Networks And Betting: "But will they go all in?"

The LA Times’ Ryan Faughnder and Stephen Battaglio access the push into sports gambling and talk to various figures with an interest, but namely how networks and leagues are balancing the need for revenue and “engagement”. Coupled with their vaccine stance, it’s amazing again to see the NFL trying to lead in a more responsible manner, while other sports dive in for short term ad revenue, dreams of regaining lost viewers and to build a new kind of transactional relationship with fans.

This was fun:

Only the seven betting companies with NFL deals are allowed to advertise during pro football broadcasts. The league allows six ads per telecast: one per quarter and one during pregame and halftime.

While odds analysis can bring another level of sophistication to coverage, NFL executives are reluctant to have explicit gambling references during the regular live national broadcasts. Research indicated that audiences don’t want national broadcasts to explicitly include gambling chatter, according to Christopher Halpin, the NFL’s chief strategy and growth officer.

“The bettors say, ‘I don’t need to hear Jim Nantz and Tony Romo talk about sports betting,’” Halpin said. “‘It’s inauthentic. It’s not their area.’”

Golf’s foray has largely leaned on selling ads to the various authorized gaming partners of the Tours, with a scattershot and comically lame approach on the television side (to date). In reading about the above NFL findings, it’s hard not to think about the painful sound earlier this year of longtime CBS analysts Nick/Ian/Frank having to make their FanDuel picks for next week, or Golf Channel’s Jimmy The Greek, Paige Mackenzie, chiming in on a top parlay opportunity at PointsBet, currently available in four states. At least the CBS crew turned the sponsored bits into a chance to laugh a little.

Good news for the anti-gambling set: if the lazy, awkward and short-sighted integration continues, the whole thing will fizzle based on first impressions.

Case in point from last weekend’s Shriners Hospital For Children Open. Mercifully I didn’t hear the analysis, but won’t be shocked to learn that good golf broadcasters were put in an awkward position of hawking product only the folks of New Jersey and Indiana could gamble on via their phone.**

**The page has been updated today (Oct. 12, 2021) to now reflect seven states with some form of legalization.

As seen on @GolfChannel’s final round telecast of the @PGATOUR’s @ShrinersOpen, here’s a live odds leaderboard, courtesy of @PointsBetUSA. (Cc: @Ourand_SBJ @Bill_KingSBJ @GeoffShac) —> #PGATOUR #golf pic.twitter.com/cDW33cssxp

— Jeremy Schilling (@jschil) October 10, 2021

Tiger Spotting: Standing Without Crutches

While normally I’m not a huge fan of sharing shots showing Tiger on dad duty at a junior golf event, the images posted by Tiger Woods Legion focus mostly on the all-time great and what appears to be major progress since his February car accident. Nice to see. Now, about that growth on his chin…

That pose 😍😍😍 https://t.co/Vk0A5EQ7am

— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) October 9, 2021

🚨 More pics of Tiger today on the course. Standing unassisted, talking to JT’s dad. 🙌 ✅ (📸: parker_wells_golf / IG) pic.twitter.com/a6nq8PSTOj

— TWLEGION (@TWlegion) October 10, 2021

"Up to 1 million gallons of water...a night? That’s par for some desert golf courses"

Influential LA Times columnist Steve Lopez has set his sights on water usage by Coachella Valley courses and shares the concerns of residents Doug Thompson and wife Robin Kobaly. It’s not the usual golf-is-bad piece since all involved acknowledge golf’s role in the region stretching from Palm Springs to Indio. And Lopez gets some great info into the piece from Craig Kessler of the SCGA.

He notes one course as being pleased to have gotten their usage down to numbers like 1 million gallons a night of water, and while drought issues are of concern, there is also a view that residents are paying more than they should have to.

“Absolutely, there is an inequity,” said Johnson, and that, in effect, residential users “subsidize the infrastructure used to get water to golf courses.” Johnson, a golfer, said he used to play at a La Quinta course where “they were irrigating areas that weren’t even in play,” and watering sand traps, as well.

