A multi-year effort to create a star-driven global golf tour has gained momentum again.



Multiple sources have confirmed to GeoffShackelford.com that after years of attempting to commence the World Golf Group’s vision with a 2020 start date, organizers are making another fervent bid to lure top players away from the PGA and European Tours with plans to start in 2022 or 2023. The concept, first revealed by Reuters in 2018, has been alternatively known as the World Golf Series or “Tour de Force.”



“It seems to resurface at different times,” said Mark Steinberg, the only agent willing to go on the record about the concept. “It’s obviously resurfacing right now. We’ll see if they take it to the next level.”



Two other well-known player representatives confirmed that the concept had serious legitimacy and that players were considering the proposal. Three other agents contacted declined to comment, while four players with knowledge of the proposal would only confirm details, fearful of fines for discussing a potential PGA Tour competitor.



The original concept presented by the group featured an 18-event schedule from January to September with 48-player fields vying for $10 million each week, highlighted by a season-ending team championship.



The World Golf Group’s current proposal has since been adjusted after feedback from players and agents now aiming for ten events. The group is retaining a Formula One-style team component, complete with managers and potential drama surrounding players who are signed, benched or released from franchises. Those franchises, offered to a group of megastar players who could retain ownership past their playing days, would be capable of generating an “equity value between $350 and 750 million” along with a 4% of annual net profit.



With the PGA Tour currently wrapping up media rights negotiations for 2022 and beyond, the group is attempting to lure players, sponsors and media companies by highlighting what it sees as deficiencies in the current professional golf model. Besides a view that top players do not face off enough, documents spell out ways to improve television production values, shorten the tournament day with shotgun starts, and end the season with a Ryder Cup-style team event appealing to a younger audience. Tour de Force also seeks to “increase participation” and “generate greater cohesion and cooperation within the sport.”



The World Series group’s lobbying effort was a major topic during this week’s PGA Tour player meeting at the Farmers Insurance Open. Commissioner Jay Monahan flew in from Ponte Vedra Beach headquarters and engaged in substantial discussion with players about the pitfalls of the concept. Sources say defectors would face complications related to the releases necessary to play in non-PGA Tour events and loss of eligibility in the Tour’s lucrative pension program, among other matters. Two players present but not expecting to be invited to play in the group’s tour characterized the meeting as somewhat tense. Each sensed a legitimacy to the new group’s proposal with the potential to inflict damage to both the U.S. and European Tours.



The PGA Tour and European Tour both declined to comment for this story.



Steinberg, while potentially reaping huge added income for his Excel agency thanks to appearance fees, made clear that he still values the stability of the PGA Tour.



“It’s more than a wonderful product that the PGA Tour puts in front of its members, and it seems to get better each year with sponsors like FedEx, Charles Schwab, whoever it may be,” said Steinberg, who represents Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Gary Woodland. “It’s very stable, it’s becoming more innovative all the time, so I can’t answer if [Tour de Force] is real or not real.



“But, like anything else you have to listen to everyone and all options.”



Since Steinberg made those comments at the Hero World Challenge when the group’s representatives made an updated pitch to player agents, the talks have accelerated and prompted Monahan’s advisory at the players meeting.



So how would this new global tour work?



The original concept featured 54-hole, no-cut events to would be spread around the world while allowing players to still earn world ranking points needed to qualify for major championships and earn endorsement money. Purses were originally pegged to be in the $10 million range, but those numbers may climb while retaining backdoor appearance fees that would add to player and agent coffers.



Beyond the huge money, the lengthy, well-formulated pro-forma passed around to golf industry figures lobs several jabs at the current state of the professional golf “product.” Financing is believed to come from a combination of sources, including Tokyo-based Softbank, and private equity investment from several regions including the United States and the Middle East.



Efforts to receive comment from executives detailed in documents have been unsuccessful, in part because the group’s extensive team have taken a highly secretive approach.



Asked whether he had discussed the concept in detail with his influential stable of players, Steinberg confirmed that he had.



“As long as there is talk this grand, what it might be, you have to at least tell your players what you’re hearing because you don’t want them to hear it on the first tee or in the media. To me, its just been a comment I’ve made to the players we work with, and that’s literally all that’s been so far.”



In the coming days I will detail how the proposed formats will work and why the concept could be of interest to golf viewers.