Typical Golf Analyst

[golf_junkie27]

I'm watching the Golf Channel and they are showing Sergio Garcia's post Player's Championship press conference. Sergio is asked what this victory means to him. He smiles and says that it means that the press will get off his back, at least, for now. He's asked if he was being serious and he said "yes." That his goal is to keep improving so that he will be less criticized and not have to deal with those issues.

So, the analyst on the Golf Channel says, drumroll please,...."We're seeing a new Sergio. He's more mature than he's been the last few years." I'm sitting, wondering, are we watching the same thing? Is this the best commentary you have to offer? Could someone, anyone, say "No, he's not more mature. What you're seeing is the difference between winning and losing. Had he lost and said this, you would be ripping him for being immature and taking a swipe at the media." Instead, we get fluff.

My question is are analyst really useful? Would sports television be better if there were more honesty? (Like Charles Barkley)

[rudygu]

Most of the analysts on the Golf Channel are pretty bad about this. I think they just don't want to risk losing access to any of the pros. Think about it - it would be pretty bad for their future on an all golf network to have Tour players refusing to speak to them.

It is annoying, but such is the state of sports coverage today.

I think Faldo does a good job of critiquing the players during their tournament coverage. He will at least point out when a player has made a mistake instead of attributing every bad shot to some mysterious environmental factor. He seems to be able to shoot pretty straight without pissing the players off like Johnny Miller.

[Bradenator]

My question is are analyst really useful? Would sports television be better if there were more honesty? (Like Charles Barkley)

Have to say "no, not usually" to the first part. Analysts seem to focus so much on the technical side of the game, that they overlook the bigger picture....Personally, I just about choked when Phil referred to Sergio as a "champion". (There is a Phil/choke pun in there somewhere) Sergio played well, sure, and won the tournament, fair and square, but he is certainly a "fair weather champion" at best. Had he been the one to drop one in the drink on 17, I have my doubts if he would have had the grace of Goydos. I am not about to say that Goydos has the game of a true champion, but he clearly has the demeanor that I would like to see in a true champ.

I think the analysts deserve stroke and distance on this, but I imagine there are politics involved. Admittedly, Sergio is not my favorite, so I am biased...but I think this is because he is so immature as a player, and really just comes off sounding a bit whiny to me. I like watching him play, but have a difficult time rooting for him. Have to say it was rather humorous to see Sergio kiss his putter after missing a 2 footer for birdie. I know he did better on Friday, and he could have taken two more from there, but geez! He should have kissed Goydos!