So why not institute tiered pricing for golf and ag, same as for residential users?

I’ll be watching to see how that goes, but it’s worth noting that three of the five members of the agency’s board of directors are in the agriculture industry. Water and oil don’t mix, but in California, water and politics always do.

But the real kicker—spoiler alert—is how Lopez ends the piece.

Thompson and Kobaly, who aren’t golfers, have a suggestion. They’ve been looking into links-style golf courses, which are common in other countries and use far less water. You tee off on a patch of green and you putt on a patch of green, but most of the area in between is natural and not irrigated.

“I’ve got nothing against golf,” Thompson said. “But they’ve got to find a different way of doing it.”

Hey, links style. They may be onto something there!

Shame they didn’t dare suggest that golf reduce its footprint and consider dialing back back distance. Maybe after more research?

NGF: "A New Norm, Or An Old Norm?"

Joe Beditz and the National Golf Foundation continue to monitor the state of golf, the business side and pandemic-related upswing. His latest looks at the numbers of golfers per 18-hole course showing a balance “that existed 20 years ago, when golf courses were more economically successful, as a whole, than they’d been over the past decade or so.”

Given golf’s trajectory pre-pandemic and the sport being one of the few industries to experience a deceleration of trends, he notes the increase in wealth as a huge driving factor. But there was also this:

And there’s one other very important consideration: a decidedly positive media narrative about golf in non-endemic publications, such as Esquire, Adweek and the Wall Street Journal. It was only a short time ago that headlines blared golf was doomed. Today, pundits are raving about golf’s renaissance like they haven’t since Tiger’s heyday. We’ve assembled some of the more notable positive stories about golf, which you can read here. 

I don’t miss reading and posting all of the stories declaring bowling, cycling, hiking or bowling-while-hiking as the “new golf “.

"She’s Playing College Golf. She’s 63."

WSJ’s Jason Gay profiles Debbie Blount, an underclassman and Georgeia’s Reinhardt University and playing on the golf team. The sophomore is 63.

Now she longed for a change. “After my husband passed away, I was getting stale,” Blount said. “I love golf, but I’d lost my passion for it, and I was looking for something fun and different.” 

Her path returned her to Reinhardt, a school she considered more than four decades ago. “It was the combination of golf and getting a degree,” she said. “I probably would not have gone back to school if I couldn’t play golf.”

It was a momentous choice. Blount’s the first person in her family to attend college. 

“She’s doing something that she’s always wanted to do,” said Blount’s mother, Loraine Seidel, now 95. “Debbie, when she makes up her mind to do something, she does it.”

There is lots more and it’s not behind the paywall, so enjoy.

"The constancy of The Dinah has been no small thing"

I’ve been mulling the complicated dynamics of The Dinah’s planned move to an unnamed course in Houston and the pressures of providing increased pay for players. Something has to give and the value of history is always underestimated until the damage has been done. But it’s worth remembering how many players helped build the oldest majors into what they are and how many of them did it for the trophy, not the purse value.

This is not to impugn today’s players since not one has said they were unsure about playing the women’s first major due to the purse, or that it should lose its major status if it were to not keep up with the efforts by the USGA, PGA of America/KPMG or R&A/AIG to offer more money. Such a stance would be better than seeing how quickly folks have been willing to toss aside the value of what was built over 50 years and use equal pay or the allure of a blue chip sponsor as the justification. You don’t need to have inhabited this planet long to know corporate sponsors come and go.

Thankfully, Bill Fields put some thoughts together on this complex topic in a must-read edition of his newsletter, The Albatross.

A teaser:

But beyond that basic equation, the demise of the ANA Inspiration and the formation of the Chevron Championship is also something else: an additional piece for the growth-or-preservation puzzle that always seems to be on golf’s kitchen table. Increasingly, tradition is the sliver of cardboard that goes missing.

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes: October 7, 2021

The weekly free edition features the latest USGA tax filing revealing a nest egg is up to $755,000,000 thanks to a check from FOX.

