Podcast: The Shack Show Episode 6 With Guest Nick Faldo

We covered a nice gamut in this chat, including the times, the world of travel, the recent Masters replay, radical game transformations, the driver head, Pringle sweaters, par-3 courses and dogs in a time of pandemics. Among other topics.

As always thanks to all who made this possible, starting with Sir Nick, show producer Tim Parotchka, everyone on the iHeart Golf team.

The iHeart show page. The Apple podcast page for episode six. And to subscribe or review the show.

Show notes:

A preview of Faldo’s new CBS Sports Network’s shows debuting Monday at 7:30 pm ET.

If you’re looking for lessons and swing tips, @NickFaldo006’s new show on @CBSSportsNet is just for you. FALDO FORMULA – MIND. BODY. SWING debuts on Monday at 8 PM ET pic.twitter.com/c9M4i2ELOG

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) April 23, 2020

If you’re looking for lessons and swing tips, @NickFaldo006’s new show on @CBSSportsNet is just for you. FALDO FORMULA – MIND. BODY. SWING debuts on Monday at 8 PM ET pic.twitter.com/c9M4i2ELOG

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) April 23, 2020

Sir Nick and Saxon on Medterra:

Take1 Morning SNAX. @medterracbd tell us which one you like best? @FWeims @SnickLindz pic.twitter.com/XVCOViTvxN

— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) April 11, 2020

Podcasts this week considering Faldo’s career and 1990 Masters win, starting with The Shotgun Start’s two deep effort featuring guest Sean Martin. (Really great discussions for those who’ve forgotte how incredible Faldo’s post-game remake run turned out to be.)

A Pod Unlike Any Other’s look back at the 1989 Masters.

Notah Begay Worrying About Way More Than A Postponed Golf Season

Tod Leonard on the upsetting revelation from Notah Begay on a Golf Channel conference call Thursday to discuss what would have been in Augusta this week. A Navajo/Pueblo Indian, Begay reported that COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in the Native American community as well, even in New Mexico, a state rarely mentioned as under attack from the virus.

From Leonard’s GolfDigest.com report:

Begay said 75 percent of his relatives live on the reservation. “I’m going to lose some family members; I’m quite certain of it,” he said.

“To these rural areas of this nation … they have zero internet access; they don’t have mobile phone reception; a lot of times they don’t know what’s going on,” Begay said.

"Jim Nantz is just like you—a disappointed golf fan missing this week's Masters"

GolfDigest.com’s Guy Yocom catches up with Jim Nantz during what would have been his 35th broadcasting duties for CBS.

Nantz shares observations on quarantining in Pebble Beach and this tease for the weekend CBS shows:

This weekend there will be two encore presentations—the 2004 Masters on Saturday—with Sunday bringing a rebroadcast of last year’s “Return to Glory.” Nantz spent the early part of this week taping interviews via his computer at home with Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods for the weekend shows. “We want the presentations to be as stimulating as possible and having Phil and Tiger talk about their wins as they watch the old broadcasts is pure gold for the viewers.”

"Are sports broadcasting kingpins facing their Napster moment?"

Richard Gillis poses the above question in the Irish Times. It’s a worthwhile read if you’re interested in the future of TV sports and are comfortable pondering post COVID-19 matters. (Thanks to reader Rob for this.)

He writes:

Sport has its own version of the CD album: the traditional multi-sport subscription package as sold by Sky, ESPN and Setanta among others. Pared down to its bare bones, these subscriptions bear a passing resemblance to the CD album: Come for the Premier League, stay for carp fishing, canoeing and the European Speedway Championship from Gdansk.

That model started in the United States but has been challenged by cord cutting and audiences shifting to streaming services. But in a matter of weeks, has the pandemic potentially exposed an excess that endanger the model of sports?

Most of us are already juggling multiple accounts, from the established names such as Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime and The Irish Times through to more niche entertainment sites, gym memberships, mindfulness apps and further still into FMCG categories such as pet food and beauty products.

Sport has got the memo and, in the pre-Covid-19 era, a new business model for governing bodies and event owners was emerging that sees them streaming sport direct to fans via so-called Over The Top (OTT) channels.

Women's Clothier Katherine Way Making Masks, Gowns For Jacksonville Hospitals

Another day, and another one of golf’s small, All-American made companies doing its part to help those on the front lines.

This time it’s Katherine Way, the maker of women’s wear you’ve seen emerge to great acclaim in recent years and a staple at major championship shops, is doing her part for the greater Jacksonville area.

