Taking Aim with Stu Schneider

/

AIMDarwin.jpgStu Schneider writes Golf World's weekly TV Rewind column and broke the news on the PGA Tour nearing completion of its new TV contract.  With his take on televised golf and the Front 9 list each week (co-authored with editor Geoff Russell), Schneider's humor and insight has given Golf World's pages a big boost.

Before his Golf World work, Schneider was editor of Golfweb where he led the site until CBS Sportsline and the Tour phased it out.

For reasons known only to Stu, he agreed to be the first ever GS.com instant message interview. 

GeoffShac:  alright here goes...first question is a long one...

GeoffShac:  15 years?

Stugolf:     Well, in golf years that's even longer...  

GeoffShac:   especially if you have to watch it for a living 

Stugolf:     But I guess they need a while to get Kelly Tilghman's makeup right...
Stugolf:     Actually I should've said Brandel Chamblee's...

GeoffShac:    seriously, they do a great job at the majors, do you think that will be their production inspiration or will they go in the Big Break direction, as Manougian hinted in the press conference?

Stugolf:     Well, one thing to remember is that the Thur/Fri telecasts will be produced by the weekend carriers, nbc and cbs (thank god)

GeoffShac:     Ah right...and announcer wise, will TGC provide a lead and color person like USA sometimes did?

Stugolf:     I think it will be mostly Golf Channel people in front of the cameras, but there may be a Rolfing (who does both) or Maltbie snuck in there sometimes...

GeoffShac:     And the networks, fair to say they got 6 years for the price of (the last) 4?

Stugolf:     Sorta seems that way, but I guess we'll have to wait for the tour's annual report to see the real numbers.

GeoffShac:     I'm sure they'll share all of the details!

Stugolf:     Hey, I believe as a "charitable organization" they are *required* by law to lay it all out.  Of course, they would say they would do it anyway...

GeoffShac:     Their Form 990s are rather elusive

Stugolf:     You should try and get your hands on a copy.  Someone with your sunny outlook would have a great time reading it.

GeoffShac: Believe me, I've tried. So has Guidestar, the folks who do that stuff for a living. I have a better chance getting the minutes to Dick Cheney's energy policy meetings

GeoffShac: So do you watch every hour of every telecast?

Stugolf:     I'm ashamed to say that I watch very close to all of it... at least all of the weekend stuff for sure.  Wouldn't want to miss something incredible, like Bobby Clampett making sense.

GeoffShac: I envision you in a room with more than one TV, emergency caffeine stash nearby, objects to throw at the television and laptop ready to document every ridiculous thing said by Bobb...the announcers

Stugolf: Hmm.. frighteningly close.
stugolf: Actually, I take notes, the old fashioned way.

GeoffShac: no wireless laptop yet?

Stugolf: No, not yet.  Too much technology can numb you.
Stugolf: Tivo however is another story.
Stugolf: It makes it possible, and it makes it survivable.

GeoffShac: you mean you don't enjoy the opportunity to bond with the Tour's partners during commercial breaks?

Stugolf: I tend to be a little coterminous when it comes to that.
Stugolf: Hey, I'm proud of myself.  So what if it makes no sense.
Stugolf: It never stopped Finchem.

GeoffShac: true

Stugolf: The only thing I stop for now are the tour's new TV commercials.  Art form.

GeoffShac: oh yes, those are LOL funny

Stugolf:     Thank goodness I can go back and relive them on Tivo over and over and over and over again.
Stugolf:     They're even better the fifth time around.
Stugolf:     They remind me of The Golf Channel’s ads for the Champions Tour.

GeoffShac:     I bet you save those using the “keep until I delete” deal

GeoffShac:     wait, you watch the Champions Tour?

GeoffShac:     do tell...

Stugolf:    Hmm..
Stugolf:    how many readers do you have?

GeoffShac:     oh that's classified information...like the Tour, part of my right as a non-profit to keep those numbers confidential :)

Stugolf:     You probably have more readers than TGC has viewers for the Champions Tour anyway...
Stugolf:     Yes, I have, on occasion, watched it.
Stugolf:     I'm a sucker for Dave Marr's couch interviews.
Stugolf:     It's a legacy, as they said in Animal House.

GeoffShac:     oh come on, he's not even close to being as bad as the guy ESPN had at Kapalua

Stugolf:      Tom Rinaldi?  Hey, I have to give him this: he didn't wear a Hawaiian shirt.  Extra points for that.

