TV Commentators!

[Eidolon]

Bless the people who upload the old (70's & 80 to early 90's) golf tournaments onto the 'net. I really enjoy watching the guys play with the equipment we so dearly favor here. However...U.S. announcers drive me nuts. I never thought there was anyone who could out do Jim Nance for non-stop meaningless drivel until I was re-united with Jim McKay. My god, the man hardly stops to take a breath. He also does not seem to realize that we too can see the picture! It's almost like he thinks his viewers are blind and have an IQ below 85. I know these are old telecasts, but Nance is the same way. Don't even get me going about all the little sideline comments he throws in that have nothing to do with the golf. I. Can appreciate that Joe Pro's aunt made him a golf sweater when he was 12, but I really don't care.

Sorry, I just needed to vent. Go back to what you were doing. My bad!

[scomac2002]

Each generation has their annoying characters. Currently for me Gary McCord is at the top of the list. He's gotten worse since he seems to be in a running competition with David Feherty.

That maybe why I often prefer to watch the European Tour as the crowds are more respectful -- can we please put an end to the bozos that have to yell out [i]In the Hole[/i] or [i]Mashed Potatoes? -- [/i]and the commentators aren't compelled to fill every waking moment with inane chatter!

[Shallowface]

It's Nantz. Jim Nance was a running back for the Patriots in the 1960s.

I think Nantz has genuine reverence for The Masters and the game of golf, as do I. I don't think any of it is phony. I'm sure there are some who think the drunks sitting around the clubhouse bar on Sunday afternoon do better commentary, but I wouldn't want to hear it.

CBS loves him, and that's all that matters. No one is going to skip the game (and it's always the biggest game) because Nantz is the announcer.

Re: Jim McKay. It seemed to me that he and Dave Marr didn't like each other very much in later years, and it came across in the commentary. I've never heard anything as to why, it was just a perception.

But no one did an opening to a sporting event like McKay and ABC did before the final round of a US Open, British Open or PGA Championship back in the 70s. The prose, the music, just incredible work. I see others attempt the same thing today and they can't touch what was done back then.

[Eidolon]

It's not my fault that he can't spell correctly. But thanks for the audit.

[BIG STU]

Faldo and McCord get on my nerves. If they are on I hit the mute button on the TV and play rock and roll on U-Tube and I also do the same thing if the GC is televising the golf if Nobilo or Tom Abbott is on

[Davewn]

Always thought that Pat Summerall and Ken Venturi were the best team. Summerall had the great pipes and didn't feel the need to fill every second when Venturi wasn't talking. They seemed to understand (especially Summerall) that TV is a visual medium.

[HoganApexBlades]

Dave,

I agree 100%. Ken Venturi was the complete color analyst. He played against and beat the best and was always in the right mindset in his comments.

[jonnygrouville]

There are roads crossing over various fairways. One year, Dave Marr was commentating when a player had to step back from a shot after someone impatiently driving across the fairway in front.

"Looks in a hurry. Must be late for a cricket match. There's only three days left."

[Shallowface]

I guess part of my reluctance to be too hard on announcers stems from an experience I had as a kid in the 70s.

I had decided I wanted to get into radio, and as a high school junior I transferred to a vocational school that had a broadcasting program. One of the first lessons was the proper pronunciation of the letter W, which of course is the first letter of a station's call letters in the eastern US. It's "Double U" and my ears burn to this day when I hear "dubya." If someone asks me to spell "water," they are going to get "Double U"-A-T-E-R.

Near the end of the second week, it was time to record our first commercial. We were given the copy, which was marked in such a way that we would emphasize certain words and read it in the manner in which the instructor wanted. Whenever I hear an announcer do a commercial today, I can't help but notice how he's doing it.

One by one, we were taken into a studio by the instructor, an old radio pro and as kind and gentle a man as I have ever met in my entire life. It was just he and I in that studio, so there really was no reason to be as nervous as I was.

So I start to read the copy, the text of which I can remember to this day, and I couldn't get two words in a row out without my throat catching and having to clear it. It was brutal, and while the instructor was as kind as one could be he didn't have to tell me that I did not have what it took to be a broadcaster.

The next week I transferred to the Accounting program.

So whenever I am tempted to criticize something I hear over the air, I think back to my brief experience and marvel at what it must be like to sit in front of a camera, knowing multiplied millions of people are watching you, and whether you have the luxury of reading what you have to say or as is so often in the case in sports you are winging it, and you can't so much as go umm, err or clear your throat, I remember that it is not as easy as it looks.

And wish it could have been me.

[stevemcgee99]

Peter Aliss

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35u1dOpeUkA[/media]

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4f8RdsGZEw[/media]

[mocokid]

Nothing like hearing Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra, starting the ABC golf broadcasts, I like Schenkel and Nelson the best actually.