News4Jax’s Lauren Verno explains how Way’s team is using fabrics and a mask kit that allows volunteers to produce masks and soon, isolation gowns for local hospitals.

"We have about 30 women that are making masks for us right now," explained Way.

The people who put together the masks together are not employees. They are volunteers who also want to give back to their community.

Starting this week, Way and her volunteers will start making isolation gowns for Baptist Health hospitals.

For more information on the effort or how to obtain one of Way’s kits from the Jacksonville headquarters, this page explains and updates what is happening.

The company is also accepting donations to purchase more material.

Roundup: 2020 Masters Week Schedules

With no Masters to be played, the broadcast partners of Augusta National Golf Club will still supply us with several past events to view.

From CBS:

Saturday, April 11 

• THE MASTERS: 1975 (1:30-2:30 PM, ET) - The 1975 Masters Tournament unfolded with the greatest players of their generation – Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf – at the peak of their games and battling over four glorious days, creating drama and excitement that would help define this memorable tournament.

• FINAL ROUND – 2004 MASTERS TOURNAMENT (2:30-6:00 PM, ET) - “Is it his time? Yes! At long last!” proclaimed Jim Nantz as Mickelson earned his long-awaited Masters victory, and his first major, with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole. The 18-footer broke a deadlock with Ernie Els to give Mickelson the one-stroke victory.  

Sunday, April 12

• FINAL ROUND – 2019 MASTERS TOURNAMENT (12:30-6:00 PM, ET) - “The Return to Glory!” In one of the most memorable Masters ever, Woods capped off his incredible comeback with his fifth Masters victory – his first in 14 years – over a crowded leaderboard featuring many of the game’s top players. Trailing by two strokes on Sunday heading to the famous 12th hole, Woods safely hit his tee shot on to the green while the players ahead of him faltered and put their shots into Rae’s Creek. Woods took the lead down the stretch and never looked back on his way to his 15th career major championship.

 From ESPN where the 1986 final round airs Wednesday:

ESPN will salute the Masters Tournament with encore presentations of the final rounds of two of Tiger Woods’ five wins, Jack Nicklaus’ stunning victory in 1986 and other classic editions of the iconic event at Augusta National Golf Club over three days beginning Wednesday, April 8.

Viewers will be able to watch Woods’ wins in the 1997 and 2005 Masters, with the final round of the 1997 event, his first Masters win, airing in prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 9. The final round of his win in the 2005 Masters will air at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 10. In that event, Woods improbably chipped into the hole on the 16th at Augusta National, perhaps the most memorable shot of his storied career.

In 1986, Nicklaus shocked the golf world with his come-from-behind win, scoring his record-setting sixth Masters title as well as his 18th and final major championship. The final round airs Wednesday, April 8, at 3 p.m. On that same day, ESPN will open the salute at 1 p.m. with highlights from the 2018 Masters Par 3 Contest, an event highlighted by Nicklaus’ grandson (and caddie) G.T. Nicklaus scoring a hole-in-one as his proud grandfather watched. The Par 3 Contest re-airs at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

Also featured will be the final round from 2012, when Bubba Watson won the first of his two Masters green jackets, airing on Thursday at 2 p.m. Watson beat Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff with an incredible shot off the pine straw on the 10th to set up his winning putt.

The final round of the 2013 Masters, won by Adam Scott over Angel Cabrera in a playoff, airs Friday at 12:15 p.m. It remains the popular Australian’s only Masters win.

The airdates for the Masters salute coincide with the dates ESPN would have been televising the Masters Par 3 Contest and the first two rounds of this year’s event before it was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

Also, beginning next week ESPN+, the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service, will present an on-demand collection of official Masters Films, including highlights of nearly every Masters event since 1960.

From Golf Channel/NBC:

2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur (NBC)

Airing Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC will be the encore broadcast of last year’s inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. A monumental day in golf and the overall sports landscape, Jennifer Kupcho captured the first edition of the event while battling Maria Fassi in the final pairing at the famed Augusta National Golf Club on the Saturday prior to the 2019 Masters. NBC’s telecast also will live stream viaGOLF Channel Digital. GOLF Channel also will air the final day Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals (2018, 2019)

GOLF Channel will televise both the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals from Augusta National Golf Club. The 2018 competition will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 4, while the 2019 National Finals will air Sunday at 8 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET.

During the 8 a.m. ET re-air of the 2019 National Finals, GOLF Channel will celebrate the 2020 national finalists with several dedicated features that will post on the network’s social media handles (@GolfChannel on Twitter and Facebook). The 2020 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals is rescheduled for Sunday, April 4, 2021. All national finals participants scheduled to compete in the 2020 event will compete in 2021.

