For a sport that prides itself on enduring traditions, men’s professional golf has come to be defined by impermanence — of player loyalty, of executive postures, of fan interest, of fiscal prudence and, now, of leadership. The adroit Seth Waugh is departing as CEO of the PGA of America, an organization burdened with a governance model ill-suited to a modern sports organization, while his former Deutsche Bank colleague Martin Slumbers will soon follow at the R&A. The PGA Tour’s leadership team is unchanged, but the same can’t be said of its boardroom and business structure, the reshaping of which will be as radical as it is overdue. Per the cliché, change is inevitable but growth is optional, and the Tour has an early opportunity to demonstrate how quickly it can learn and adapt.