Plus, more 990 analysis, a few Ryder Cup reads, and Augusta National is green again. So come for the tax form analysis and stay for the pretty pictures!

Turkey Day? DeChambeau v. Koepka Match Set For The Wynn

This one could go a lot of ways so those of us with no lives will sit back and let those with a meaningful existence know how it went.

They’re playing 12 holes because that’s more than enough and a number many would like to see more golf played at—I’m sure Prestwick was on their minds—or was it because 18 is a slog? Anyway, that’s splendid and hopefully the first of many events validating 12 hole rounds.

Also, for all the claims of making up during the Ryder Cup, these Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka will undoubtedly retain their charming form of brotherly tension and maybe some of it will even spill out on national TV.

Not mentioned in the new release but likely the most interesting element in this: Phil MIckelson moving to the broadcast booth. He tipped us off during a recent Gary Williams podcast about this possibility.

For Immediate Release:

TNT will exclusively televise the 12-hole event, to be held the day after Thanksgiving — Friday, Nov. 26, with live coverage beginning at 4 p.m. ET from Wynn Las Vegas, home of top-ranked Wynn Golf Course, the only golf course on the Las Vegas strip. TNT’s presentation of Capital One’s The Match will also be simulcast on TBS, truTV and HLN.

DeChambeau won in his first time competing in Capital One’s The Match – pairing with Aaron Rodgers – this past July, when they topped Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. Winner of the 2020 U.S. Open and an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR overall, DeChambeau is currently the No. 7-ranked player in the World.

This will be Koepka’s first appearance as a competitor in Capital One’s The Match, though through his foundation he donated $100,000 to COVID-19 relief efforts during Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Charity in May 2020 in connection with a memorable front-nine birdie from Brady. Koepka also owns eight PGA TOUR titles, including four Major Championship victories over a three-year span:  the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championship and 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open.

DeChambeau (2-0-1) and Koepka (2-2-0) were both members of the victorious U.S. Team’s resounding win over Europe at the recent Ryder Cup.

Live coverage of the match play event will once again feature unprecedented access with players having open mics throughout the entire competition, including the capability to communicate directly with their competitor and the broadcast commentators.

Can we bet an over/under on how many holes it takes before Brooks has to back off a shot because Bryson’s yammering to his caddie? I’ll take the under!

Capital One’s The Match has raised nearly $30 million in support of various charities and initiatives and has generated nearly 10 million meal donations through Feeding America and other organizations.

A partner since the event’s inception, Capital One will return as title sponsor of Capital One’s The Match, which is sanctioned by the PGA TOUR. Presenting partners will include Michelob Ultra, and DraftKings will return as sports betting partner. E-Z-GO, Wheels Up and Wynn Resorts will also serve as associate partners. Further details about social, digital and broadcast brand integrations throughout the event will be shared in the coming weeks.

Designed by Tom Fazio and his son, Logan, the Wynn Golf Club is a 6,722-yard, par-70 championship length golf course and is considered one of the best courses in Las Vegas. 

Considered one of the best of its kind!

R.I.P. The Dinah

As you might imagine, my soft spot for golf history makes the decision to ship 50 years of history off to Houston, Texas a pretty dreadful looking decision by all involved. I wrote about the impact of moving the LPGA’s first major for Quad subscribers here.

Larry Bohannan took on the topic for the Desert Sun.

While I totally get the purse growth and network TV narratives in the competitive world of women’s majors, it still stinks. For Immediate Release:

Chevron Joins LPGA Family as Title Sponsor of The Chevron Championship

Chevron to increase prize fund to $5 million

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Oct. 5, 2021 – The LPGA and IMG announced today Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the new title sponsor of The Chevron Championship (formerly the ANA Inspiration) through a six-year partnership. 

“Chevron is proud to become the title sponsor of this great championship, which brings together some of the most talented athletes in the world,” said Michael Wirth, chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation. “We look forward to partnering with the LPGA and IMG to further champion women in sports, the workplace and society.”  

