ESPN anchor rant on golf telecasts - probably echoes what most of us have been thinking

[nevets88]

I agree w/most of John Buccigross's points, wanted to see Woods' Saturday Masters round, not telecasted. Shot tracer, every hole, not sure if that's economically and logistically feasible, and maybe it might deter networks from finding better ways to show the entire ball flight without visual aids. Too much putting - dear God yes. Too many leaderboards. I'd pay, but I'd want fewer commercials. And of course, all 18 holes of leaders.

http://www.si.com/more-sports/2015/04/19/sports-media-panel-adam-schefter-joe-buck-britt-mchenry-espn

Quote:

Golf telecasts are woefully behind the times and in need of a major overhaul. Shot tracer needs to be utilized on nearly every swing and way too much putting is showed.

Also, every major should have 18-hole, four-round coverage. I can watch every Patrick Kane shift, every Marshawn Lynch carry or every Mike Trout at-bat in every game they play if I choose. I should be able to watch all of Tiger Woods shots at a major on my big, beautiful TV. If I have to shell out $29.99 to watch it I will pay it. Golf is concerned about growing the game yet they restrict access to their best golf courses and restrict access to its best players on television.

I can't watch Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy play all 72 holes of a major live here in 2015? I can't watch a tournament live that's been moved up because of weather? Who is running the show here? Judge Smails and Dr. Beeper?

[boogielicious]

Thanks for posting Steve.  It is going to be a matter of economics.  If they can make money off it, they will do it.

[Rick Martin]

Is guess he'd rather watch Danica for all 500 miles of Daytona race instead of the leaders as well?  And wants to be able to drive on the speedway with his Prius? SMH.   Never heard the problem about restricted access before. Isn't that pretty much the way of every sports venue? Me and my pals can't have a pick-up basketball game at The Staples Arena or football game at Gilette Stadium. Why does he feel he should play Augusta National?  A lot of griping out nothing.  We see more than enough of Tiger and Rory when they play - the game is about the leaderboard.

Guess I'm playing the contrarian card again......but there's more to the PGA than Tiger.

[Rynrem]

Shot tracer is nice....but I think if were on almost every shot, it would be liked the failed NHL puck tracer deal. Personally, I like to see the swing, then the close up of the players facial expression and hear them talk to their ball. I can usually tell a lot about where the ball is going based on these things...but that's just me. They can always show a replay of the shot with shot tracer.

[Spitfisher]

I wholeheartedly agree with him, I felt that there was way too much putting televised. I watch the masters every year, this year I felt there was a little more putting and less iron and tee shots than in the past. As far as his other points...I think that will come eventually, it might be considered intrusisive initially. Having launch monitor type data or shot tracer in every shot or player in every hole. It will come though. Today I would like to have all caddies miked up, by having them miked up you'll also hear player caddy discussions prior to the shot. It would not be difficult to implement.

[boogielicious]

Is guess he'd rather watch Danica for all 500 miles of Daytona race instead of the leaders as well?  And wants to be able to drive on the speedway with his Prius? SMH.   Never heard the problem about restricted access before. Isn't that pretty much the way of every sports venue? Me and my pals can't have a pick-up basketball game at The Staples Arena or football game at Gilette Stadium. Why does he feel he should play Augusta National?  A lot of griping out nothing.  We see more than enough of Tiger and Rory when they play - the game is about the leaderboard.

Guess I'm playing the contrarian card again......but there's more to the PGA than Tiger.

I challenge you to go two weeks without mentioning or hinting about Tiger Woods.  I think it will therapeutic for you.

I agree with most of your points.  I do like the idea of more on-line access to majors like they have for the Masters.

[Rick Martin]

I challenge you to go two weeks without mentioning or hinting about Tiger Woods.  I think it will therapeutic for you.

I agree with most of your points.  I do like the idea of more on-line access to majors like they have for the Masters.

Why would I want to do that? The OP brought him up, ESPN geek wants to see more of him. Not sure what your point is.

Also kind of getting tired of the over-evaluation of swing technique.  I know this sport has a lot of people who watch to get better in their game - but we don't need constant reminders on how one should swing the club back and how we should finish our swing. What other sport presents so much technical detail?

[iacas]

Also kind of getting tired of the over-evaluation of swing technique.  I know this sport has a lot of people who watch to get better in their game - but we don't need constant reminders on how one should swing the club back and how we should finish our swing. What other sport presents so much technical detail?

I agree, and partly because they're so bad at it. It's really, really bad.

Also, a small nit-pick with the OP (the quote, not the actual OP :D): you can watch every Marshawn Lynch carry because… it's the only thing going on at the time. The same time Tiger is hitting a tee shot on a par five or tapping in for bogey somewhere, 13 other players on the course are hitting a shot or very nearly hitting a shot or reacting to a shot they just hit. You can watch every Patrick Kane shift for the same reason: there's only one sheet of ice. When he's playing, he's on it with everyone else. He's not 1734 yards away being unaffected by the players hitting shots on the other places on the course.

