Watching golf on TV..

[Mikey5e]

Sometimes it's nice knowing who the winner is before you watch because it's sort of relaxes you into a position where you can see other aspects of the golfers game instead of spending effort on rooting for one over another. I enjoy a tournament better when I can view it after it's been recorded so I can page right through the commercials back to the action again. Maybe the last hour or half-hour life is good but I'm sick of advertising nowadays.

[Rangeballz]

Like many, I was starved for some meaningful golf to watch. So last week I sprung for PGA Tour Now. Got to see every hole at Colonial, and while I may not like every featured pairing, the coverage otherwise is pretty good. And there are no commercials. Sure, there is some dead time when just the leaderboard is shown, but that's fine with me.

This week is another plus. Thu/Fri coverage started at 6:45 AM and went to around 5:30. Again I got to see every hole. Having it on in the background was perfect.

 

Don't know if I'll keep it after the first month, but so far, so good.

[Whereismydivot]

If I watch, its on DVR. In fact I won't watch anything that's not on DVR. Most coverage is too boring to sit through without a FF button on the remote.

That being said, I LOVE watching the college golf coverage. In the last few years it was fun watching Hammer, Wolf, Hovland, and Morikawa play matches. Count me in for college golf.

[zmosnot]

i watch on mute

[zmosnot]

the commentary is just awful and the coverage is lacking in terms of better and more focused stories.

[Kjboisen]

It is the crappy coverage. So many ads, interviews, etc. Too little golf being shown

[NormanFan]

Yesterday was pretty bad. They'd come back, show one three foot putt, and go right back to commercial. Also, too many segments about stuff that isn't relevant when we need some more golf.

[cugolf14]

I feel very similar. The only difference for me is when TW is playing. I'll be honest, that one still gets my attention for some reason. I thought the whole COVID thing would change that for me, but it hasn't.

[jmvargas]

after 2 events which I watched sporadically except for the last day I'm still kinda ambivalent about watching live coverage..

I guess my TV watching gas tank is running close to empty and can only be refilled by a Tiger sighting and the Majors !!

[Volgolfer]

YouTube is a wonderful thing I've discovered during the lock-down. You can watch full length Master's, LPGA, and European Tour coverage with few or no commercials, plus the odd PGA tournament here and there.

Simply can't watch live golf anymore. When did we develop the need for 43 announcers, on-course commentators, and analyst per broadcast? Thank goodness for the mute button.

[jmvargas]

I used to be a guest TV announcer for the live coverage of major golf events held here like our National Opens from 1975-1994 including the 1977 World Cup, the Johnny Walker Skins Game in 1990 ,the 1980 Marcos Invitational won by George Archer and the 1976 & 1977LPGA Colgate-Palmolive Invitationals..

As a hole announcer in the beginning my style was never to describe what the audience can see but rather what they could not--trying to describe their shot options, direction of the wind and putts, and other things that may have been going on in their minds, etc.....

I was never one to read the scores flashing on the screen unless there was an exceptional like one with 2 eagles, several birdies or a hole-in-one!

A hole announcer's job was rather easy compared to the anchors.

As a rather accomplished golfer already with a career low 2 hdcp I could imagine myself in their position when playing a hole specially with the ladies who I could probably outdrive by 20 or more yards then-ie-Carol Mann's 5 wood was equivalent to my 5 iron when I played the same par3 from the same tees the day following their event.

The anchor's job was much harder as we had to rely on a lot of data being fed to us thru our headphones or even runners during the early days specially runnning updates on current scores of various leaders..

So having said all that I can mute a whole tournament now if I feel the announcers talking too much and not miss much.....and I do!

 

 

[BB28403]

Monk is where it’s at!

[Z1ggy16]

I still like to watch but I really get annoyed by how much some of the commentators talk. I'll usually try to watch a little bit on Saturday and try to catch at least the last few hours on Sunday.

[chillybilly]

Golf broadcasts suffer the same malady as other sports broadcasts these days, especially the NFL: they are scripted and formatted within an inch of their lives.

Now a sponsor mention. Now a goofy camera view - sponsored, of course. Now a rundown of the FedEx Cup points - a competition that, many years after its implementation, nobody cares about, nobody understands, nobody talks about and nobody values except, perhaps, the players who stand to make some coin.

Read books like 'The Game Behind The Game' (by producer Terry O'Neil) and 'Monday Night Mayhem' and you realize that many of the conventions of sports broadcasting were happy accidents or on-the-spot creations of producers, directors, or on-air types. There is only one John Madden but that hasn't stopped a line of would-be successors trying to play the part of 'hardcore football guy' to the hilt.

Regular Tour events are like reading any magazine that publishes in print - too many ads, too many distractions. It's not a cotillion...it's a county fair. Tacky, overloud, garish and cheap.

People who love The Masters broadcast, especially those who never watch golf, don't seem to realize that The Masters is best of all because of ANGC's strict policies and because they have kept the worst excesses of network presentation away.

Skipping ads is, of course, a necessity with the incessant commercials and, fortunately, modern DVR technology makes it easy. But all the filler - intros, billboards, sports updates, interviews, etc. can and must be skipped as well.

It's almost a cliche to say it now but doing something productive with your Saturday or Sunday, including playing a round yourself, is job #1. A four- or five-hour golf broadcast, as many point out, can be watched in 1.5-2 hours without missing a single stroke for low-handicap remote users.

[golftejas]

I watch less than I used to, and I use the mute button extensively. I just find the driver/wedge type of golf that seems so prevalent today to be less compelling. What I enjoy most is (1.) Majors (2.) Any tournament with lots of lead changes on the final 9 on Sunday afternoon (3.) Great iron play where a player is going right at all pins and (4.) En fuego long range putting. I really enjoyed Harbor Town this year as it had 2, 3, 4.

[jrice19]

I watch less because the golf is boring in general. When Tiger is play it is always more interesting because there is story.

[Snoop Golfie Dogg]

What is the cheapest way to watch all 4 rounds of every PGA Tour event (including the majors)? YouTubeTV just announced a significant price increase, and I think I'm going to drop it when the new rate takes effect. Now that Fox has dropped the US Open, I believe I'll just need access to the following channels:

Golf Channel

CBS

NBC

ESPN

And I really only need them when they're covering events. It seems like I should be able to accomplish this for much less than the $64.99/month that YouTubeTV is going to cost starting next month.

[DLiver]

I think it's an age thing. I feel that way about all "normal" sports. I've been watching all sorts of sports for 45+ years now, and kinda feel like I'm just seeing the same thing over and over again. The exceptions are the big events, like the majors (or near majors) in golf, the NFL playoffs, some World Series games, but that's about it.

[Big Cat 3]

Golf telecasts are at its all-time low ... CBS crew is miserable aside Nantes and Faldo. Anything telecast with dumb Zinger is horrid. NBC is stuck with dope Hicks but field guys are decent.

But ya ... it’s tough to listen to these guys or gals.

[Big Cat 3]

Watch these old broadcasts so much better ... cool site by the way https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCSciXeupUdQMLSk9pZ04GOA/videos?view=0&sort=p&flow=list