When the PGA Tour announced the appointment of Brian Rolapp, everyone was already expecting him to bring the same level of growth as he had brought in the NFL. So far, Rolapp has already shared a blueprint of what he wants to see from the Tour. A fan-focused progressive league with a players committee led by one of the most respected figures in the sport, Tiger Woods. Within a few months, Rolapp seems to have figured out what the PGA Tour needs right now. But what about the future?

Brian’s strategy is exactly what the PGA Tour needs right now. But he will need to implement other long-term strategies to ensure its long-term success. Considering Rolapp’s experience from his previous organization, the NFL, there are many ideas he can take inspiration from that would help him improve the quality of the PGA Tour. We’re here to explore a few concepts that Rolapp can directly pick from his previous job and implement them on the Tour with many modifications.

Play clock

The PGA Tour has been in a lot of trouble lately due to the pace of play. It’s not only the officials or the players who are infuriated because of it; the fans have been frustrated with the long delays, too. What’s even worse is that they don’t even produce tournament-winning results to justify the time they are taking in decision-making.

To avoid such situations and put such players on the radar, the PGA Tour can implement the NFL’s match clock for every player. The NFL also utilizes the play clock to ensure the pace of play of every match is maintained consistently. There is no reason why the PGA Tour can’t regulate such strict rules. In fact, it was a major hit among the fans when it was briefly utilized during the 2025 BMW Championship. Of course, Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry took the heat for it as they had recorded terrible times. Nevertheless, the concept is definitely useful.

Cross-promotion replays

The PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champions, the Korn Ferry Tour, and the PGA Tour Americas all fall under the PGA of America. And many of the events played on all these Tours often coincide due to their scheduling. With the PGA Tour being the biggest brand under the association, it’s evident that it gets the most viewership.

So the PGA of America can use this opportunity to do some cross-promotion branding. Show replays from other Tours of golfers producing excellent strokes. They can utilize the 1.5-2-minute breaks they take during broadcast to showcase action from other Tours. Fans might not shift to watching the Korn Ferry Tour and skip PGA Tour events. But at least it would keep them interested in other products. It’s partly similar to the NFL RedZone, but since golf can’t have engrossing fast-paced action like football, they will have to make due with replays instead.

Fantasy golf

One thing that makes the NFL and the Masters Tournament exciting every year is the opportunity for fan engagement. Not just through social media or on the field/fairway. Fans can also play fantasy football/golf during the tournament and stay engrossed in every bit of the action even more.

Picking a roster and expecting a certain set of players to perform every week is what gets the fans excited. It certainly increases the viewership as the fantasy player wants to follow everything their picks do on the course. Fantasy games allow the fans to be a part of the action as if they are playing the tournament themselves. With so many other sports also adopting it, there is no reason why the PGA Tour can’t introduce it to golf. Such technological integration might also help Brian Rolapp get an edge over LIV Golf when it comes to fan interaction.

15-yard/15-feet penalties for misconduct

From Wyndham Clark destroying the locker room to Rory McIlroy breaking the tee box, misconduct on the course has been a common theme on the PGA Tour in 2025. Many have proposed that the players need to be penalized harshly to ensure they don’t repeat the offense. However, the PGA Tour might have been a little too cautious about upsetting its top players by implementing such harsh punishments. Instead, an alternate penalty they can propose is to push their ball back by 15 yards or 15 feet once they have been found guilty of misconduct.

Depending on where they are positioned on the course, the officials can decide to change the player’s ball position by 15 yards if they are on the fairway, or 15 feet away from the cup, if they are on the green. This way, they might not lose strokes; however, their next stroke might get a bit difficult. The NFL also uses the 15-yard rule to penalize the disorderly behavior of players. So Rolapp would certainly know how to implement it.

During Brian Rolapp’s regime with the NFL, such strategies helped elevate the level of quality of the product. He expanded the league’s reach to traditional broadcasters, cable networks, and major streaming platforms like Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube. His strategies diversified the NFL’s media presence and turned its content into a ‘sure bet’ in the television landscape. With the PGA Tour in urgent need of a major overhaul, the new CEO is in the best position to execute it. Even the fans might be expecting him to apply some of his best plays from his NFL playbook in the near future.