[Spitfisher]

Why would I want to do that? The OP brought him up, ESPN geek wants to see more of him. Not sure what your point is.     Also kind of getting tired of the over-evaluation of swing technique.  I know this sport has a lot of people who watch to get better in their game - but we don't need constant reminders on how one should swing the club back and how we should finish our swing. What other sport presents so much technical detail?

Agreed, the swing analysis of what is proper or what is desirable, kind of goes out the window when Bubba hits the ball, tiger slashes at the ball etc. true there are some very nice swings out there, don't get me wrong. A very large percentage of the audience barely plays golf or not at all. we often here how many tune in when Tiger and some other players are playing- these are very casual fans of golf, there interest is watching, not playing. I played pond hockey as a kid, I really enjoy watching the Stanley cup playoffs, but I'll never by a pair of skates or a hockey stick or a football or football helmet.

[skydog]

The anchor just sounds ignorant to the game and like a 'casusal fan' who will stop watching golf entirely when Tiger hangs it up. He lost me at complaining about too much putting being shown. Seriously, I don't know if this guy knows how golf broadcasts work. They try to show shots/strokes that are relevant to the leaders and typically putts are pretty damn important to the outcomes.

I would like to see more shot tracer though and I can live without the swing analysis stuff.

[Ernest Jones]

Why would I want to do that?

For the challenge!!!

[rehmwa]

1 - shot tracer - like it a lot

--- (ditto when they show the putting line graphic - much more than some announcer stating his impression of the line)

2 - swing technique commentary - don't like it one bit - and they say some dumb stuff sometimes anyway

3 - microphones pointed at the players and caddies - like it a lot

4 - too much putting - agree - especially if they start using shot tracer a lot more

I like the graphics of how the Euro tour shows a hole and shot layout

I like how the Euro tour doesn't have to be talking ALL THE TIME - I'd prefer to hear the players and caddies talk the shots through

I'd rather follow the leaders on each shot through a round, and cutting to exceptional shots by other players when they happen

I'd like the distance to the hole and etc to stay on the screen longer when setting up to view a shot.  Would be nice to know what club is being hit, etc.  Makes it easier to relate.

[nevets88]

Most of us have mobile devices. Why the need to show leaderboards so often when we can bring it up on the second screen so easily?

[jbishop15]

I agree with the quote. You should be able to follow your favorite golfer, if you want to pay that money. I also love the idea of more Shot-Tracer.

And in regards to comments on swing technique by the announcers; I also could do less of that. Peter Kostis just makes me unhappy.

[newtogolf]

I agree about there over coverage of putting.  If it's a great putt, show us, if it's a 2 foot tap in, who cares?  I don't think the networks understand that a ball rolling into a hole isn't the same as a TD or goal, we don't need to see every hole out unless it was extraordinary.

Shot tracer is cool, but overall I'd like to see the networks adopt the approach used when by the Masters, where multiple viewing options are available.  I like watching the groups play so I can see every shot they take and the course management they employ.

[Gunther]

Don't think I saw the obvious reason this doesn't happen is the playing field is so much larger in golf. They'd need 50 or more cameras to cover every player's every shot. I do like the idea but not sure it's economically feasible. Also like the idea of shot tracer more often and less putting. And don't zoom in on the ball as it's going in the hole. I want to see the player too. Nothing more frustrating than when a player makes a long putt and the camera misses his initial reaction.

[jbishop15]

Don't think I saw the obvious reason this doesn't happen is the playing field is so much larger in golf. They'd need 50 or more cameras to cover every player's every shot. I do like the idea but not sure it's economically feasible. Also like the idea of shot tracer more often and less putting. And don't zoom in on the ball as it's going in the hole. I want to see the player too. Nothing more frustrating than when a player makes a long putt and the camera misses his initial reaction.

I think that people paying for the cameras would make it feasible; obviously, some players aren't going to get their own dedicated feed at first, but I think they could make it work.

[dkolo]

The reason that the US Open and the British Open are more interesting majors to me than The Masters is because, at this point, the amount of TV coverage The Masters offers borders on insulting. It's not 1982 anymore. We have 3 channels available (CBS, CBS Sports, Golf Channel) and Masters.com that are just begging for more coverage and all we get is 4 hours? It's nuts that I couldn't see most of Tiger's round on Friday and significant portions on Saturday. The British and The US Opens show nearly wall to wall coverage of every round and it's amazing. People want to watch it. I get up at 5AM to watch the British. For the same reason that March Madness is such a huge deal, people want to watch the actual tournaments. It sucks that WGCs have longer TV windows than The Masters. I have my iPad and iPhone in front of me whenever I'm watching TV. I'm happy to use it to supplement the TV coverage. I stand with Bucci on all of his points.