I count it as one of the greatest privileges of my life that I have and will be
able to watch and wonder at the sheer, blinding brilliance of Tiger Woods
without having to fight the enormous crowds that follow him day in, day out,
worshipping in his wake. The tragedy is that Woods has become too big for the
game. Because of his colossal effect on television ratings, tournaments wither
and die without his presence. I miss most Jack Vickers’ International at the
incomparably beautiful Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado.To pay for the
increased rights fees networks have to pony up in the Tiger era, they have to
air more and more advertisements. Consequently, televised golf has become less
and less pleasant to watch because of the increasing frequency and duration of
the commercial breaks. For the life of me, I cannot understand that if Augusta
National Golf Club can agree with their sponsors to limit the duration, why on
earth every other sport that relies on the continuity of the action for its
appeal cannot do the same. But instead we are forced to invest in TiVo. I prefer
the mute button, but using it still threatens to drive me to violence or
drink!
The biggest change in televised golf over the past two decades was the
birth of the Golf Channel, which has been a boon to golf junkies. But its recent
contract with the PGA Tour has caused such a saturation of the airwaves that
what little quality remained has been replaced by quantity. Since 1988
tournament coverage has increased more than fivefold—in 2008 there will be more
than 2,000 hours of televised golf on the air.
That’s a lot of time to fill.
Years ago, CBS producer-director Frank Chirkinian invented Gary McCord and me in
an attempt to leaven with humor those cable Thursdays and Fridays when there was
absolutely no movement on the leader board. But the Golf Channel plods through
every one, and may even do so for the 15-year duration of its contract.
I
believe PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem decreed that where possible tour
players rather than journalists should be chosen to commentate, which is why so
many broadcasts today lack story lines and have become a series of disconnected
jottings. Of course there are a few notable exceptions, like Johnny Miller.
Former CBS analyst Lanny Wadkins once wrote that I should never have been
allowed to commentate because I never had been a good enough player. Henry
Longhurst would have turned over in his grave if he had heard that one.
I
was once present when the president of CBS Sports ranted at the great
Chirkinian: “Frank, I don’t give a damn about the quality of your golf programs.
Just get the commercials in them in the right places!” In the decade or so since
that terrifying remark, the screen has been cluttered beyond belief, with so
many visual gizmos that I often wonder if they will ever get out of the way so
that we can just see the ball go in the hole.
Is that too much to ask?
