Should You Attend A LIV Golf Event? An Honest Review After A Day Spent At LIV Nashville

LIV Golf is in the midst of its third campaign, and despite the organization holding its inaugural event in June 2022, questions about the breakaway circuit are still aplenty. The golf world as a whole - from fans, players, and media alike - is still trying to figure out what exactly this music-blaring, team-focused, star-driven Saudi-backed golf thing is.

You can't get a feel for something without actually taking part in that said something, so with LIV Golf hosting an event at The Grove just outside of Nashville, I decided to jump in the car and make the three-hour trek to see what it's all about. 

The question I wanted to answer was, should you, a golf or general sports fan, attend a LIV Golf tournament? Within about 20 minutes of being there, I already had my answer.

Before we get to that answer and the many takeaways I have after a full Saturday at The Grove, it's important to set the scene here.

OutKick/Mark Harris

I'm a 31-year-old guy who covers professional golf for a living. I've followed the sport closely for over a decade at this point, so I don't fall into the category of ‘everyday golf fan,' but that's the approach I took heading into LIV Nashville. Yes, I was there as media, but I was there to take in all the things and experience what LIV had to offer while being fully aware that 99% of the people on site spent their hard-earned money to do so.

Expectations are important here. Like anything in life, if you head into a situation with low expectations, then chances are you're going to walk away disappointed. Being open-minded is key, and after a quick five-minute shuttle ride from a designated parking lot at a nearby high school, I was there as a guy who was just curious about this new and highly criticized golf tour.

You Can't Escape The Music

In incredibly on-brand fashion with LIV's slogan being ‘golf, but louder,’ the very first thing I hear is Zach Bryan's ‘Heading South' blaring from a speaker at the gate.  I'm heading towards the course about an hour before the shotgun start. Plenty of people are singing along as their tickets are being scanned as the thought of ‘this isn’t your everyday PGA Tour event' enters my mind quickly followed by ‘I think I love this.’

The next song on LIV's playlist was ‘Nice For What’ by Drake, which took things to an entirely different level. Golf, but louder, indeed.

I didn't think I was going to like the music being played at all times, but it's an important piece to the puzzle that makes LIV not only different but enjoyable. I've complained on social media about the music plenty of times because it is distracting to hear when you're watching the broadcast on television, but in person, it adds an entirely new level to the experience.

There's just something about watching Phil Mickelson beat balls at the end of the range as ‘In The Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins plays on the speakers that is awesome.

OutKick/Mark Harris

While it may seem over the top to say that the constant playing of music is one of the most important characters in the LIV experience, it's hard not to come away with that conclusion. Whether it be kids being dragged to the tournament with their parents, people who don't even play golf, or a wife or girlfriend who doesn't have a clue what's going on, everyone enjoys music.

The Vibes Were Vibing

The Par 3 15th hole was the designated party hole for LIV Nashville.   A giant buildout circled around the entire perimeter. A ticket into the Birdie Shack behind the tee costs around $155 on Saturday, which came with three free drink tickets. For those curious, domestic beer and generic seltzers were sold at $11 at concession stands, standard cocktails and premium beer were $12, with the most expensive drink being the grape smash at $16. Soft drinks were $6 with a bottle of water coming in at $5.

The scene at the 15th hole, even from just the public fan area, was quite the vibe.

As for the crowd itself, it wasn't just a younger group of folks surrounding the Par 3 15th, but it seemed to be a younger crowd all over the golf course. That was the expectation going in, not only because it's a LIV event, but I was in Nashville, after all.  

The majority of folks taking in the golf at the 15th hole were there to hang out, have their fair share of cold ones, and maybe pay attention to a few shots here and there. That's no different than a PGA Tour event, as any big-time grandstands like that are mostly occupied with people there to be seen who couldn't care less about the golf itself.

As someone who has been to the PGA Tour stop in Memphis a dozen times, it was similar vibes to any all-you-can drink grandstand there, but you had Luke Combs followed by Kendrick Lamar playing on the speakers while guys competing for millions of dollars stressed over four-footers on the green.

