John Maginnes, a former PGA Tour player and a writing colleague at another media affiliation, tends to provide an entertaining and enlightening perspective on the world of professional golf. He is very good at explaining the way things are — or, on occasion, the way they ought to be.
Monday on PGATour.com Maginnes wrote broadly about the entertainment value of various players, past and present. Within his piece, towards the end, was a real nugget of an observation that doubled as advice to younger players who might not be comfortable in certain settings, especially pro-am rounds. And he did it, with an assist from former Tour winner Peter Jacobsen, while pointing out how important pro-am rounds are, because they will come in contact with plenty of the folks who make the Tour go, namely sponsors.

Wrote Maginnes:

“For other players, it is not so much the limelight that is daunting but the atmosphere. Imagine being a player just out of college who is playing on the PGA TOUR. Here you are in your early or mid-20s, and you are playing in pro-ams with company presidents. Obviously, some are going to be better at it than others. More importantly, it falls upon the older generation to explain just how important pro-ams are — not only to the tournaments and the purses but to the relationships on the TOUR.

“Peter Jacobsen tells younger players to treat every person you meet — whether fans, pro-am partners or volunteers — as though they are future in-laws. Obviously, there is a punch line here somewhere, but, on this point, Peter is very serious. The point he adds is that when you meet the parents, you are always on your best behavior.”

Good advice. Hope the guys are reading.

The PGA Tour was built on good business partnerships, and it is those partnerships that will be even more crucial in the future. Golf can’t ride the Tiger Wave indefinitely, and, in fact, the Tour probably has squeezed all it’s going to get out of marketing the world’s top athletic draw.

When the current television deal with the networks expires in 2012, Woods will be 37, just starting to depart the wheelhouse of his prime and possibly already the owner of the most Tour titles and the most major championships, records held now by Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus, respectively.

Not long ago I took up the exercise of asking PGA Tour members what, if anything, they might want to change, were they commissioner for a day. Former PGA champion and this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger offered the most provocative response.

“I’d make sure the person sponsoring the event, the main executive, the No. 1 person spending the money on behalf of his company, understands that we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure the money he has invested is well spent,” Azinger said. “I’d make sure there is value for him and his company so that four years down the road when we want him to sign up again he feels like it’s a good investment and he gets enjoyment and use out of it. I would assign someone to each sponsor at each event to make sure that during their week they have everything they need and their experience, from the pro-am all the way around is memorable and positive. Just have someone follow them to answer questions and address their needs, whatever they are, big or small, so that they always want to come back to us.”

These are the things young players should keep in mind as they obsess over their golf swings and surround themselves with an excess of advisers and coaches. Playing well matters, sure. It matters a lot. But they also need to remember to play nice with others, particularly those with large purse strings.

This isn’t to suggest there is a problem right now. But lose sight of the basics and you just never know what kind of flaws can sneak into a game.