As part of the sponsorship, Chevron will increase the prize fund for the 2022 Championship by over 60% to $5 million. In addition, the historic major will feature a special Player Advisory Board to help ensure that The Chevron Championship supports and attracts the leading LPGA Tour players and they are at the heart of our future plans and advancements for the Championship. 

Mollie Marcoux Samaan, LPGA Commissioner, commented: “We could not be more excited to announce our partnership with Chevron. Welcoming another leading global company to our portfolio of sponsors that believes in the power of the LPGA to inspire women leaders, to showcase human performance at the highest level and to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion in all facets of life, is truly game-changing for us. We are so grateful for Chevron’s extraordinary commitment to the LPGA and to the overall player experience and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”

The 2022 Chevron Championship will take place at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, March 31-April 3, 2022. As part of the new era, The Chevron Championship will move to a later date in the spring and will relocate to a new home, which will most likely be in the greater Houston area starting with the 2023 edition. The new host club will be confirmed in the coming months. Moving the date later in the spring also allowed the LPGA to secure a long-term commitment from NBC Sports to air the Championship on network TV. Further, moving to a major area like Houston will foster tremendous fan engagement, participation and excitement within the community and among Chevron employees. Chevron, the LPGA and IMG are dedicated to celebrating the important role the City of Rancho Mirage and the Club has played in the tournament’s history with the 2022 event. They will also make sure to bring the many years of tradition and memories built at Mission Hills to the new venue. 

Marcoux Samaan added: “We do not make the move lightly. Since David Foster and Dinah Shore created this competition in 1972, it has held a special place in the hearts of our players and fans around the world. No matter where it is held, Dinah and her influence, along with the history built at Mission Hills, will be an integral part of The Chevron Championship. We thank ANA and Mission Hills for their tremendous support and look forward to celebrating the many years of tradition as we continue to add to its footprint in the history of women’s sports.”

Lydia Ko, a Player Director on the LPGA Board of Directors and the 2016 Chevron Championship winner, said: “Having a global company like Chevron to support women’s golf is really exciting for everyone involved with the LPGA. Their aspirations for growing this major together with the LPGA and IMG are amazing for the future of our Tour. We have all made some lovely memories at Mission Hills over the years which we will enjoy celebrating in 2022 and take with us to The Chevron Championship’s new home, where I know we will make many more.” 

ANA, who supported the tournament for seven editions, will continue as a partner in 2022. 

Ed McEnroe, SVP Golf Events at IMG said: “We are delighted to welcome Chevron as title sponsor of this historic major, securing the future of the event. Their vision and enthusiasm for working together will not only enhance the stature of The Chevron Championship, but will also make a significant impact that extends far beyond the tournament itself. We want to thank ANA. They have been a wonderful partner over the past seven years and their support during this pandemic has really gone above and beyond given how seriously the airline industry has been impacted these past 18 months. We look forward to building on this great Championship’s legacy having celebrated its 50th edition only six months ago.”

About Chevron
Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. We believe affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy is essential to achieving a more prosperous and sustainable world. Chevron produces crude oil and natural gas; manufactures transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and additives; and develops technologies that enhance our business and the industry. To advance a lower carbon future, we are focused on lowering the carbon intensity in our operations and growing our lower carbon businesses. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

About the LPGA 
The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women, with a goal to change the face of golf by making the sport more accessible and inclusive. 

Created in 1950 by 13 Founders, the Association celebrates a diverse and storied history. The LPGA Tour competes across the globe, reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. The Symetra Tour, the LPGA’s official qualifying tour, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. The LPGA also holds a joint-venture collaboration with the Ladies European Tour (LET), increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe. Across the three Tours, the LPGA represents players in more than 60 countries.