And of course the Masters YouTube channel has all of the final round broadcasts.

"I thought it would be amusing to commentate on my dogs eating dinner--next thing I know, it's gone viral"

Today in much needed virus distraction news, The Telegraph’s James Corrigan catches up with the BBC’s Andrew Cotter about the sports broadcaster’s unintentionally viral dog-dining commentary. (8.2 million views as of this post.)

Golf fans should recognize his voice and his work in the podcast sphere (including a new just recently dropping co-hosted by Eddie Pepperell). And if you haven’t seen it…

I was bored. pic.twitter.com/bVoC0hyNzC

— Andrew Cotter (@MrAndrewCotter) March 27, 2020

Bevacqua: Talks Ongoing With PGA Tour To Rebrand Golf Channel

Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal reports on the PGA Tour’s new media rights deal and included this.

NBC Sports Group President Pete Bevacqua said as part of the new deal, the PGA Tour would take on a greater role in programming and producing at NBC’s Golf Channel. Mr. Bevacqua said talks about rebranding the Golf Channel to reflect the significance of the PGA Tour to the network are ongoing.

Wild guess here, the PGA TOUR Network?

McManus On New PGA Tour Media Deal And Removing Broadcast Clutter

Adam Schupak files a lengthy Q&A with CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus upon the network’s signing of a 9-year deal with the PGA Tour.

The chat covers a lot of ground, but McManus addresses a key question many have had regarding the deal. Specifically, whether viewers will suffer to pay for it. McManus says the opposite is the case.

Q.  With CBS having to pay significantly more in rights fees, should viewers be concerned that you’re going to have to add additional sponsorship and promotional elements to make up that difference?

SM: Definitely not. In fact, we have regular conversations with the Tour about eliminating some of the clutter, so I would say if anything you’re going to see fewer interruptions than more. We’re going to continue to try to do more CBS Eye on the Course, the double box, so you don’t miss live golf action. We and NBC, although sometimes we get criticized, we and NBC run basically the same commercial load. You will not see that expanding in this deal, and if anything we’re going to try to reduce the clutter a little bit. We’ve already reduced the amount of on‑air promotions we do for other programs, and I think we and the Tour are really cognizant of the fact that you want to show as much golf as you possibly can, and the two box is one way to do that, and less clutter is another way to do it. But no, there’s not going to be increased sponsorship or increased commercial inventory in the new deal.

Heads Up: College Golf TV Carrying Final Round Live Stream Of The Bandon Dunes Championship

Just a heads up for those who aren’t aware of College Golf TV, they’ve got final round coverage of The Bandon Dunes Championship at, Bandon Dunes!

Oregon State leads Oregon heading into Tuesday’s final round.

Coverage is from 9 am to 2 pm Pacific Time at the link.

Jay Monahan Rolled Out The New TV Deal As Markets Crashed, And It Went About As Well As You'd Expect

Presumably somewhere down in Ponte Vedra Beach this weekend, the good folks discussed whether Commissioner Jay Monahan should make the rounds promoting the next PGA Tour media deal.

With cratering markets, major event cancellations and the world trying to squash a pandemic, Monahan forged ahead with a CNBC Squawk Box appearance. And as any upright, non-comatose adult might have predicted, hosts Joe Kernen, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin could not hide their disdain for having to conduct the interview while anticipating the worst market day in a decade.

It was tough to pinpoint the the most awkward moment, but…

Was it Kernen’s apologetic intro asking viewers to pretend to go back in time a few weeks to hear about such a thing?

Quick interrupting when Monahan noted the size of golf course properties (“3-400 acres”) implying a coronavirus light space, and Monahan answering, “we’ve stood up a business around this subject and we did so several weeks ago. And we have leaders within our company that are pouring themselves into this.”

Or was it Sorkin wanting to know answers to about 15 tough questions to just make the whole interview go away?

CNBC’s social team did not push this one out on the Squawk Box Twitter feed for all in public relations circles to learn how the cancellation button is your friend. But the interview was posted on YouTube:

PGA Tour, LPGA Tour Media Deal Becomes Official: CBS, NBC, Golf Channel Return, ESPN+ To Take PGA Tour Live

It’s rare to get a public relations opening like Monday, March 9th. It’s not like the Sunday prior the futures were setting off circuit-breakers, or the price of oil was cratering, or the world was staring down a pandemic.

In the meantime, Ron Green Jr. has most of the next PGA Tour media deal details in this Global Golf Post story.

