There is a brutal truth about the current state of exhibition golf: when the check clears before the first tee shot, the drama disappears. We saw it in Las Vegas on December 17. The hype for “The Showdown” promised a fierce grudge match between the PGA Tour’s golden boys and LIV Golf’s heavyweights. Instead, fans got polite banter and awkward silences. A distinct feeling that the stars were simply fulfilling a contract lingered, too. Now, the man behind the industry’s next big experiment, the Skins game, is explaining exactly why that model is broken. And he isn’t holding back.

“The banter is never really as good as they want to be because they’re kind of faking it,” Chad Mumm, the executive producer of Full Swing and the creative force behind the Skins Game reboot, said on The Loop podcast. “I think you saw this in some of these other made-for-TV events, where it just feels like they got their appearance fees. They’re just kind of there.”

He was there to discuss the event’s return this Black Friday. While he never explicitly named Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler, his diagnosis of why recent made-for-TV events have failed was unmistakable. He pinpointed the exact moment the audience tunes out. His critique centered on the one thing money can’t buy: genuine competitive tension. In events like The Showdown, players often secure massive appearance fees regardless of the outcome. They show up, they hit shots, they smile for the cameras. But the fire isn’t there. According to Mumm, that safety net destroys the product.

His solution for the 2025 Skins Game is a ruthless format change designed to induce panic rather than comfort. The upcoming Skins Game revival highlights three key innovations, including a “reverse purse” that forces players to defend their starting millions. Instead of playing for a pot, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, and Keegan Bradley will start with $1 million each. The catch? They have to watch it drain away.

“It’s not for charity. This is like they get to keep the money,” Mumm explained. “You will literally go down to zero by the last hole. That’s definitely going to get their attention.”

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But fixing the motivation is only half the battle. Mumm realized that even with high stakes, the event fails if it fights the wrong battle for viewers. This led to a strategic pivot that previous exhibitions missed. The Showdown competed directly with evening sports traffic, struggling to capture attention. It felt like a small fish in a massive ocean. The Skins Game is taking the opposite approach. They are targeting the “nostalgia” slot that families remember from the 1980s.

“Can you do it on a great time slot when everyone’s sitting around, you know, hung over after Thanksgiving dinner?” Mumm asked.

By locking in the 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM window on Amazon Prime, the event serves as the perfect lead-in to the NFL’s Black Friday kickoff. It doesn’t ask you to change your evening plans. It just asks you to keep the TV on while you recover from the turkey.

Mumm also pointed out a forgotten reality. The original Skins Game in the 80s used to outrate The Masters because the money was life-changing. Today, a $4 million purse is a standard Tuesday for guys like Scottie Scheffler. The financial incentives have shifted, so the format must adapt.

“We’re playing for $4 million bucks, which is, again, not life-changing money to these guys,” Mumm admitted.

That is why the “loss aversion” twist is critical. It is an experiment in psychology as much as golf. If the players look terrified of losing their cash, Mumm will have succeeded where Rory and Scottie’s “polite” exhibition failed. We might finally get a match that feels real.