Additionally, the LPGA Foundation has empowered and supported girls and women since 1991, most notably through LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the only national program of its kind, which annually engages with nearly 100,000 girls. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association and LPGA Women’s Network provide virtual and in-person connections to female golfers around the world, while LPGA Professionals are educators, business leaders and gamechangers dedicated to growing the game of golf for everyone.

Follow the LPGA on its U.S. television home, Golf Channel, online at www.LPGA.com and on its mobile apps. Join the social conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About IMG 
IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media. The company manages some of the world’s greatest athletes and fashion icons; owns and operates hundreds of live events annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in licensing, sports training and league development. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company.

Saturation Point? Fall Golf Barely Draws A Rating

I’ve seen golf lose out to pretty much all of Animal Planet’s programming slate and Everybody Loves Raymond reruns before—as happened last weekend—and did not expect any self-respecting American sports fan to tune into the 2021 Sanderson Farms last weekend with so much else to watch. We had the MLB season coming to a close, more great NFL games, and total fatigue having set in on the PGA Tour’s oversaturated “product.”

Still, a .15 and average viewership of 247,000 and only 17,000 in the 18-49 year old, is pretty shocking to see in print given the Sanderson Farms doing 450,000/.29 last year.

Showbuzzdaily has all the numbers here. You’ll have to scroll down to see where golf finished.

This also means the weekend’s European Tour event at St Andrews and the LPGA’s ShopRite did not draw a Golf Channel audience large enough to register a rating.

In 2020 the Sanderson and ShopRite aired on the same weekend and drew much larger audiences:

"[Long Drive] is a sport built solely on the outcome of one very specific physical movement in the same way javelin or shot put or high jump are"

My State of the Game colleague Rod Morri was not as caught up in last week’s Long Drive championship and Bryson DeChambeau’s inspirational top 8 performance. While Long Drive is a fascinating way to show off alternative skills and real athleticism given what goes into it, Morri’s reminder is a good table setter for the upcoming “skill” discussion (assuming the governing bodies decide to do anything significant, a huge if at this point).

Morri writes for Golf Australia:

As dumb as it sounds to say out loud, there are a few things that make golf ‘golf’ and one of the most important is the multi-dimensional nature of the skills required to play it.

From the 300 yard tee shot to the three foot putt (and everything in between), the game is an endless test of fine motor skills, raw power and the ability to think critically.

Most sports don’t have anywhere near as many layers as golf and those that do tend to have teams made up of specialists in different areas.

Cricket has predominantly either batters or bowlers with genuinely world class all-rounders being the smallest group in the game.

Long drive has almost none of this. It is a sport built solely on the outcome of one very specific physical movement in the same way javelin or shot put or high jump are.

It lacks all – or more accurately, any – of the nuance of golf where the outcome of any given shot accounts for only a small part of the whole.

Basically, a dumbing down of the sport. But isn’t that pretty much where golf leadership wants the sport to go in hopes of reaching a younger audience? So why would they do anything?

Report: European Ryder Cup Team Had Last Minute Issues With Their Balls

You’d swear this couldn’t be real but then, we know Ryder Cuppers and their (golf) balls can be an issue, particularly when players are with different companies.

Still, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of pairings changed up last minute over golf balls of the same brand. That this took place on Ryder Cup Wednesday suggests the “plan” was not so ironclad.

From James Corrigan with the Telegraph exclusive:

However, Telegraph Sport has learnt Harrington’s best-laid plans were ultimately forced to be ripped up on the Wednesday, the penultimate day of official practice, when it was discovered that Lee Westwood and Paul Casey played different balls and, so too, did Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland. Harrington felt obliged to make a hasty switch in the quartet of duos he named 24 hours later, with Westwood partnering Fitzpatrick and Casey teaming up with Hovland. Both partnerships lost.

Hovland and Casey did not appear together again, but Westwood and Fitzpatrick also went out in the Saturday foursomes, which they again lost. 

“Maybe they should have thought about the ball issue earlier, as it is always part of the equation of putting two players together in a foursomes,” an insider said. “But all four play Titleist and you might have thought it would be fine. Yet there are different sorts of Titleist balls.” 

