The Shag Bag: How To Save The Greater Milwaukee Open

When I was growing up on the East Coast learning this great game, I had the opportunity to spend a summer visiting relatives in Racine, Wisconsin. One of my most vivid memories of that summer was playing golf almost every weekday at Johnson's Park, a wonderful 18-hole track on the northwest side of town.

In hanging out with my uncle during the day at the course, both playing and practicing, I was introduced to the shag bag. An amazing piece of equipment wherein improvement lies, for it was with your shag bag that you dropped out 10-12 balls, chipped, bumped and run, hit pitch shots and generally got lost in your short game.

It was a great way to challenge yourself, work on your game and pass the time getting better. If you happen upon any PGA TOUR event, you'll see the modern version of the shag bag, the short game area. There you will find highly trained professionals working on their respective games, the balls being shagged by either their caddies or volunteers who work the range.

One of my favorite endeavors with the shag bag I came to acquire that summer on vacation was to pick a spot on the chipping green or bunker, drop out 10-12 balls and see how many I could jar, keeping track of the numbers in my head and "needing to make this" to win whatever imaginary championship was at hand.

With this in mind, let's open up the shag bag and see what we can jar right now.

How To Save The Greater Milwaukee Open - Formerly The U.S. Bank Championship

I have been asked several times by countless folks what I believe will happen to the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee and here is my answer; I don't know.

What I do know is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and then expecting different results. Here is what I believe would need to be different to make the next PGA TOUR event a success in Milwaukee.

1. Keep the date.
I know that on the surface that sounds crazy, but think about it for a minute or two, what would be the benefits of having the date remain the same? Well, for starters you have Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon to yourself, both from a coverage standpoint and on the broadcast side. The British Open coverage, due to the time difference, begins and ends early each day. That leaves the rest of the day free for the PGA TOUR to feature an event like the one in Milwaukee. To showcase the players, the town, the commitment of the community to have a PGA TOUR event on the calendar. From a monetary standpoint, it is far more economical to keep the date as it would cost less to have a PGA TOUR event opposite the British Open rather than have a stand alone date at a cost three times what is being paid right now.

2. Showcase the Players.
First thing I would do is make the event about the up and coming players on the PGA TOUR. While it is true that if you kept the date the same, opposite the British Open, you would not get Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or even a Sergio Garcia, for example, in your event, but there are a number of events on the PGA TOUR schedule that already have that issue. Just because you don't have every big ticket item on TOUR coming to your event, doesn't mean that it's not successful. I would ask, even demand, from the PGA TOUR that the event in Milwaukee would allow the current Top-10 leading money winners on the Nationwide Tour exemptions into the field at the Milwaukee event. Here is a chance for a young up-and-comer to catch lightning in a bottle and jump start his career. Players on the Nationwide Tour can flat out play and the chance to win a PGA TOUR event is a boon both to the player and the event. Regardless of whether or not Tiger ever comes back to Milwaukee (and he's not, not at Brown Deer, a course that does not suit his game), this will always be the place where his professional career began. That can never be taken away, so embrace that fact and move on, potentially providing the next great player a place on stage to shine.

3. Showcase the Community.
What are the things that make Milwaukee what it is? Simply stated, it is the people of this great community that makes it what it is. It is time to get those folks involved and have them be a part of the event and not just be a "volunteer". While covering the PGA TOUR for Sirius and XM Satellite radio, I've had the chance to visit a number of TOUR stops and see what makes them tick from an outsider's perspective. At Quail Hollow every "volunteer" is an "Ambassador" who responsibility is to represent the community and the event. They make suggestions, give input and brain storm ideas to improve the event. Sure it's just a word, but it empowers those who are passionate about the game and want to be a part of the event.

4. Showcase the Community, Part Two.
Finding one corporate sponsor who will foot the bill for the Milwaukee event, especially in this economy is going to be a tough nut to crack. However, I believe that a deal can be pieced together, showcasing the many businesses that this great state has to offer. Here are some of my random thoughts.

5. Harley Davidson.
They most certainly cannot pay for everything, but how about, on a large scale, put a different Harley (or Buell) on every tee box and then one up on the 18th green that every player in the field has signed and then auction off the 18th green bike for charity, while selling the ones on the tee boxes and having a portion of the sale go to charity (to make it even sweeter, you get your picture taken in front of the clubhouse with the bike that you purchased). Or, on a smaller scale, put one bike on the first and 10th tees, along with one on the 18th green. Still auction off the 18th hole bike, but then have a raffle for the bikes on the first and 10th tees.

6. The Milwaukee Brewers.
We are one of only a few cities that has a professional major-league baseball team. Why not take advantage of it? Work with major league baseball to ensure that the Brewers are in town the week of the Milwaukee event and offer a two for one special, where your Milwaukee PGA TOUR ticket gets you a discount and seating in a special PGA TOUR section at Miller Park. Prior to games, you can have a chipping contest where four PGA TOUR players from the event will stand at home plate and chip to a hole location in centerfield, each player representing a section. Closest to the hole location wins food, merchandise and tickets to both the Milwaukee PGA TOUR event and a Brewers game.

7. ADAMM
The Automobile Dealers Association of Mega Milwaukee (ADAMM) and they are there to help, or so says the advertisement. Cars and golf are my two passions so why not combine the two and have a new car show on the grounds at Brown Deer? With Buick going away as a sponsor of the PGA TOUR, is there not a better time than right now to get the local dealers involved with having their product on display and for sale to and for a captive audience? Any number of special incentives can be applied.

7. The Name Game
There countless golf courses across this great land that name every hole on a golf course. Why not take that idea a step further by having a business or entity in this great state step up and sponsor a hole so that it is always referred to during Tournament Week as, "Number Three, Discovery World, a ticklish par three..." At least this way, there are areas of the area and state that can be featured, talked about and discovered. The Betty Brinn Children's Museum, The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, The Wisconsin State Fair, etc.

These are all just thoughts and ideas, but the point it is, for anything to be successful on this planet there has to be a solid foundation on which the idea is based, there has to be passionate leadership to set the examples, listen to the ideas coming from the masses and implement what makes sense and there has to be an effort on everyone's part to keep growing and moving forward.
I'm the first to admit I love the event in Milwaukee. I have served as the volunteer Media Chairman since 1991 and to give you an idea of how far back I go, the first professional golf tournament that I ever attended was the 1976 Greater Milwaukee Open at Tuckaway Country Club, that summer I visited relatives in this area.

I would hate to see this event go away. I ask as a fan of the game, this community and state (both of golf and Wisconsin), what ideas do you have?