[Ironmaster Oddities]

Chris Schenkel from Bippus, indiana...not to be confused with BumF@ck, Egypt. Great minimalist.
Venturi and j. miller as well
My two favorites from back in the day were Brits, Peter Alliss and Henry Longhurst. I know it was a novelty for us to hear them announce. But it went much further than that. They both knew about what they spoke and knew when to say nothing. And, like miller and Venturi, they were not reluctant to comment on a poor shot.

[HoganApexBlades]

[quote name='Ironmaster Oddities' timestamp='1448512503' post='12647652']
Chris Schenkel from Bippus, indiana...not to be confused with BumF@ck, Egypt. Great minimalist.
Venturi and j. miller as well
My two favorites from back in the day were Brits, Peter Alliss and Henry Longhurst. I know it was a novelty for us to hear them announce. But it went much further than that. They both knew about what they spoke and knew when to say nothing. And, like miller and Venturi, they were not reluctant to comment on a poor shot.
[/quote]

Uncle Bob,

I thought it was Bum F*** Iowa???

+1 on Alliss and Longhurst. I love those British accents on golf telecasts. Henry seemed to speak so slowly that you could almost hear him breathe!

[SteveNZ]

Longhurst and Ben Wright were just tremendous at the end of the '75 Masters.

"Just before Nicklaus putted, Weiskopf had birdied the par-5 15th.

That sent the gallery into a frenzy, and CBS announcer Ben Wright said, That is evil music ringing in Nicklaus' ears.

But when Nicklaus responded by knocking in his 40-foot birdie putt, Henry Longhurst described it this way:

That has to be the greatest putt I ever saw in my life. And now Weiskopf will have to take it as he dished it out before."

[Kirasdad]

[quote name='Shallowface' timestamp='1448278793' post='12634190']

So whenever I am tempted to criticize something I hear over the air, I think back to my brief experience and marvel at what it must be like to sit in front of a camera, knowing multiplied millions of people are watching you, and whether you have the luxury of reading what you have to say or as is so often in the case in sports you are winging it, and you can't so much as go umm, err or clear your throat, I remember that it is not as easy as it looks.

[/quote]
+1
I have been in show business for over 30 years, It's not as easy as it looks.

I liked Dave Marr a lot back in the day. More recent vintage, I like Johnny Miller. I did a film with him years ago and he was a stand up guy, not pretentious at all. What he said on the air is what he thought with no internal editing to make it go down easier. He even gave me a golf lesson of sorts in between takes.

Oh...and it's definitely Bum F--- Egypt. Since I am from very near there, I would know.

[oldpalchamp]

You must realize the announcers from the 50's and 60's were really pioneers. Jim McKay and Jim Simpson, two of the earliest golf announcers came from a print journalism background. I remember watching an old All Star Golf and hearing Jim Simpson describing a shot hit onto the green as, rolling, rolling, and stopping 6 feet from the pin, as though the audience couldn't see it. They were learning on the fly.

For everyone that thinks a certain commentator is awful, I suggest you try this. Turn off the sound, have your wife and kids yell into your ears, and describe what you see on your screen. It is not easy. These guys don't have scripts, they are totally off the cuff on live TV. They have to be completely prepared and know both their subject content, and how the business works. Are some better than others, absolutely, but it is definitely not easy.

[stevemcgee99]

I'd love to hear the random references from Dennis Miller during a golf tournament.

[jonnygrouville]

John Hawksworth on the radio during the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. The announcer passed over to him asking if it was tense out on the course, to which he replied,

"Tense?! If I had a knife, I'd stab myself."

Still one of the funniest pieces of golf commentary I have ever heard.

Longhurst was good. Something about that insanely clipped English accent, nearly incapable of pronouncing the letter "a". Listen out for "beckhend" in ancient Wimbledon commentary.

[Swingingk]

I just love listening to Gene Littler on SWWOG. Jimmy Demaret too. Those guys were smooth, real, and polite. They used hushed voices around the green cuz' they actually were around the green - not in front of a green screen. ☺

[oldschoolrocker]

Alan, I must side with Bob on the one. It is in Egypt. I passed it often on the "road" from Cairo to Alexandria. Actually bought a coffee mug there. As the name implies not a place one wishes to find oneself in.

[Scratchtastic]

[quote name='Swingingk' timestamp='1448820991' post='12659476']I just love listening to Gene Littler on SWWOG. Jimmy Demaret too. Those guys were smooth, real, and polite. They used hushed voices around the green cuz' they actually were around the green - not in front of a green screen. ☺[/quote]
Gene Sarazen?

[Swingingk]

[quote name='Scratchtastic' timestamp='1449457976' post='12689148']
[quote name='Swingingk' timestamp='1448820991' post='12659476']I just love listening to Gene Littler on SWWOG. Jimmy Demaret too. Those guys were smooth, real, and polite. They used hushed voices around the green cuz' they actually were around the green - not in front of a green screen. ☺[/quote]
Gene Sarazen?
[/quote]
Yes indeed you are correct - Sarazen is what I meant to say. Gene Sarzen commentating on Gene Littler and Byron Nelson in 1962 was the round I was thinking of. I honestly would rather watch the old stuff than the new. I like the shorter game better. It seems more like "real golf" to me. Do modern golfers even use fairway woods from the fairway anymore?