While the GGP story validates previous reporting (links below), Green confirms the new PGA Tour media deal is for 9 years. He says dollar figures are undisclosed and beginning in 2022, NBC and CBS will alternate early coverage of the FedExCup playoff events. That last bit of news is important to no one.

The LPGA Tour, which turned over its rights deal negotiating to the PGA Tour, picks up some more weekend network finishes and Golf Channel will show more of the Symetra Tour.

More will be revealed Monday of 2020 Players week, with Commissioner Jay Monahan scheduled to make the rounds unless there is bigger news than the new media deal—I know, blasphemy.

Until then, previous posts:

The ESPN+ role in PGA Tour Live reported by AP.

Tour operation of TV compounds/world feed.

The biggie first reported by Sports Business Daily: CBS/NBC/Golf Channel returning.

NASCAR, XFL Stealing Eyeballs? 2020 Honda Classic Ratings Down

NASCAR’s Auto Club 400’s 2.9 Nielsen average easily beat out the Honda Classic won by Sunjae Im. According to Showbuzzdaily.com, the 2020 Honda on NBC drew a 1.67 overnight rating, down nearly 30% from last year’s 2.4, also on NBC.

The slide continues a tough start to 2020 for golf ratings, which have now seen ten straight broadcast television windows down. Most recently, the WGC Mexico City saw weekend ratings drop 37% Saturday and 18% Sunday despite an excellent leaderboard and finish.

Possible influences? NASCAR’s renaissance built on improving race intrigue and even the XFL’s sliding ratings still make a dent. (Sports Media Watch’s Paulsen on the XFL’s ratings).

The fall is noticeable because both events featured compelling final rounds and did not feature Tiger Woods to influence ratings.

Other notes:

-Saturday’s third round 1.17 rating on NBC was down from a 1.4 (2.1 million avg viewers).

-Sunday lead-in coverage on Golf Channel fell from a .8 in 2019 to a .47 in 2020

Bevacqua: Golf Channel Move From Orlando Long In The Making

NBC Sports President Pete Bevacqua talked to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand about Golf Channel’s move to Stamford, Connecticut. He said the move “started well before” he began with NBC in September 2018.

“It’s the continued evolution of the media landscape and something that started well before I got here if you think about how we brought all the different components of NBC Sports primarily under one roof in Stamford. This was the next step in that process.” NBC Sports HQ moved from Manhattan to Connecticut in 2013.

Bevacqua also said the move is intended to improve the final product with production teams interacting with NBC Sports Network executives.

“Nothing can take the place of talented people interacting with one another. When you can have the great people of the Golf Channel interacting with the Sam Floods of the world and the Fred Gaudellis and the Rob Hylands and all the people that bring our other sports alive, we’re all going to be better. We’re all going to be more creative.”

THATgate: Azinger Regrets His Grammar, Lee Westwood Comments

Since we have enough problems in this world, it appears we can cross out the impending Azinger v. Europe summer long brouhaha.

Doug Ferguson talked to Paul Azinger following last Sunday’s bold commentary, and it appears the NBC announcer brought a mop along to mop after his first unsuccessful attempt.

“A lot of pressure here,” Azinger said on the broadcast. “You're trying to prove to everybody that you've got what it takes. These guys know, you can win all you want on that European Tour or in the international game and all that, but you have to win on the PGA Tour.”

That European Tour.

“Bad grammar,” Azinger said Monday. “If I had said ‘the’ European Tour, the whole thing would have been different.”

Maybe.

Either way, that was his lone regret.

It was easy to assume this was just an unfortunate word choice. But it was the take on Lee Westwood, with 41 worldwide wins, that he says were not his intention.

Westwood isn't on that list, but with 41 wins around the world across four decades, his record speaks for itself. Azinger was bothered only by the notion that Westwood took his comments as being disrespectful of his career.

“I would never do that,” Azinger said.

The Daily Mail’s Derek Lawrenson argued that Azinger’s comments hit close to home for a reason: he was correct. Still Lawrenson described the Azinger episode this way:

How insular can you get, topped off by the sneering ‘that’ for good measure. Cue predictable outrage all over Europe, from players such as Ian Poulter to fans and critics, with Westwood summing it up deliciously on Twitter: ‘Oh dear, oh dear.’

At least Azinger was being true to form. As the man who said Francesco Molinari was ‘facing the biggest putt of his career’ when trying to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year, eight months after the Italian had won the Open and five months after claiming five points out of five at the Ryder Cup, we shouldn’t be too surprised.