GeoffShac:     that was a first for Hawaiian golf broadcasting...

Stugolf:     Except for old dependable, Rolfing.

GeoffShac:     well, of course

GeoffShac:     what would you do to liven up golf telecasts?

GeoffShac:     did I stump you with that last question? :)

Stugolf:     Oh.. the phone, hold on.

GeoffShac:     k

Stugolf:     Sorry.  Oh, livening up golf telecasts.
Stugolf:     Hmm.  How about analyzing Charles Barkley's swing during a major?
Stugolf:     Oh wait, that's already been done by TNT
Stugolf:     Someone suggested putting a "comet tail" on a golf ball so it's easier to follow in the air, like FOX did with the puck when it broadcast the NHL.
Stugolf:     Unfortunately, I think you can probably have hooters girls on every tee but unless the golf is compelling, the telecast is going to be a dud.

GeoffShac:     I said seriously

Stugolf:     So, I guess make sure we have Tiger vs. Vijay vs. Phil vs. Ernie every week... HEY! I got it... The Fedex Cup... we make sure the pros HAVE to play every week against each other.  Genius!

GeoffShac:     right, and I'm sure Phil and Tiger will play 6 of 7 weeks in August with a major thrown in the midst of that

GeoffShac:     Uh, why does the Tour still bother to put the Golfweb logo on its site?

Stugolf:     LOL.

GeoffShac:     I mean, really, what's the point?

Stugolf:     Because they realize that co-branding can coterminously ensure a fruitful partnership wherein our marketing partners can enjoy the compelling content... uh, what was the question again?

GeoffShac:     you left out platform

GeoffShac:     as someone who was involved with Golfweb, what do you see lacking from golf related web sites these days?

Stugolf:     Well, obviously the variety that GolfWeb offered.  But you have to remember, when GolfWeb was in its heyday, the Web wasn't what it is now... where every tour has its own site to offer up results.  In many cases we were the only place you get information on the Asian Tour, for example.

GeoffShac:     But I look at a lot sites now and think, they haven't even matched what Golfweb once was, much less expanded on the concept

GeoffShac:     which is kind of scary since it's been 6 years since the Tour and Sportsline swallowed it up

Stugolf:     Well, the whole landscape has changed.  When I was at GolfWeb we didn't have to worry about revenue.  In fact, it seemed like the more we spent, the better.  Now it's a big numbers game.  You have to find a way to make money.  Thus, fantasy sports, the Titleist leaderboard, animated ads flying across pages blocking out all the type, yada, yada, yada.

GeoffShac:     Okay final question and then I'll let you get back to your TiVo study of the new Tour ad campaign.

GeoffShac:     You were really an extra in Caddyshack?

Stugolf:     Finally a subject I can really get my teeth into.

GeoffShac:     I save the hard hitting stuff for the end

Stugolf:     Yes, I was an extra.  And you'll be able to see me on the Golf Channel's new cinema show they're starting up this week.
Stugolf:     I was doing a story for Golf Magazine on the making of the movie and I got to hang out on the set here in Fla. for a couple of weeks.  It was filmed at what used to be Arrowhead CC, it has a different name now that I can't even remember.  And if you look VERY hard at the end, when Bill Murray blows up the course, I'm right behind Danny Noonan in a blue visor.  SO there.

GeoffShac:     wow, they took a writer as an extra...the studios really know how to ensure a good review

Stugolf:     What, you think they’re dumb?  It was either that, or invite me to the coke parties that were taking place every night back at the hotel.

GeoffShac:     you made the right choice

GeoffShac:     hey thanks for the time, my sympathies as the Hope starts Wednesday with exciting coverage from the desert

Stugolf:     thanks...


Greater Greensboro

/

Robert Bell writes about Greensboro improving its position and how the event gained an August date in 2007. This paragraph caught my eye, though I'm not sure what exactly it means:

It wasn't enough that Greensboro's tournament officials had redesigned aging Forest Oaks Country Club. Now the PGA Tour was pushing for its tournaments to become tax-exempt organizations run by a board of trustees of top businessmen from each tournament's respective city. Without these changes, Finchem said, it was unlikely Greensboro or any other tournament would be around when the tour prepared its 2007-2010 schedule.

Can anyone explain the desire to shift to "tax exempt organization run by a board of trustees of top businessmen?"  I'm sure it's strictly in the name of charity, but you know, it's good to double check.

