In the ever-evolving world of professional golf, few figures have played a more influential role behind the scenes than Guy Kinnings.
Now CEO of the European Tour Group, Kinnings has carved a unique path from his early days in law to the forefront of the international game.
With decades of experience as an agent to some of the game’s biggest stars and now as one of its key decision-makers, he brings deep insight, a global perspective, and a passion for the sport that’s as personal as it is professional.
In this exclusive interview, Guy Kinnings reflects on the journey that brought him to the top of professional golf, sharing with Matt Nicholson his insights on the sport’s future and the defining moments that have shaped both his own path and the modern game.
How did your journey in golf begin? Was it as a player, a fan, or through another path?
I always followed golf growing up and enjoyed playing although I was late to the game having started at Law School.
My journey really began when I moved from my first job in a legal firm in London to the legal department of IMG. At that time IMG managed an extraordinary generation of talent – Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Greg Norman and Nick Price to name but a few and having done legal work for them, it was Ian Todd, Senior VP of EMEA then suggested I move into a management role.
As well as working with these players, I began a long association with Colin Montgomerie shortly after that before signing clients like Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Adam Scott.
What drew you to the business side of sports, particularly golf?
I’m a firm believer in the importance of relationships. That has been the basis of my career and it’s the essence of what the business side of sport is about.
Whether it is between a player and their sponsors, which was my focus as an agent, or between the Tour and our partners or players, relationships are such a fundamental part of what we do.
Golf is uniquely placed in that sense. The Pro-Am alone is such an incredible opportunity that provides an experience for partners unlike any other sport.
Can you tell us about your time at IMG and how that shaped your approach to golf administration?
I learned the importance of respecting clients – player, sponsor, broadcaster, Tours and Federations – and I learned to listen and to understand that you have to put the client first.
I learned the importance of hard work and finding creative solutions and learning almost every aspect of the golf business over nearly three decades prepared me for my roles at the European Tour group and to be the CEO.
The Tour is ultimately a members’ run organisation, so the players are the shareholders that I answer to.
Athletes are a unique breed who I have a huge amount of admiration for, and I’d like to think that working closely with them during my time at IMG enabled me to learn what makes them tick.
Were there any mentors or pivotal moments early in your career that influenced your trajectory?
I learned the ropes from the legendary Mark McCormack at IMG, who managed the likes of Arnold Palmer and Gary Player and basically invented the role of a modern sports agent.
I could not have asked for a better mentor. Mark essentially created the sports marketing business.
He was a genius and I was very lucky to work for him. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor. I always say I am fortunate to work in the most wonderful sport, and I certainly owe a lot to Mark from the experiences I gained early in my career.
There have also been some wonderful advisers that I have benefitted from since I have joined the European Tour group.
What motivated your move from IMG to the European Tour in 2018?
Experiencing the Ryder Cup as the representatives of various players, Captains and Vice Captains made it all the easier to make my decision.
I absolutely loved my time at IMG and I had been asked to consider other things, but I never really thought about leaving.
But when the opportunity came along to work on the Ryder Cup though, I really couldn’t say no.
That’s because there is something very special about the Ryder Cup. Alongside that, I also had the opportunity to work on the Tour side as Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Commercial Officer.
It was a great opportunity and I’m delighted I took it.
How would you describe the evolution of your role from Chief Commercial Officer, Deputy CEO and Ryder Cup Director to CEO?
I was delighted to be given the opportunity to be CEO. I already knew everyone at the Tour because as well as doing the Ryder Cup, I also took on the commercial side, which is now significantly stronger.
I was Deputy CEO as well, so I was closely involved in everything we were doing. I handled a lot of the discussions, so when Keith Pelley announced he was returning to Toronto, it was a relatively easy transition.
I knew the business, I certainly knew the sport, and I didn’t have to spend my time getting to know people. It allowed me to focus on the key issues from the outset and also build on the momentum we had.
What does a typical day look like in your current role?
One of the great things about working in sport, is there isn’t really a ‘typical’ day as such.
I try to get to as many of our tournaments as possible to spend time with our players and our partners.
I also spend a lot of time speaking to and working with other organisations in the game such as the PGA TOUR, the PGA of America, the R&A and the Major Championships.
I’m very fortunate that we have a great team at the Tour who keep me informed and updated on all aspects of our business, and I work with them to ensure we are continually improving in everything we do.
It’s an unbelievable privilege to be CEO of the European Tour Group and we work hard every single day to do the best we can for our members.
What have been your proudest achievements since joining the Tour?
It’s hard to choose. I’m very proud of the significant commercial success we’ve had over the last six years after investing in building strong commercial structures in the business.
That enabled us to grow all key revenue areas. I was also particularly proud of the way we handled the Covid pandemic.
You can’t underestimate the extent of that challenge for a global business which visits more than 25 different countries, so to be able to navigate through that the way we did was huge testament to how we operate as an organisation and the remarkable team we have.
It is not just me that thinks that. We have won ten awards in the past 18 months across social media, sponsorship activation, event staging, tech and sustainability – a true example of the industry recognising our innovation.
But if I was to pick one, it would probably be the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.
It was just such a special week. To stage the most successful Ryder Cup ever to be held in Europe, in such an iconic city, was incredible.
Then on top of that, the way Team Europe performed under the meticulous Captaincy of Luke Donald, just made it such a proud achievement for all of us who were fortunate enough to be involved.
The DP World Tour has undergone major transformations recently. What’s been the biggest challenge in managing that change?
As a global sporting organisation, you are always undergoing some kind of transformation.
