When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Reader Gary notes that there was a 2-hour weather delay on the European Tour today, meaning Golf Channel's broadcast window "ran out" with the leaders having 6 or so holes to play, and the programming switched to the dreaded infomercials.
Anyone out there know precisely why they don't see the tournament to its conclusion? I'm sure our buddy Stu would have gotten to the bottom of this.
SI's Alan Shipnuck pens a long (and I mean long!) feature on The Golf Channel Golf Channel and how it's really all things wonderful. So touching to see how fatherhood has mellowed Alan to the point he can listen to Jerry Foltz drone on and not want to scream like Howard Beale.
Well, we learn that Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman engaged in carefully conceived exercises (they hiked, they surfed!). And we learn that when you combine the ratings of all the telecasts the numbers are actually up, which still doesn't settle the Sportscenter issue that was the heart of those begging for some ESPN involvement. And we learn that a 15-year deal was necessary because, as Tim Finchem asks inanely rhetorically, "How do we build the platform together?"
Oy.
I did love this from Dave Manougian, who apparently bamboozled the PGA Tour's army of VP's with this logic:
"I'm not sure if there's much difference between 15 years or 12 or 10," says Manougian. "To increase our distribution, we obviously needed a long-term commitment from the Tour, but quite honestly, once you get past six or eight years you sort of say, Well, we might as well go for it now!"One revealing quote comes from Joe Ogilvie:
"There's no question all of us benefit as the channel grows," says Ogilvie. "There are kickers in the contract to guarantee that. I think players are slowly starting to realize we're married to the channel, so to speak. It's in our best interests to help it succeed."And isn't this precisely the danger?
That the PGA Tour becomes a soft core version of the Big Break, with the separation of media and player turning each telecast into an infomercial?
Or is an infomercial-like brand plugfest just what today's America finds most comforting?
Oh please thoughtful readers, chime in.
Sheesh, Hogan got his by a bus and I don't think he was this much of a mess.
Bill Fields writing about Johnny Miller's cameo at the Legend's of Golf:
Sixty might be the new 40, but Miller, who turns 60 April 29, feels his age. Before he started getting cortisone shots, his right elbow had been so painful he was reduced to swinging one-handed in corporate outings. "I was pretty good at that, but that isn't very impressive," he said. "It's nice to be healed enough that I can at least play with [my] kids. I didn't realize how much I missed at least having the option of playing versus not being able to play whether I [wanted to or not]. I'm grateful for that."
But his knees still ache, and he can feel a slipped disc from his back to his shins. "My back is totally killing me right now," Miller said after the first round, "just burning a hole through my L-5 with the pain running down into my lower legs." Said his wife, Linda, "I think if his body would let him, he would like to play more. It's shot."
Miller's back was so tight when he woke up Friday morning he thought he was going to have to withdraw, but 10 hot towels and 1 1/2 Lortabs for the pain and a driver loaded with 12 strips of lead tape--"It was already F-0, and I probably made it about a G," he said, "so it would do all the work and I wouldn't have to use my body that much"--got him through the day.
Uh, I'm trying not to envision Johnny wrapped in 10 hot towels.
I've been out and about at some golf facilities the last few days and heard near unanimous frustration at how boring the Masters has become.
We've considered the architectural and setup influences, but after reading Stu Schneider's TV Rewind column in this week's Golf World (column not posted), it seems that we should not discount just how much CBS's presentation has played into the change in perception.
The Frank Chirkinian presentation style that many of us enjoyed showed more shots and imany more of them live than we see with Lance Barrow's production approach. Schneider points out how long it took for CBS to show several shots, including Ogilvy's eagle on 13 and most amazingly, a Zach Johnson eagle birdie on 3 followed by a Vaughn Taylor missing an eagle putt on 2, even though they were paired together.
Is this playing a role in uh, "rebranding" the Masters as more of a U.S. Open style event?
My Q&A is now posted on Golfobserver.com.
Scott Michaux profiles Nick Faldo's debut in the Masters booth:
"I mean, I actually love Augusta," he said. "Gosh, it's a Picasso. It's a bloomin' Rembrandt. It's a Mona, isn't it? I took friends who are not golfers last year who've never been and said, 'It's like a work of art, isn't it?' And they said, 'You're right. It's absolutely unbelievable. What a place.'