A Party The Traditional Golf Fan, And Their Kids, Are Also Invited To

After spending all of this time talking about music, booze, and party holes, one would assume that your old-school, more ‘traditional’ golf fan wouldn't have a welcome spot at a LIV event. In reality, it's the exact opposite scenario.

If you're bound and determined to go walk 18 holes with, let's say Jon Rahm or Bryson DeChambeau and solely focus on the golf being played, it's certainly doable given how accessible the players are. LIV wants that to be the case, and the overall setup of the event is catered exactly to that.

The buildout behind the first teebox is the perfect example. Not only was it open to all fans surrounded by a giant video board with music pumping, but there was also a specific section for ‘Little Sharks’ where young kids could surround the first tee on the ground level.

The ‘Little Sharks’ name quickly made sense after LIV CEO Greg Norman arrived about five minutes before the opening tee shot and greeted the 50 or so kids surrounding the tee before allowing them to stand on the teebox itself as the leaders got their second rounds underway.

As a dad of an almost two-year-old myself, I couldn't help but think how cool it would be to see my own son down there brushing shoulders with a World Golf Hall of Famer standing just a few feet from Tyrrell Hatton, the eventual winner of the event, as he sends driver down the middle of the fairway.

A Quick Word On The Shotgun Start

The shotgun start on LIV Golf - which involves every group teeing off at the same time - has its positives and its negatives, and they were emphasized being there on site.

The biggest positive, at least personally, is that you don't have to be at the golf course from sun up to sun down to watch players you want to see or feel like you get your money's worth out of your ticket. You can arrive at 11:00 AM and be plenty prepared and in position by the 12:15 start before making your way towards the exit by 5:00. Spending 12 hours at a golf tournament is not enjoyable, spending six is much more bearable.

The build-up to the shotgun start, especially on the first tee, is a pretty fun scene as well. They're playing full-on hype videos like you see at an NFL game for players, walk-out songs start being played and continue to play throughout the shot, and off the players go.

OutKick/Mark Harris

As for gripes against the shotgun start, I left with two. 

For whatever reason, I had in my mind that the shotgun start would mean non-stop action. I could sit on the first tee and as soon as the previous group was up the fairway the next group would be ready to fire away. That wasn't the case on Saturday with there being every bit of a 20-minute wait between groups. A somewhat lengthy walk between the 18th green and first tee didn't help speed things up, but it felt extra long in the moment. I had two separate people ask me where the next group was. 

The other negative is the final hole of the day. Take DeChambeau, for example, on Saturday. He's easily the most-popular player on LIV at the moment and began his second round on the second hole meaning he finished his round on the first hole. If you wanted to watch DeChambeau finish his round, you're walking away from the clubhouse and exit for one last hole then making that exact same walk back 20 minutes later to leave the event. 

At a place like The Grove where the fourth hole may as well be in a different state than the clubhouse, it presents an issue not only for the fan watching player finish their round, but for LIV itself, as fans will refuse to walk all the way out there just to walk backwards moments later.

Overall, the not having to spend an entire day at the golf course is a positive that outweighs the negative, and I guarantee that every single player and employee of LIV feels the same way.

So, Should You Try To Attend A LIV Golf Event?

I'll never be someone who tells anyone how they should spend their money, but yes, any sports fan who has any sort of desire to see LIV Golf in person should try to make it happen. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the entire experience. From the music, the sheer number of fans, the overall buildout and aesthetic of the setup in general, it exceeded any sort of expectation I had come up with in my head.

I think there is a fine line for LIV where it could come across as trying way too hard to be different from the PGA Tour in every way possible. Nothing I saw or felt made me think that anything LIV did was over the top. That includes skydivers dropping from the sky right on cue as the shotgun start clock hit zeros. 

LIV Nashville was certainly different than anything I'd ever witnessed on a golf course, and that is not a bad thing by any means. 

The LIV model in its simplest form is being different from the norm while flaunting some of the biggest names in the sport, and after witnessing it in person, the model is working.