Under the new agreement, the television networks will be paying less to the Tour in rights fees, on a per-event basis, than they did in the last four-year contract. That money has helped contribute to the increases in Tour purses and has attracted a greater number of star players to even mid-level Tour events. Now that money needs to be made up somewhere else, either by the Tour or, more likely, by the tournament sponsors. (This also may lead to a decreased amount of money left over for charitable donations, but that remains to be seen). Tournaments that don't attract enough viewers, and therefore don't earn enough advertising revenue, could be in financial peril.

To avoid that, here is my plan to spice up telecasts and bring more (and new) fans into the game through television:

1. If the tour and television truly are partners, then the players have to do their part. Tim Finchem evoked the success of NASCAR in creating the FedEx Cup points race, which begins in 2007. But the success of NASCAR isn't only derived from a season-ending points race. It's also from drivers willing to share comments with television viewers while in the final stages of strapping themselves into their seats and risking life and limb at over 200 mph. Most tour players, however, are reluctant to talk to television hours before they play or warm up because it might ruin their mental state! It only takes a matter of seconds to lend some insight, so no more of this "I'm too busy to talk" stuff on the range.
2. The Tour should vary the way it sets up courses. Most of the TPC layouts used for tournaments are boring for both players and spectators, and setting up courses the same way week after week isn't too exciting either. Enhance the inherent design of the course—if a layout is fairly easy and the result is a birdie-fest, so be it. It can be followed up with a brutally difficult, "par-is-a-good-score" setup. I just don't like to see a course's design altered to fit a predetermined, cookie-cutter fashion. Even the Masters and U.S. Open would become boring if they occurred every single week.
   

   Events playerd on unique courses, like Westchester Country Club, are more fun to watchGetty Images

   
   

   And while we're at it, don't hide all the flagsticks in the corners of greens. Part of the reason that Tour pros care less about accuracy and are willing to play "bombs away" off the tee is the result of hole locations that can't be reached unless the ball is falling from the blimp. Cut some pins in the middle so that a good 5-iron from the fairway has a chance to end up closer than a so-so 9-iron from the rough.

   Variety is a good thing, whether it's in the form of fast, firm greens, slow, soft greens, long rough, or hardly any rough at all. This would also allow us to return to a time when practice rounds at courses meant something, because you learned about the individual characteristics that made that week's venue different from last week's.

3. Place a small microphone on some players and caddies during the tournaments and listen to them talk on a delayed basis (never live). This is done in certain NFL games, with great success. Most viewers want to learn something from watching a tournament that might help their own game. Hearing about the process that leads a player to lay up or go for it on a par five can be illuminating and instructive. A little spontaneity on the course, from the players, caddies, and yes, television commentators, would help entertain viewers and keep them interested.

The point of these suggestions is not to look back on the way things have been done with a hypercritical eye. It's to point out that golf is an exciting sport for television spectators, and can be made even more so with a few alterations.

Peter Kostis is a GOLF MAGAZINE Contributing Writer and commentator for CBS Sports.