Another Vice President

/

The worst kept secret in golf is out: Ty Votaw has been hired by the PGA Tour because they so desperately need another executive salary feeding some vague position ("strengthening the tour's profile in the global sports marketplace").

The over-under on Tim Finchem deciding to spend more time with the KB Homes board and to pursue other board seats just moved up six months, to November 2007.  

Coming Soon: Taking Aim

/

AIMDarwin.jpgSo that I don't have to transcribe audio and because it could (or could not be) a fun way to introduce you to someone in golf, I'm adding an interview element to the site with the help of AOL's instant messenger service (the best of the IM programs..and I'm not even paid to say that).

Tomorrow marks the debut of this thrilling new feature, with Golf World's Stu Schneider agreeing to be the first of hopefully many Q&A's with interesting folks in golf.

The art department assures me that the logo for this feature is not too commercial in appearance, nor is AOL's cool little logo guy doing something dangerous with a club, but instead, he's offering an homage to Bernard Darwin's follow through. Thanks to Tommy Naccarato for name idea and graphics.

Hannigan On TV Deal

/

Well here goes Frank blowing his chance to become the Tour's VP of Coterminous Platform-Pollination...

The PGA Tour's new television deal confirms the obvious - general interest in golf peaked years ago and is now in decline. Recreational golf has been flat or worse in terms of rounds played for many years. The two are interdependent.

Get this man talking points, now!

For the Tour to find and command a new audience would require a freakish event ­ like a hermaphrodite dwarf becoming leading money winner. And it would help if the dwarf's caddie could be Anna Nicole Smith.
Golf's popularity on television has also diminished because the Tour, which is absolutely no fun to deal with, thinks it knows television. This is particularly so of Commissioner Tim Finchem who has bullied the broadcasters about production techniques.

Hey, PGA Tour Sunday is a wonderful sedative.

The Tour also attempts to control overall content ­ especially what the announcers say ­ even who they are. ABC went outside the mould by hiring Nick Faldo who was a critical success because he occasionally spoke bluntly and without reverence. The Tour, believe me, did not like Nick Faldo one bit. It's not crazy about NBC's Johnny Miller either. Miller's success derives from his sounding on the air the way he sounds off the air.

Finchem has insisted in putting himself on the air as an interview subject. When I was with ABC during the l990s one of his minions would wander into the announcers' booth and casually ask what the questions of the boss might be. It's gone beyond that now. They want the actual words of the questions submitted in advance. Even Charles deGaulle couldn't get away with that.

He gets the questions in advance and still comes off that bored? Wow.

And this is interesting:

Equating the "basic cable" outlets ESPN and USA to The Golf Channel is nonsense. The AC Nielsen Company does not even provide ratings for The Golf Channel because the audience is too small to measure reliably. The word "subscribers" is tossed around in a misleading fashion.
Take my case. I live in a community of 20 homes. All can get The Golf Channel by paying an extra monthly fee. I am the only one who does so ­ because I get a kick out of hearing an old friend, Renton Laidlaw, do the European Tour. None of my neighbors, described by the careless New York Times, as among The Golf Channel's purported 75 million "subscribers", will jump aboard The Golf Channel starting in 2007.

Frank, don't tell me you still subscribe to that whole "paper of record" nonsense!?

I know prominent golf writers who have refused to get the Golf Channel for $5  month, even after I tell them that they must have it for the major championship coverage, European Tour and other bright spots in between the flood of infomercials and reality shows.

So it may be a tough sell on Frank's neighbors.

And They Wonder Why Vijay...

/

...won't come to the press tent?

Some questions for David Toms following his Sony Open win. 

Q. Your pattern has been other than the Match Play to typically win more in the middle of the year, is there anything that you can pinpoint as to why you won so early this year?

Q. You're pretty good with the lead going into the final round, are you aware of that? Is there anything to that that gets you...

Q. Maybe following up to that question and your answer, it wasn't an epiphany that all of the sudden you decided you wanted to win golf tournaments. What made that change and when did you come to realize that?

Q. You talked a month ago about the way you won at Match Play last year and frankly the way you won this week and what you said then was "I'd like to be able to do that more often." What does it take to do that more often? Are you getting any clue on that and do you think you're capable of it?

Q. Do you pay attention to your World Ranking?

Q. Seven inches on the first hole?

DAVID TOMS: Seven inches on the first hole? On No. 1? No, no, I had about 12 feet.