Mmmm... slipping a bit off topic here. Sorry bout' that. ☺ Back to Tv commentators!

[drjrh]

Currently by far the best sports announcer is the "Mute" button.

[W C Franco]

Gene Sarazen and Jimmy Demaret were wonderfully entertaining and perceptive,the quality of their commentary was only surpassed by their humility.
Dave Marr and Ken Venturi,both brilliant for depth of knowledge and an ability to call a shot before it was hit and convey the physical and mental processes involved in top echelon golf.
Henry Longhurst,no nonsense clear commentary.
Peter Alliss before he started to believe his own publicity and contracted verbal dysentery.
If I had to pick one to listen to for the rest of my life it would be Dave Marr.

[Davewn]

[quote name='W C Franco' timestamp='1450309503' post='12729196']
Gene Sarazen and Jimmy Demaret were wonderfully entertaining and perceptive,the quality of their commentary was only surpassed by their humility.
Dave Marr and Ken Venturi,both brilliant for depth of knowledge and an ability to call a shot before it was hit and convey the physical and mental processes involved in top echelon golf.
Henry Longhurst,no nonsense clear commentary.
Peter Alliss before he started to believe his own publicity and contracted verbal dysentery.
[b]If I had to pick one to listen to for the rest of my life it would be Dave Marr[/b].
[/quote]

Sr. I trust- I am a big fan as well. His son not so much...

[W C Franco]

Apologies for any confusion but in the cause of pedantry I will clarify this; my reference is to Dave Marr Jr. winner of the 1965 PGA Championship,son of Dave Marr Sr. and father of Dave Marr III.

[Davewn]

[quote name='W C Franco' timestamp='1450348209' post='12730626']
Apologies for any confusion but in the cause of pedantry I will clarify this; my reference is to Dave Marr Jr. winner of the 1965 PGA Championship,son of Dave Marr Sr. and father of Dave Marr III.
[/quote]

Never knew Dave Marr Jr. won the PGA- he was one of my all time favorites as well. Never knew he was Jr. either, lol.

Got a kick out of Bob Goalby too- I wish I had a buck for every stiffed approach shot following Bob's proclamations that the player was "dead", " has no chance form there", etc.

[Shallowface]

[quote name='Davewn' timestamp='1450371880' post='12731826']
[quote name='W C Franco' timestamp='1450348209' post='12730626']
Apologies for any confusion but in the cause of pedantry I will clarify this; my reference is to Dave Marr Jr. winner of the 1965 PGA Championship,son of Dave Marr Sr. and father of Dave Marr III.
[/quote]

Never knew Dave Marr Jr. won the PGA- he was one of my all time favorites as well. Never knew he was Jr. either, lol.

Got a kick out of Bob Goalby too- I wish I had a buck for every stiffed approach shot following Bob's proclamations that the player was "dead", " has no chance form there", etc.
[/quote]

I think you're thinking of Bob Rosburg. "Jim (McKay), he's got no chance" got to be a running joke after a while. But Rossie was great.

As was Bob Goalby on NBC. Had a couple of encounters with him at Senior Tour events and thought he was a fine gentleman!

[Davewn]

[quote name='Shallowface' timestamp='1450387241' post='12732998']
[quote name='Davewn' timestamp='1450371880' post='12731826']
[quote name='W C Franco' timestamp='1450348209' post='12730626']
Apologies for any confusion but in the cause of pedantry I will clarify this; my reference is to Dave Marr Jr. winner of the 1965 PGA Championship,son of Dave Marr Sr. and father of Dave Marr III.
[/quote]

Never knew Dave Marr Jr. won the PGA- he was one of my all time favorites as well. Never knew he was Jr. either, lol.

Got a kick out of Bob Goalby too- I wish I had a buck for every stiffed approach shot following Bob's proclamations that the player was "dead", " has no chance form there", etc.
[/quote]

I think you're thinking of Bob Rosburg. "Jim (McKay), he's got no chance" got to be a running joke after a while. But Rossie was great.

As was Bob Goalby on NBC. Had a couple of encounters with him at Senior Tour events and thought he was a fine gentleman!
[/quote]

You are absolutely right, how could I forget!

[scruffynick]

There's not really any I don't like old or new. Alliss really doesn't do much now but he'll be missed when he does give it up, but I do like the new BBC breed especially Ken Brown. Not sure on faldo yet, like listening to a true great but I get the feeling he tries too hard and its not natural....like he's trying to make up for 30 years of being uncomfortable with the media. But like so have said above, Dave marr was brilliant and truely missed on the golf airwaves