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
An unbylined IOL Sapa report reveals that South African Thomas Aiken, second in this week's Volvo Golf Champions event at the Links at Fancourt, is wearing a rhino on his hat as part of his effort to prevent rhinos in his country from being hunted into extinction.The NBC-Golf Channel merger has been a home run for viewers: energized telecasts, higher standards for production values, live Presidents Cup viewing, Johnny was able to drag himself to lowly Kapalua, and shoot, they've even had better guests on Morning Drive (well, except when I appeared). The list goes on and on, and we're only in the early stages.
That said, this revelation from Doug Ferguson's slow play column is bugging me for probably no good reason.
Here’s the bigger issue with TV. Mark Russell, one of the chief rules officials, showed off his atomic watch at Sherwood last month. The seconds were ticking toward 6 p.m. EST, just as the last group on the last green was tapping in. The timing was perfect.
The next day? Not so much.
Despite being in twosomes, play took much longer because of a strong wind. That leads to more time in club selection and on the green. Yet tee times were left alone, thus the third round went well past four hours and the 6 p.m. finish time on NBC Sports.
That wasn’t an accident.
The tour purposely wanted to go long on Saturday so that NBC could direct viewers to Golf Channel for the conclusion of the third round. It was another example of NBC Sports trying to help boost the visibility of Golf Channel now that both are owned by Comcast. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Especially not when TV foots so much of the bill.
I suppose that is true, and I also know networks are generally sensitive to ever being seen as having influenced competition in a negative way, but this seems like a potentially dangerous direction to head. Yes, it was the Chevron World Challenge, and yes, tee times were not moved. And it's not a major. But considering how stubbornly the PGA Tour refused to do anything that might be seen as influencing competition with things like storyline pairings, they've had good reason.
I'm torn in even noting this because ultimately, the benefits of Golf Channel on NBC and NBC on Golf Channel will outweigh the negatives for viewers. Still, this just feels like a precedent setter that could someday backfire, though I'm not sure how. Thoughts?
Ron Sirak previews the Bob Hope Classic Humana Challenge and talks to Greg Norman about how he got to know Bill Clinton.
For Immediate Release...
PGA TOUR and USA TODAY Sports Media Group-Create Official Marketing Relationship
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR and the USA TODAY Sports Media Group announced today that they have entered into a five-year official marketing relationship through 2016. As part of the agreement, USA TODAY receives the exclusive U.S. rights to use the association and TOUR logos for sales and marketing purposes for the print and digital extensions of USA TODAY sports. The PGA TOUR will have the opportunity to purchase advertising at preferred rates and to develop several TOUR-themed special sections over the course of each year of the agreement.“The PGA TOUR is one of the premier sports brands in the world, and we’re honored that they’ve selected us as their partner, especially for the long term,” said Tom Beusse, President of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and look forward to developing our relationship and leveraging this platform to bring added value to our entire family of corporate sponsors,” said Tom Wade, Chief Marketing Officer for the PGA TOUR.
“The PGA TOUR is extremely forward thinking when it comes to creating value and impact for its sponsors,” said Merrill Squires, SVP, Leagues and Properties for the USA TODAY Sports Media Group. “They really understand the unique capabilities and assets we can bring them to help maximize great content and marketing opportunities for the PGA TOUR and its sponsors. We can’t wait to begin our collaboration with them.”
Bill Clinton is hosting a private fundraiser Wednesday and Arnold Palmer is flying out to greet him at The Tradition, Palmer's west coast home club.
Before then he makes history with his premiere on...Wednesday's Morning Drive in a sitdown grilling from Annika.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
