2016 Olympic Golf Tournament (Men's and Women's) Discussion Thread

[Aguirre]

10 minutes ago, natureboy said:

 

 

If it's about 'exposure' for golf and 'growing the game' then a less visible broadcast doesn't really help that goal.

Oh who gives a bleep.

[Gunther]

47 minutes ago, Aguirre said:

Oh who gives a bleep.

Yep.  This is not about growing the game in the US.  It's about Bangladesh and India and Cambodia.  It'll be well-televised around the world.  Already it's responsible for 30 countries funding formerly non-existent golf programs.  How it's broadcast in the US has little to no bearing on that.  

Edited August 11, 2016 by Gunther

[Rainmaker]

Now that they're finally playing maybe the commentators can stop talking about how glad the participants are to be there and what a great time they're having and how Olympic Golf will definitely blow up huger than huge and Rory sure will be sorry he didn't come, lol . . .

We get it . .it's awesome . . .now let's see some golf!

[nevets88]

I think it was on the broadcast channel they broke news of Furyk's 58. Thought it was strange seeing that in the Olympics broadcast. If this is the case, you can bet they're going to put golf on the national broadcast tonight, guessing at least 10 minutes worth. Curious to see what the reaction will be from the general public. It's been awhile since Tirico went to NBC, but it's strange seeing him under the banner of the peacock.

[Chilli Dipper]

Visually, this Olympic course reminds me a lot of Pinehurst; it's not surprising that Kaymer is playing well out there today. Fowler and Stenson both finished in the top five at the 2014 U.S. Open, so we'll see how well they get around as the round progresses.

It's also reminiscent of the great Australian courses. Too bad the big-name Aussies and South Africans couldn't be bothered to show up to this tournament, because they could have dominated this event.

[Papa Steve 55]

25 under win this? Course looks defenseless in the early going. 

[Chilli Dipper]

Justin Rose is going to be on the highlight reel tonight.

A hole-in-one should count as golf's first Olympic moment.

[newtogolf]

6 minutes ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Justin Rose is going to be on the highlight reel tonight.

A hole-in-one should count as golf's first Olympic moment.

That has to make risking Zika a bit more worth it, Olympic history.  Any time a hole is one is made after this, Justin Rose will know he was first.  

[Rainmaker]

Shaping up to be an interesting first round - I wasn't sure if the top players would just immediately separate themselves from the rest of the field but it doesn't seem to be happening that way.  As we progress towards Sunday, though, I think some of the bigger names will start to have an advantage - based on their experience playing big events. 

[nevets88]

You knew a bah humbug piece like this would be written.

http://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/why-golf-doesn-belong-the-Olympics.html

[natureboy]

11 hours ago, Gunther said:

Yep.  This is not about growing the game in the US.  It's about Bangladesh and India and Cambodia.  It'll be well-televised around the world.  Already it's responsible for 30 countries funding formerly non-existent golf programs.  How it's broadcast in the US has little to no bearing on that.  

Are you saying that golf will be broadcast on the network feed worldwide whereas in US only on Golf Channel?

[Gunther]

3 minutes ago, natureboy said:

Are you saying that golf will be broadcast on the network feed worldwide whereas in US only on Golf Channel?

I'm saying it's a superfluous complaint.  There will be ample coverage worldwide, regardless the feed, GC is broadcast worldwide.  What channel it's on in the US doesn't matter in terms of "growing the game."

[Chilli Dipper]

Shingo Katayama is not wearing a cowboy hat today.

Fail.

[Golfingdad]

36 minutes ago, natureboy said:

Are you saying that golf will be broadcast on the network feed worldwide whereas in US only on Golf Channel?

I would guess it'll get a couple minutes coverage each evening here on NBC as well.  Perhaps more on Sunday.

[RandallT]

Feherty just said "there was no better putter ever than Ian Baker-Finch." I don't want to derail this into a discussion of great putters, but they had just interviewed IBF on how well the event is going.  IBF is thrilled with the course, and the excitement thus far, but of course, one of his players is well in the lead! Jason and Adam WHO?

When they cut back to the booth, Feherty chimed in with IBF being the greatest putter of all time. I knew IBF was well-regarded, but I had to search to see if he had many any lists as the best putter ever.

Quote

Nope, not the first two lists I googled.

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/gw-inside-game-ken-brown-and-his-top-5-putters/: Nicklaus, Ballasteros, Woods, Aoki, Casper, Charles.

http://www.golf.com/instruction/10-greatest-putters-all-time: Woods, Nicklaus, Crenshaw, Locke, Faxon, Casper, B. Jones, Stockton Sr, L. Roberts, Low Jr.

Anyway, so far after about 45 minutes of having the event on in the background, it seems like a fun event to keep an eye on. Lots of commentary thus far about it setting up just like an Australian Sandbelt course. Glancing at the scoreboard, there's very little correlation right now between OWGR and the leaderboard position, which can sometimes be a letdown as the tournament comes to a close.

 

[natureboy]

1 hour ago, Gunther said:

I'm saying it's a superfluous complaint.  There will be ample coverage worldwide, regardless the feed, GC is broadcast worldwide.  What channel it's on in the US doesn't matter in terms of "growing the game."

That makes sense. For some reason, I was thinking that NBC had worldwide rights. But each national broadcaster would be able to pick and choose what they show?

9 minutes ago, RandallT said:

Feherty just said "there was no better putter ever than Ian Baker-Finch."

Those lists you cite are flawed. The pre-Shotlink players can't really be compared effectively to tease out the relative contribution of their approach proximity. We know that Tiger and Faxon were excellent putters because of the SG approach.

I have no doubt that the others on the list were all good, possibly even great putters. Typically, though the 'best' putters are not the top 10 or twenty players and relatively shorter hitters who are 'hanging on' due to their very high putting ability. For that reason, I think Paul Runyan probably belongs on that list (and was likely a better putter than Nicklaus).

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

You knew a bah humbug piece like this would be written.

http://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/why-golf-doesn-belong-the-Olympics.html

Why didn't he jump on table tennis or the equestrian events while he was at it?

Edited August 11, 2016 by natureboy

[RandallT]

2 hours ago, Chilli Dipper said:

Fowler and Stenson both finished in the top five at the 2014 U.S. Open, so we'll see how well they get around as the round progresses.

I heard Fowler 4-putted the first to start with double-bogey, and just saw him miss a short-ish putt a moment ago. No Americans in the 25 players who are under par right now.

Reviewing the pics on the Olympics site, they seem like mugshots:

http://results.nbcolympics.com/golf/event/men/phase=gom001101/index.html

Quote

 

[GolfLug]

13 minutes ago, RandallT said:

I heard Fowler 4-putted the first to start with double-bogey, and just saw him miss a short-ish putt a moment ago. No Americans in the 25 players who are under par right now.

Reviewing the pics on the Olympics site, they seem like mugshots:

http://results.nbcolympics.com/golf/event/men/phase=gom001101/index.html

 

Are they suspects about the beating and robbing on the beach of one of the medal winner? .. Lol!