"Yes, you could get a bit harsh at the odd hole or this and that, but crumbs if you don't like the odd tree."
Ultimately, CBS and Faldo both understand what he brings to the booth: the perspective of a three-time Masters champion. They crave his insights on the course and his empathy for what the competitors are going through.
"We have Phil Simms at the Super Bowl," Barrow said of the former New York Giants quarterback turned CBS analyst. "Phil Simms knows what it's like to go down that tunnel. He knows what it's like to be a part of that game. He knows what it's like to win the Super Bowl. That's what Nick brings to the Masters."
Let's hope he brings a LOT more to the booth than Phil Simms!
So nice to see Nick Faldo talking to the British press, this time to James Corrigan in advance of his first Masters in the booth:
"I've always said exactly what I thought, but if I do that at Augusta, only one thing will happen - I'll be out," he said, smiling as he thought of the expulsions that have befallen the loose-lipped in the past. "I'll be walking on eggshells and have my guidelines right next me: they're not 'fans', they're 'patrons'; it's not 'rough', it's 'first cut'. Actually, I may not say anything, I may just do sign language. Only joking. I'm sure Augusta will cut me some slack on my first year."
I don't know how many homes Charter Communications reaches with its cable systems, but apparently they are planning to drop The Golf Channel based on this GC front page plea form.
Anyone know what part of the country Charter covers?
...because another hour of the Honda isn't worth it?
This is an odd one, reported by Craig Dolch in the Palm Beach Post:
TV air times returned to three hours: A week after saying it would cuts its Thursday and Friday telecasts of Honda by an hour, Golf Channel officials announced Wednesday it has returned its air times to 3-6 p.m.
Last week, the network announced the air times had been changed to 4-6 p.m. in the first two rounds, without giving a reason. The Palm Beach Post reported the reason for the change was Golf Channel was trying to persuade American Honda to buy more advertising, but the car company balked.
A source Wednesday said the Golf Channel made its change after receiving a phone call from PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, who didn't want to lose two hours of golf coverage.
What initially struck many golf fans as good, sensible news - The Golf Channel landing live coverage of PGA Tour events - has thus far proven to be a terrible joke.
TGC's latest co-produced train wreck - this one with NBC - began Wednesday, 64 of the world's best in match play for the World Golf Championship. Unless one tuned in to see scenery (mostly cactus), commercials, interviews, promos and insanely unnecessary cuts to TGC's studio, coverage was infuriating.
At one point, TGC abandoned live golf for a chat with Geoff Ogilvy, who'd just won his match. Among the questions TGC's Rich Lerner asked was what Ogilvy thought of Tiger Woods' seven-PGA-events win streak. "It's impressive," Ogilvy replied. Live and learn.
Then it was off to commercials, then to the studio, where we were shown clips of Woods from last year's WGC - and encouraged to watch the WGC on TGC. (We'd love to, if you only let us!)
So why does Feherty get his own guy holding the monitor while Kostis has to have that harnessed thing? A perk in Feherty's new contract?
That's how a Golf Channel staffer said the ad folks described the Golf Channel's inside-the-cables, interactive fan area behind the Golf Central/Post Game set.
Looks like a party to me! Where's Lee Corso when you need him?
I might actually go down to the Golf Channel set to take in this interactive/it's-all-about-you experiment gone awry:
Golf Fans to Go “Inside the Ropes” with the GOLF CHANNEL at the Nissan Open
The GOLF CHANNEL will offer golf fans inside the ropes opportunities during the Nissan Open this week at Riviera Country Club. Beginning Thursday, the cable network will give behind-the-scenes access to its news production at the tournament, with live audiences during the broadcasts of its signature news shows – Sprint Pre/Post Game and Golf Central – for the first time.
Situated near the 10th tee at Riviera Country Club, select golf fans will be on the stage to watch the live production of Sprint Pre/Post Game and Golf Central. In addition, select golf fans will be able to view tournament coverage shot-by-shot in front of the stage throughout the duration of the tournament.
Salon's Slate's Robert Weintraub on Jim Nantz:
Nantz is probably best known for his golf work. That's fitting, for no one projects an image of country-club piety and blandness quite like him. While technically sound, he is one of the few in the business capable of turning a rousing AFC championship game into a round at Torrey Pines.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
