Nantz, Johnny Win In Popularity Poll Landslides

Golfweek's informal online poll on golf telecasts is up and the closest race was for Best Announcer In An "Hmmm, that's interesting" Performance.

Which analyst is most likely to make you think, "Hmmm, that's interesting"?

Paul Azinger, ESPN   12.2%
Curt Byrum, Golf Channel   2.3%
Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel   24.4%
Nick Faldo, CBS/Golf Channel   27.5%
Johnny Miller, NBC 33.5%

Of course Johnny won by an even bigger margin in the "remote throw" division.

But even better, fans want to see more shots. Another landslide.

What reason is most likely to make you turn off the TV?

Coverage focused too much on Tiger Woods   28.6%
Don’t see enough golf shots   45.7%
Find the commentators annoying   19.1%
Prefer watching sports other than golf   6.6%

Jack: “Probably the whole book of the rules of golf should be changed."

I tuned in for a bit but missed Jack Nicklaus joining Morning Drive's Erik Kuselias and Gary Williams via phone for Wednesday morning. Thankfully, the Golf Channel PR folks sent out a few highlights, including this response to an email question about any rules of golf he would like to see changed:
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"Even in today's must-know everything culture, if pro golf's TV fortunes rise or fall on whether someone is miked up, that is a sign of greater problems."

That's what Bill Fields says in today's Golf World Monday. He also writes:

TV could better utilize the mics already on course, and the tour mandate its players to do interviews during a round. The latter would give viewers more without taking away something from the stars of the show.

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"In the age of blogging, Tweeting and podcasts, wearing microphones shouldn't be a big deal. I think it's worth a try."

According to Sal Johnson in this uniquely conveyed disquisition, SI Golf Plus commissioned a counterpoint My Shot to Justin Rose's view that players should not wear wireless microphones. However, Ted Purdy's piece did not make the magazine and was buried at golf.com, but here it is.
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