ROCHESTER, N.Y. (FLX) — Never complacent or satisfied, FLX leadership continues to tinker with ways to improve the Tour experience for fans and pros alike.

That trend continued this week as officials announced the “soft launch” of a new Discord server. Discord is, of course, an instant messaging app where users can easily communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and other files in private chats or public communities called “servers.”

They also let us upload our own emojis for reactions, as seen here:

Officials say this is NOT a call to action. There is no urgency for pros to try Discord download it, learn it, etc. This is simply an exploratory phase where leadership is “throwing ideas against the wall.”

Sources close to the situation said officials were disappointed by the activity on the recently launched GroupMe channel, but that they’re committed to securing a digital landscape where all pros and fans can interact regardless of device.

“We can all agree that the GroupMe did not take off as we had originally hoped,” FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Matt Driffill said. “The main point here is that the board of directors feel there is an a communications gap internally and we do intend to bridge that. We don’t know when or how, but that’s a goal. We have a fairly robust iMessage group, but not everyone on Tour has an iPhone. We have a bustling Instragram group message as well, but not everyone is on Instagram. We’re trying to find the right platform and the right way to get everyone under one umbrella.”

The goal of getting everyone under that umbrella, sources indicated, is to streamline updates on major tournament news, designated events, regular golf outings, offseason banquets, charity galas, and more.

FLX Tour leaders say the Discord server is under “soft launch” phase until at least the end of 2023.

“We do absolutely recognize that no one wants to download or learn another app, myself included,” FLX Tour Co-Commissioner Shane Driffill said. “Like I thought Discord was for streamers and gaming or January 6th plots, ya know.”

“To be completely honest, I have never even heard of Discord,” FLX Tour Head of Content and Rules Czar Joey Mortillaro said. “But I’ll try anything once.”

Currently the Discord server is more or less a chat room where fans and pros are invited to join and create banter, but down the road, leadership hopes the platform will be the landing place for all things discussion based on Tour, including the live stream drawings for pairings, tee times, and teams for future events.

“Discord is critically-acclaimed for its streaming capabilities and will offer a much more dynamic experience in that realm than what we’ve tried in the past,” Matt Driffill said.

FLX Tour leaders say the tech will also allow future projects like live shows where tour pros and fans can “call in” or chat live with text to ask questions to leadership not unlike a town hall setting.

“Listen, if it helps push a few more ball markers, I’m all in,” Mortillaro said.

The hope for officials, sources say, is that the Discord will bring more lively discussion from everyone invovled in the Tour to one place. Whether it’s memes, live chats, or just some fellas looking to fill out a foursome.

FLX Tour officials say the legacy FLX Tour iMessage chat, Instagram chat, and GroupMe chat will all remain as is for the forseeable future and that the shift to Discord for news, announcements, and streams is targeted for early 2024.

For those unfamiliar with the platform, here’s a beginner’s guide for first timers, and for Tour pros who struggle with reading — congrats on getting this far in the article! And here’s a video that more or less explains the same:

Grow the game.