TV: How did the Clambake go so wrong? [Golfweek]

[nevets88]

http://golfweek.com/news/2015/feb/15/pga-tour-pebble-beach-tv-coverage-celebrities/

I've been thinking what this piece is saying for the longest time. I actually watched for an hour on Saturday and Sunday, but relegated it to a PIP, 3" muted second screen while I watched something else but usually this is an automatic no brainer DVR event which you can condense from 3 hours into 20 minutes. I dunno if it was ever one of the biggest events of the year though. Maybe it gets a built in ratings boost because half the country is usually suffering from cabin fever.

Quote:

I’m not sure how the Clambake got this bad or how to allot blame. If you want to point fingers at the culprit, you probably would need a lot of fingers, aimed at, among others, tournament organizers, AT&T; and other sponsors, the Tour, CBS and perhaps a few other entities that I’m forgetting.

Years ago, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am was one of the biggest events of the season. Now, for TV viewers, it’s just a white-hot mess of utter unwatchableness. Can it ever recapture its former glory? Perhaps, with some fairly obvious changes, such as more fresh faces and less corporate backslapping. Will it? Probably not. Sadly, at this stage, I suspect there are too many entrenched interests – the sponsors, the Tour, CBS – that like it just the way it is.

http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2015/2/15/years-ago-the-pebble-beach-pro-am-was-one-of-the-biggest-eve.html

Quote:

Throw in so many celebs with C-list vibe who run for the CBS cameras like a fly spotting a poodle turd, then contrast with the NBA's slick presentation of All-Star weekend, and you have a perfect storm of criticism.

Would A listers really improve the tournament? I'm not so sure about that.

[saevel25]

Would A listers really improve the tournament? I'm not so sure about that.

I don't think they would. If people are not going to watch golf because they enjoy to watch it, I doubt they would watch it if there was more A-listers participating.

All A-listers would do is probably increase the number of people actually going to the tournament.

[ChrisP]

They had commercials every couple minutes yesterday. That's where it went wrong. I actually shut it off to go to the movies I couldn't take it anymore.

[dkolo]

It's a lot of things: the field isn't great, the celebs are d-list, the announce team during the week was Chamblee and some 4th string play by play guy, and you miss 2/3 of the action while players play Spyglass and Monterey Bay. The coverage window didn't allow you to see more than half of anyone's 6 hour round in the early rounds and you get the feeling that the TV coverage is tacitly acknowledging this doesn't matter so why am I watching this? But the vistas are so marvelous and it's snowing outside so you at least give it a chance. But I rewinded about 4 or 5 times some of the Mule Deer joke segments to figure out why the hell Chamblee was acting like these weren't really old and hacky jokes. But yeah, the actual golf coverage was for crap. Daly and Harrington were having great rounds at Pebble and somehow I feel like I didn't see enough of them despite the limited competition of pro guys deserving attention. We cut away now to Chris Berman blading another chip.

[Chilli Dipper]

(I made it one word into my reply before my finger brushed over the "Reply" button on the screen. Let's try this again.) One important fact to point out about the amateur line-up this year: the NBA All-Star Game and the "Saturday Night Live" 40th anniversary show both took place in New York last night. A ton of A-list celebrities and famous athletes were gathered on the other side of the country this weekend, in a way that is not typical for this time of year. Bill Murray managed to make the cross-country trip from Pebble to the SNL show yesterday, but he operates on a frequency that is foreign even by celebrity standards. The Pro-Am does a problem with inviting the same personalities well beyond their relevancy, but this year was also an unusual case. The bigger issue, in my view, has to do with CBS and Golf Channel's production. The on-air talent doesn't know how to interview celebrities. Craig T. Nelson, for one, is a working actor with a long career of memorable roles, but he comes to Pebble Beach every year only to be asked, "Remember when you were on 'Coach?'" He's never asked about "Parenthood," the current network show he's starred in for the last six years; he's never asked about whether there's an Incredibles sequel in the works. I noted in the main tournament thread how every year, there's a comedian who gets way too much airtime (I'm pretty sure Gary Mule Deer started an account purely to criticize me saying he was that guy this year), but a big part of that has to do with the TV crew doing nothing more than sticking a camera in their faces and expecting they'll be hilarious. In that regard, Bill Murray is very much the exception rather than the rule. CBS in general doesn't have the personnel to engage with celebrities in a way that makes good television. Their morning show is last place among the networks; because "60 Minutes has a stranglehold on the 7:00 Sunday timeslot, they never have red carpet shows of the Hollywood events they broadcast. NBC would do a much better job covering the "Am" part of the telecast. Bring in Bob Costas to interview the athletes, and some "Today" talent (Lauer, Daly, Geist - they're all golfers themselves) for the celebrities. They'd do a hell of a lot better than Peter Kostis.

