Chris Wood voices his verdict on new European Tour chief

I have attended several player meetings since I first joined the European Tour in 2008, but none of them could compare with the one I went to last Wednesday at the Bad Griesbach resort in Germany.

Normally in the past they have been held in one of the player hotels at a tournament around 6pm on a pro-am/practice day, but because some colleagues were still out on the course the numbers present were rarely more than 30 or 40.

However, on the eve of the European Open in Germany, it was our chance to meet for the first time with the Tour’s new chief executive Keith Pelley and, having spent more than an hour

listening to him speak, I was left with one big impression.

His arrival at Wentworth hails the dawn of an exciting new era for us and having spoken to some of the other players since that meeting I am clearly not the only person to have arrived at that conclusion.

Just the way the meeting was staged was different.

The one I attended was during the morning part of the pro-am at the European Open and for those playing in that a second meeting was held in the afternoon.

So, in total, probably more than 100 players got to see Keith and hear him talk for the first time and one of the themes he spoke about was the importance of communication between the Tour staff and the players.

For, as he pointed out, it is the playing members who actually own the Tour and that every pound spent by its staff should be accounted for. That is a big change in the mentality of the way the Tour is run.

We have already felt it at tournaments, with the presence of former Tour pro David Park in and around the locker rooms in his new role in charge of player relations – making sure we all feel more involved in the way things are being run.

But the meetings were not set up just for Keith to make a policy speech. They were also the first opportunity for we players to learn some of the finer details being worked upon in the move to merge the European Tour with the Asian Tour.

Topics like the potential playing schedule for the 2016 season, and how the Race to Dubai Order of Merit will change as a result, were outlined in a presentation made by Keith Waters, David Garland and David Probyn.

I cannot reveal the exact details of what is going to happen, because until they are finalised and agreed between the boards of both Tours they must remain part of the organisers’ top-secret blueprint.

But, as I wrote in this column several weeks ago, when the merger idea was first officially made public, the concept of spreading the boundaries of the Tour beyond Europe is one that I wholeheartedly welcome.

However, from what we were told during the meeting in Germany, it would appear there are going to be a lot of new tournament opportunities introduced for players at every level on the Tour.

And again, talking to other players as we left the meeting room, it soon became clear that I was not the only person present to be excited by the extent of the progress that has already been made.

Support for it was overwhelming and – given the passion and determination displayed by the new man in charge – the fresh approach with communication towards the members and the potential benefits of the merger of the Tours mean that it looks like the times are a-changing for the better.

Tagged Chris Wood, European Tour, Keith Pelley