Third Masters Question: What Can We Do To Stop Announcers From Talking Over Players?

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In the Masters press center the Lords provide the lowly scribes with the most amazing little console to track a golf tournament. A Stylus is provided to move around the IBM laptop screen where you can view stats, leaderboards and of course, every channel imaginable displaying golf (including the option to pick the camera coverage for any hole).

Working on various writing duties, I couldn't watch a lot of the telecast but I had headphones on and took in a fair amount of the coverage, which visually appeared to be a classic in terms of the number of shots we were shown. Sure, there are still the awkward delays when someone makes hole-in-one, we hear the roar, and it isn't shown for 15 minutes. But all in all, there is no better telecast of golf than CBS's presentation of the Masters.

Yet astoundingly, the 2012 Masters was but another example of the sound folks picking up some fantastic player-caddie conversations, only to be trampled over by the announcers. Now, I understand the broadcasting team has many voices coming through their headphones, and they may even be working under orders to explain a situation instead of allowing the player-caddy dialogue to tell the story. But I feel confident stating that I have yet to experience an announcer insight to be as interesting or informative as what the player and caddie are discussing.

Furthermore, there is no other sport where we are afforded the chance to literally hear the athlete's thoughts as the action is unfolding.

So what can we do to convince networks and announcers that these conversations are vital to the viewing experience?

Thoughts?

Oostenhuizenhuis!

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Louis Oosthuizen's name continues to give people fits, as Sam Weinman notes in his Masters-by-the-numbers notes. He kindly left out the press room announcement that went out using something close to the version in this post's title.

Deadspin was not so kind, putting together this epic video compilation of butchered takes on Oosthuizen's name.

Thanks to reader BruceWiggles' Tweet showing the CBS/ESPN Par-3 contest blunder involving Louis.