Yes you’d think they’d have (A) worked this out on Tuesday…of the BMW at Wentworth, (B) could suck it up and make a 2019 ProV work when the other guy is playing the 2021 ProV, (C) been content to go with the Ryder Cup rule using the rule allowing players to switch balls at the end of each hole.

Here’s the best part of this first world folly: the Europeans were acting like…Americans. Even our most spoiled would get on the Trackman and figure it out. But not these Euros!

Next up: Brexit is somehow to blame for the 19-9 loss.

Speaking of…that’s going well.

Quardilateral: Old Course Green But Still Grand

Danny Willett en route to winning the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links

This Quadrilateral light wrap of the Alfred Dunhill at the Old Course is for the paying folk. In case you did not hear, Danny Willett won, horses for old courses were right there, and even though the place is too green and soft, the final day golf highlighted the ingeniousness of the Old (again).

R&A's Seve Documentary, Exhibit And Book Debuts

Based on the reviews and track record of the R&A’s recent film efforts, the new Seve film, exhibit and book of David Cannon images sounds like the fitting tribute his epic career deserves. While I think the 2014 film Seve is fascinating mix of documentary and re-enactment scenes highlighted by Jose Luis Gutierrez’s performance as the young Ballesteros, a pure documentary was needed.

The debut screening took place this week in St Andrews where Javier Ballesteros, playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links, and sister Carmen were on hand to watch and participate in a Q&A.

From TheOpen.com story:

Supported and co-produced by The R&A and directed by David White and Joss Holmes, SEVE tells the story of the three-time Champion Golfer through interviews with members of his inner circle and peers, and never-before-heard audio clips and footage of Ballesteros himself.

As well as capturing the joyous highs of Ballesteros’ career, including his trio of Open wins, two successes at the Masters and his revolutionary impact on the Ryder Cup, the film also examines the tough times the Spaniard faced as he battled injury, a dramatic loss of form and ill health.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: “Seve was an inspiration to so many of us in golf and we wanted to celebrate his life and show just how much he meant to the sport. Working with Seve’s family and other key contributors, this landmark documentary chronicles the life and story of this charismatic, flamboyant and inspirational golfer who is without doubt one of the greatest of all time.”

The story says the film can only be screened in Europe as of now, with efforts to secure an international distributor underway.

The exhibit will be on display for 18 months, coinciding with the 150th Open at St Andrews.

Martin Dempster wrote the film for The Scotsman and while I don’t agree with his assessment of the prior Seve film, I’m glad to see such a rave review

It wasn’t all sweetness and light for Seve, of course. From a very early stage in his career, he suffered chronic back trouble while he also suffered from depression.

To try and counter the latter, his manager, who, incidentally, reveals he was taking a 25 per cent cut, set up a phone chat between Ballesteros and the great Muhammad Ali.

Wife Carmen shares some great memories, as do his three children - Javier, who has followed in his footsteps and is playing in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Carmen and Miguel.

Efforts have been made in the past to try and do justice on the big screen but failed. Not this time, though.

Bryson Steals The Long Drive (Streaming) Show

Let’s call it the Golf Channel bounce.

In its transition to an all-PGA Tour focus all-the-time, the long drive property built-up by NBC and Golf Channel was abandoned a couple years too soon.

A weird, almost security-camera vibe to the streaming coverage didn’t stop the coveted young demographic from enjoying Bryson DeChambeau’s terrific showing (final eight) in the post-Golf Channel, re-imagined-on-a-shoe-string-budget World Long Drive Championships

Golf.com’s James Colgan covers the backstory of how long drive reached the point and is now resurgent thanks in large part to Bryson DeChambeau’s performance this week. Heck, maybe there’s a sports network out there that’ll take a chance on them? Cheap content!

When you have drama like this, who wouldn’t want to put this on TV:

incredible sequence https://t.co/7PoPdD7OEn pic.twitter.com/BepiUugq2q

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) October 2, 2021