the emergence of the LIV circuit and its tournaments offering $20m (£16m) in prize money, the PGA Tour introduced a series of ‘Signature Events’ providing comparable rewards. The four major championships, including The Open, which now has a prize fund of $17m, have also increased their purses in response. Nevertheless, Slumbers commented: “It’s not financially sustainable.” He continued, “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.” Slumbers added, “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 further stated: “We’ve got to go back to leading with values and history of the game.” He concluded this point by saying, “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 sector of the sport is currently entangled in what has been termed a ‘civil war’. Slumbers highlights “divisiveness” as a source of “reputational challenges” and “damage to the game”. “And we’re seeing that in terms of audience figures in a number of events,” he further noted. In contrast, golf participation has experienced a surge, particularly in international regions beyond the United States and Mexico, which fall under the R&A’s administration. The initial substantial increase occurred following the 2020 Covid pandemic. Slumbers remarked, “We’ve grown more since Covid than we did during Covid.” He added, “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.” He also commented, “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.” Furthermore, he holds the view that the sport’s biggest names, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and world number one Scottie Scheffler, are no longer the primary catalysts for interest in golf. Slumbers stated, “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.” He elaborated, “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.” Slumbers suggested, “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.” He added, “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.” Slumbers strongly supports the evolution of The Open into an all-ticket event, which now draws 250,000 spectators and features a significantly enhanced commercial focus. He commented, “I think we’ve moved it on a long way.” He continued, “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 highlighted the progress of the AIG Women’s Open, which currently boasts a prize fund of $9.5m. He noted that it was formerly “run on a shoestring” but now asserts it has become “one of the best championships in the world for women”. A significant achievement of Slumbers’ tenure has been the increase of female influence within a sport historically dominated by men. The merger of the R&A and the Ladies Golf Union took place early during his leadership. Slumbers stated, “It’s not just about getting more women and girls playing.” He explained, “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.” He added, “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 is set to leave his position on 13 December, with Mark Darbon, currently the boss of Northampton Saints rugby club, named as his successor. When asked about the primary challenge for the incoming chief executive, Slumbers responded, “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.” The impact of Slumbers’ leadership will be experienced by all golfers in the years ahead, as new distance regulations, which will result in balls not flying as far as they do currently, are scheduled to take effect in 2028 and will ultimately influence every player. He noted that the process for altering these rules extended beyond his expectations and tested his patience. “The focus now is all about how do we implement that,” he stated. He added, “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 undergone substantial transformation since Slumbers assumed one of the sport’s most influential positions in 2015. Despite numerous ongoing challenges, he maintains a cautious optimism for the years ahead. “I’m very positive about the future,” he affirmed. “But we do need to get some stability and we do need to figure out how to get it together and moving forward.”