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Vol. 2

/

pgatour.jpgAt Kapalua, the guys averaged a paltry 254.9 yards off the tee, 35 yards below last year's final average.

They caught up quickly at the Sony Open, moving the Tour driving distance average to 289.3 yards

All those wintertime workout programs really paid off for the boys (or maybe it was their launch monitor work?), because in two events, there have already been 393 drives over 350 yards (134 of those at the Sony Open). There were 2059 drives over 350 in all of 2005.

Another interesting number courtesy of the Tour's longest drive stat:

  • There have been 13 drives over 400 yards in 2006.
  • There were 19 all of last year.  Heck, Bubba Watson  might hit 19 over 400 at The International alone!

And if you are wondering why these growing numbers are followed so closely, a full explanation is available here.

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Vol. 1.75

/

You may recall last week it was noted here that Kapalua was 21.5 yards below its 2005 average of 276.4.

Golf World's Jan 13 issue revealed that the two measuring holes were Nos. 3 and 15.

On No. 3, the players average 232.0 yards, 278.7 on No. 15 (which I believe plays slightly uphill).  

So yes Kapalua does distort the Tour numbers, just not in the way we might have imagined.  

Golf World also reported that the average distance on all drives was 281.2 yards. 

Azinger On FedEx Cup

/

You have to love Paul Azinger's honesty amidst all of the spin. Doug Ferguson reports:

"Players don't care who covers the game," he said. "I don't think Tiger Woods cares who covers the Masters."

Nor does he believe players will care that much about the FedEx Cup, which includes three Championship Series tournaments leading to the Tour Championship, with an estimated $10 million going to the winner.

Azinger's first victories came in 1987, the first year of the Tour Championship (then called the Nabisco Championship), which was created to define the end of the golf season.

That didn't work, and he isn't sure this new format will make much of a difference.

"The best players in the world are playing to make history," Azinger said. "There are only four tournaments you can win to make history, and TPC (The Players Championship) is not one of them. And neither are those world events. And you're not going to make history winning some kind of FedEx Cup."

Tour Winners, Tour Losers

/

Scott Michaux takes a detailed look at the TV deal winners and losers and makes this (sad) point for some hoping to see a return of an old Masters tradition:

LOSER: Tour winners. With opposite events and even more diluted fall finish events, Hootie Johnson might be even less inclined to re-implement automatic Masters invites to tournament winners.

Wie Think

/

14golf184.jpgJust when they wanted to write Michelle Wie off...she pulls 'em back in with a very impressive 68.

Chris Lewis sums up the state of her game and where she's headed.

John Huggan in his Scotland on Sunday column thinks she should stop playing with the men.

And Damon Hack offers a different look at Wie, who has a nice appreciation for the accomplishments of Babe Zaharias (Michelle, not Damon, well maybe Damon too, I don't know).


Tournaments React to TV Deal

/

pgatour.jpgSpinning the new schedule seems to be the initial reaction to the new TV deal and 2007 schedule. Just give them all a few weeks.

Bob Harig does the best job summarizing the 2007 schedule winners and losers.

The Booz Allen got shipped to the fall and you have to wonder if Booz CEO Ralph Shrader's publicly expressed displeasure with the Tour played a role.

"I don't think flabbergasted would be too strong of a description of our reaction to the news," said Steve Lesnik, the chief executive officer of KemperSports, the company that has long directed and managed the local tour stop (currently the Booz Allen Classic). "We had no real forewarning, so it's going to take a few days to digest all the implications and ramifications of the situation."

Dan Bollerman writes about the new Mexico event, which ought to survive at least three years.

Gary D'Amato looks at the Milwaukee tournament and the efforts to put a positive spin on a dreadful date.

Gary Baines writes about The International and how happy they are with their new date. But it's hard to imagine sounds like a better way to get ready for links golf than 7 irons from 220.

Jeff Platsky looks at the B.C. Open likely making a move to the Champions Tour, and offers some interesting figures on what it costs to sponsor a Valiant Competitors Tour event.

Finally, Ed Sherman writes about the end of the Western Open name, which dates to 1899. He also looks at the mysterious move to Chicago only seeing the Tour every-other-year while the event is shifted to Hazeltine, Crooked Stick and Bellerive. The one positive is a likely jump in charitable donations to the Evans Scholarship fund.