[colin007]

(I made it one word into my reply before my finger brushed over the "Reply" button on the screen. Let's try this again.) One important fact to point out about the amateur line-up this year: the NBA All-Star Game and the "Saturday Night Live" 40th anniversary show both took place in New York last night. A ton of A-list celebrities and famous athletes were gathered on the other side of the country this weekend, in a way that is not typical for this time of year. Bill Murray managed to make the cross-country trip from Pebble to the SNL show yesterday, but he operates on a frequency that is foreign even by celebrity standards. The Pro-Am does a problem with inviting the same personalities well beyond their relevancy, but this year was also an unusual case. The bigger issue, in my view, has to do with CBS and Golf Channel's production. The on-air talent doesn't know how to interview celebrities. Craig T. Nelson, for one, is a working actor with a long career of memorable roles, but he comes to Pebble Beach every year only to be asked, "Remember when you were on 'Coach?'" He's never asked about "Parenthood," the current network show he's starred in for the last six years; he's never asked about whether there's an Incredibles sequel in the works. I noted in the main tournament thread how every year, there's a comedian who gets way too much airtime ( I'm pretty sure Gary Mule Deer started an account purely to criticize me saying he was that guy this year) , but a big part of that has to do with the TV crew doing nothing more than sticking a camera in their faces and expecting they'll be hilarious. In that regard, Bill Murray is very much the exception rather than the rule. CBS in general doesn't have the personnel to engage with celebrities in a way that makes good television. Their morning show is last place among the networks; because "60 Minutes has a stranglehold on the 7:00 Sunday timeslot, they never have red carpet shows of the Hollywood events they broadcast. NBC would do a much better job covering the "Am" part of the telecast. Bring in Bob Costas to interview the athletes, and some "Today" talent (Lauer, Daly, Geist - they're all golfers themselves) for the celebrities. They'd do a hell of a lot better than Peter Kostis.

If that's true, then that's just pathetic.

[Patch]

I think that for the most part, this event has just become old. I watched a little of it over the weekend, but when I did watch it, I did not see that much actual golf being played. When I turn on the tube to watch some golf being played, and I don't see anyone swinging a golf club, I switch channels. The talking heads, and most of the interviews are just not worth watching anymore. It's usually the same old stuff being talked about.

One thing I have always thought was funny with televised pro golf was that I would see the golfer hit his/her shot. I would watch the camera follow the ball through the air. I would watch the ball land either in great shape, or in not so great shape. Then, after watching all this, I would have the talking head(s) tell me again what I had just seen. I might even get a replay of the ball flight, and the same talking head(s) telling me again what I had just seen.

[mailman]

I quite enjoy events like this but if it was me I'd get rid of the non-celebs (you know the CEO type entrants) and replace them with proper amateurs who have won the right to get to the event (like winning things like the Trilby Tour or similar events wtc). Regards Mailman

[newtogolf]

I watched most of the event, it was odd to say the least.  The first three days, the major focus was on the celebrities.  We saw a lot of their play, they had interviews, Kostis did his swing analysis and overall it was entertaining.  I enjoy watching golfers that are better than me but not pro's play a course and see the decisions and shots they make.

Sundays broadcast was like a regular pro tournament, there was hardly a mention of the celebrities, except to show the team leaderboard or a quick breakaway when they hit a great shot.   There were way too many commercials on CBS and they seemed to be pulling hard for Jason Day and lost interest when it turned out to be Snedeker, Watney and Beljan.

[phan52]

I turned it on Saturday, saw Larry the Cable Guy in sleeveless camo, and immediately turned it off. I'll can wait until they get to Riviera.

[jamo]

I didn't watch. No real interest in the celebrities, despite the beautiful course.

[David in FL]

I agree with the article.  The tournament coverage was horrible....

[westcyderydin]

One problem with the pro-am is something that I just noticed now while re-watching the Saturday Night Live Special: These things suck now because popular culture is just really dumb.  The SNL from like 2005 to now is just terrible.

SNL will have Kanye West as the musical guest.  They are trying to make fun of reality TV or Justin Bieber.  You could take the best cast members ever and it would still be unwatchable.

It is the same thing with the Pro-Am.  It has always been largely about the Celebrities, but now you just get actors who peaked 20+ years ago, actors who I have never heard of from shows I have never watched, pro atheletes, and Kenny G.

The best part is the pro atheletes and the old actors.  The problem is, the old actors(/comedians) have been doing this for a long time and are just not that interesting on this stage anymore.  Bill Murray has acted the same way every year since I remember watching the tournament.  I will say that the pro athletes are usually pretty fun to watch...besides the actual golfers, they are the best ones to watch.

The coverage is really bad and there are a lot of reasons why the Pro-Am isn't great TV, but it would be a lot better if there were current stars that we cared about.

[Fourputt]

Back in the day, this was one of my favorite Tour stops.  Back then it was still the Crosby.  Bing was still involved.  Jack Lemon was just trying to make the cut.  The amateurs were almost 100% celebrities, not corporate CEO's.  Most of the top players on Tour made it a point to play this one.  It was the first tournament each year that I really looked forward to watching.  After Bing passed away and his family chose not to continue their involvement with it, it started to sag.  Now, it's reached the point that I can't actually remember the last time I watched a single shot.  The interest just isn't there any more.  It's really just 4 days of what is most weeks just a Wednesday pro-am.

[mailman]

Except with real pros! :) Regards Mailman

[3putter]

The article was spot on, the event was unwatchable. I don't know what could be done to improve it, but I'm not even sure I really care. I count this week and the Waste management open week as 2 weeks I don't really care to watch PGA golf.

I'm also gonna share two unpopular opinions; I think the course is overrated, and I don't think Bill Murray is all that funny. The act is tired.

[newtogolf]

The bigger problem is the Pro-Am did nothing to help make the game appealing to the younger generations.  Even the rock stars that participated were either well past their prime or relative unknowns.

GC did a quick production piece on how hip golf is that featured Huey Lewis, Alice in Chains, Alice Cooper and the drummer from Iron Maiden.  I knew who they all were, but my kids wouldn't know any of them.  Kid Rock and Justin Timberlake are even old today by kids standards.

[Kingkat1954]

I agree. This used to be a "must watch" event. Especially during the winter months.

Began to lose interest when The Crosby family was no longer involved. Its why I watch the Champions Tour a lot more these days!