Nothing stands still and you have to keep adapting and innovating. We are a members’ organisation, so the biggest challenge in managing change is always trying to balance the needs and interests of the entire range of 300 or more players, each of whom are at different ages and stages in their careers.
How do you balance the demands of global expansion with maintaining the Tour’s European identity?
It’s an interesting question because the European Tour will always be our heritage and we will always remember and celebrate that, as we have done for the past 53 years through a number of initiatives including our National Opens.
But at the same time, as I talked about in the previous answer, you have to keep adapting and innovating and over the last few decades, golf and our Tour in particular, have become more global.
We changed the name of our main tour at the start of the 2022 season to become the DP World Tour.
It was great fit for us, not just because DP World have been such a terrific long-term partner, but also because it enabled us to have ‘world’ in our name. “European Tour” was increasingly a misnomer, as while Europe remains a strong territory for us, particular in our summer, we now play more than half our tournaments outside the continent.
We are golf’s global tour – we play in global destinations, showcase global talent and connect our global community, so having ‘World’ in our name is much more reflective of who we are.
What were the key factors behind the success of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome?
One of the key factors was the Ryder Cup’s enduring appeal as one of global sports’ leading events. People want to be part of it – players, fans, partners, broadcasters.
It has this unique appeal which transcends our sport. Non-golf fans tune in for the Ryder Cup because of the passion and the drama it always provides.
Of course, there were numerous other factors which contributed to it being the most successful Ryder Cup we’ve staged in Europe – the hard work of our staff in delivering operational excellence and the appeal of Rome as the host city to name just two.
But it is impossible to talk about the success of Rome 2023 without referencing the huge role that Luke Donald played.
Everything he did as Captain was faultless. He was meticulous, measured, decisive and inspirational not just to his 12 players, but to his backroom team and to all our staff at the European Tour Group.
It was no surprise that everyone associated with him and the event wanted him to be the Captain again for this year.
With the emergence of LIV Golf and shifting dynamics, how do you see professional golf reconciling its divisions?
Clearly a lot has happened over the last few years. We’ve been consistent in saying the game has been too fractured.
It has been complicated trying to resolve that. We continue to focus on acting in the best interests of our members and we will see how things evolve.
How is the Tour working to support the next generation of players across Europe and beyond?
Golf recycles and regenerates very quickly. New talent emerges all the time. The pathways we have established over the last five years or so with our partner Tours in South Africa, Australia, China, India, Japan and Korea, enable leading international talent to have direct access to compete on the DP World Tour.
The Global Amateur Pathway (GAP) has also been a strong addition, helping us to identify some of the best amateurs and provide them with a pathway to compete on either the DP World Tour or the HotelPlanner Tour.
We also have our own pathway to the PGA TOUR through our Strategic Alliance, enabling players to become dual members and maximise their earning opportunities.
What do you believe golf must do to stay relevant for younger audiences?
Innovation is such a big part of that. If you look at the last decade, we’ve always tried to ensure we appeal to difference audiences.
We were the first tour for example to introduce in-round interviews and concerts at tournaments to broaden the appeal, in addition to trying new formats such as GolfSixes, the Shot Clock Masters and mixed events such as the Volvo Scandinavian Mixed.
Our award-winning content is also such an important way of reaching younger demographics.
We’ve become renowned for our creative content and part of the ten awards I mentioned earlier was one at the Sports Industry Awards for our collaboration with YouTuber Brandon B.
Our team worked with Brandon on a video using special effects that showed Tommy Fleetwood making a hole-in-one from a cargo plane from 30,000ft. It achieved 295 million organic video views and eight million engagements, which is hugely impressive.
Are there moments where you’ve had to make tough calls that shaped the Tour’s direction?
Yes, there have been, but I try to listen to the right people in those moments. To players and to my team.
I’m a big believer in building the best team you can have and empowering them. In any business, there are going to be tough calls to make, but you have to assess all the information you have, listen to those around you and do what is best for your organisation, which is our case means our members.
What do you love most about working in golf?
I’ve always said, golf is the most wonderful sport and it has given me so many incredible opportunities that I feel fortunate to have spent my career working in the game. As a sport, golf produces so many remarkable stories.
Even just this year, you think of Rory winning the Career Grand Slam, and what an extraordinary moment that was at Augusta, to see all that emotion.
We’ve also had so many other examples of players winning on our Tour after overcoming adversity.
Each player has his own unique story. The sport is also always evolving and these are exciting times. We have had icons in the past such as Arnie and Tiger and Rory is now the new icon, leading the next era.
When you look back in a decade, what do you hope your legacy at the European Tour and Ryder Cup will be?
I think golf has a great opportunity at the moment with participation up and so many strong commercial partners.
Legacy is always for other people to talk about, but I just want to ensure we continue to take advantage of the opportunities in front of us and strengthen our Tour and the game for long-term prosperity.
I would like to see golf continue to globalise and foster more union, and of course it would be nice to win a few more Ryder Cups in that time too!
FINAL THOUGHT
As golf continues to navigate global expansion, generational change, and increasing competition, Guy Kinnings stands at the forefront, grounded in tradition yet focused firmly on innovation.
His deep respect for the players, the fans, and the institutions that make the game what it is today comes through in every answer.
From strengthening commercial foundations to shaping unforgettable Ryder Cup moments, Kinnings is helping steer the sport into a bold new era.
And if his legacy is measured by the opportunities he helps create for players and fans alike, then the future of the DP World Tour and golf more broadly is in capable hands.
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