Re: Johnny Miller Master Thread
Originally Posted by
PEZGolf 
Most announcers become prima donnas and the network executives are afraid to FIRE them because of the contracts, and the fear of "rocking the boat". Who needs announcers? Use the mute button and watch the action. There is way too much commentary during golf tournaments anyway. It is NOT a fast action sport, where the viewers need the announcers to keep up with the fast pace of play. Dottie is one of the few worth listening to, but that is because she won two Majors and was the "Heart and Soul" of the US Solheim Cup teams. How many Majors have McCord and Feherty and Tirico ever won? Dottie speaks from experience and the others speak in spite of their LACK of experience.
I don't want this to lead to off topic bickering. Rather, I just want to ake some corrections.
1. Good announcing is not predicated on having won major championships. Lanny Wadkins, winner of the 1977 PGA Championship, was a dull, uninformative announcer. Conversely, Peter Alliss, never able to win the prestigious Caret Jug (basically his only oppurtunity to win a major), has defined excellence in golf announcing for decades. Wadkins and Alliss were both great players; was Wadkins the better announcer because Wadkins won a major and Alliss didn't? No.
2. Dottie Pepper, great player though she was, has no more experience than McCord and Feherty at competitive golf. All three found success at the highest level. (Pepper, of course, was the most accomplished.)
3. "But," you argue, "Dottie Pepper competed in the Solheim Cup, and Feherty and McCord never competed in the Ryder Cup." Wrong. Feherty was a member of the 1991 European Ryder Cup squad, amassing a 1-1-1 record (includng a win over Payne Stewart in singles). He also captained Ireland's victorious 1990 Dunhill Cup team, winning the cup in a sudden-death playoff on the 17th at St. Andrew's. Clearly, Feherty knows a thing or two about team competitions.
4. The Mike Tirico argument is ridiculous. Has any lead announcer ever won a major, a Super Bowl ring, a NBA championship, etc.? Of course not.