OT: Worst US Open coverage ever.

[Icebear]

Jes sayin', simply terrible, boring coverage and announcers.

 

[uconnfan68]

Jes sayin', simply terrible, boring coverage and announcers.

Why aren't you there? You're close enough, aren't you?

 

[pinotbear]

Nah, last year's coverage was worst.

 

[BigBird]

I am a horrible golfer. Threw away my clubs. Still, I'd rather attempt to play 18 without a cart (ugh!) than watch the pomposity that passes for TV golf coverage. The sheer stupidity of commentators whispering when they aren't actually present on the course is but one small example.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Nah, last year's coverage was worst.

Yes, last year's coverage set a record for horrible coverage that may never be broken.

 

[uconnfan68]

Yes, last year's coverage set a record for horrible coverage that may never be broken.

Anyone that watches golf for the announcers is missing the best part.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'm not sure which is worse: Fox Sports broadcasting the Open last year on a grossly disappointing course or Fox Sports broadcasting the Open this year on a magnificent and revered course. I've seen golf broadcasts on CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN over 50+ years. All had their strong points, and some were better than others. Fox does a fine job on football, but I totally agree with Ice. It is a shame to have our national championship (for men) broadcast by this clueless group.

 

[Icebear]

Why aren't you there? You're close enough, aren't you?

I started a new job this week and I am buried in a corporate learning curve. I am transitioning to being to a hospice chaplain for UPMC.

 

[uconnfan68]

I started a new job this week and I am buried in a corporate learning curve. I am transitioning to being to a hospice chaplain for UPMC.

Best wishes in the new position. I know you'll make a difference.

 

[Gabbyfan]

I disagree about the quality of the coverage. Fox has gone to new level of graphics and shot tracker while moving quickly from one hole to the next to show a greater number of players making shots either as they happen or shortly thereafter.
If you watch golf to listen to the announcers...fine, maybe the Fox announcer are not as good as CBS or NBC, but the quality of the actual golf playmaking is superior on Fox.

 

[FairView]

Baba Booey

 

[pacific 44]

I would put Azinger right up there with Johnny Miller who is my fave golf announcer but i agree with the folks that put the announcers far secondarily to great visuals.Fox got a bad rap last year but that course they played on was a nightmare for good camera placement and the crew had a steep learning curve besides.This year's coverage is immensely worthier of our viewership.

 

[Huskee11]

I miss not having Johnny Miller around to tell us how everyone not named Johnny Miller is either choking or gagging.

 

[Alydar]

Don't know if this is the worst because there have been so many bad Open broadcasts. Lat year was certainly among the worst but I give the announcers extra credit for the number of times they complimented the course without choking or laughing. It was obvious that Chambers Bay was a mess and that it was picked in large part to try and save the connected investors who were in danger of bankruptcy. Personally I like Johnny Miller. perhaps he over does it at times but he is a refreshing alternative to the vast majority who are little more than shills.

Some of my beefs about the coverage:

• For the first hour or two of coverage they stay on the course but then, when the leaders are playing, they break away from the action to interview some grand poobah of the USGA, or show some pre-recorded feature extolling the USGA. On thursday there were several rain delays and yet they waited till play resumed to have lengthy panel discussions and interviews.

• Curtis Strange. For years I have listened to him exaggerate the difficulty facing players in specific situations and then praising their genius when they execute what is for them fairly routine shots. Bob Rosburg used to be the king of that sort of "artificial excitement" but Strange has inherited his mantle.

• The way Fox is displaying that latticework overlay of the greens to show slope. Nice try but no cigar. The PGA Tour site uses a simple graphic display with arrows like this ( >>> <<<) for their tournaments and it gives a much better picture of the green contours. What Fox is showing reminds me of the ceilings in 1970's discos. In the age of virtual reality I would think that some digital graphic genius could come up with a better way to show the true contours of greens on a video screen.

 

[Alydar]

I miss not having Johnny Miller around to tell us how everyone not named Johnny Miller is either choking or gagging.

We needed Johnny when McIlroy flubbed that shot from the sand on his last hole when he only needed a par to make the cut but scored a double bogey. It was obvious he choked but they tried their best to convince us that he had a bad lie, which was untrue. And then they failed to get a post round interview despite the claim by the announcers that Rory is so accessible. Fowler had a worse time on the course and yet had the guts to appear in front of the camera.
In their frantic attempt to regain the ratings when Tiger was playing the talking heads have tried to put first Rory, then Jordan and now Day into the role that Tiger held for about 15 years. They conveniently forget the missed cuts and ignore the on-course tantrums as they kiss the behinds of players who have flashes of brilliance but lack any semblance of the consistency of Woods.

 

[Kaizen]

LOL, I always thought US Open is a Tennis event.....

 

[Huskee11]

They are certainly nowhere near where Tiger was in his prime. But, as a group they are far better than the guys Tiger was beating back in the day - Tom Kite, Rocco Mediate, etc. I find it a lot more interesting now than it was then.

The television media also largely gave Woods a pass on his on-course tantrums and general surliness, and would make him the story even in tournaments where he was stuck in the middle of the pack.

Ratings will always be the motivating factor.

 

[Alydar]

They are certainly nowhere near where Tiger was in his prime. But, as a group they are far better than the guys Tiger was beating back in the day - Tom Kite, Rocco Mediate, etc. I find it a lot more interesting now than it was then.

The television media also largely gave Woods a pass on his on-course tantrums and general surliness, and would make him the story even in tournaments where he was stuck in the middle of the pack.

Ratings will always be the motivating factor.

Tiger's pursuers were Phil. Els, Garcia and a slew of other great players. Tom Kite was from the Ben Crenshaw era. Tiger dominated for over 12 years and faced many more great players than Day, Spieth and McIlroy have faced in their short careers. Those three are great players but they each have missed more cuts in their short careers that Tiger did in his first dozen years. Rory seems to have peaked 2 years ago and has more missed cuts than top 10 finishes lately. Spieth is 22 and needs to maintain his level of play a while longer till he is compared to either Jack or Tiger.

And I guess since you found less excitement when Tiger dominated you also are bored with WCBB?

As far as Tigers on-course behavior, I read a lot of comments like yours but as a player who had the cameras on him from his first pro tournament I thought he handled himself pretty well. I remember the announcers questioning his fist pumping as "over the top" while at the same time saying that Hale Irwin's high fiving fans as he ran down the fairway as "wonderful". When Rory tossed a club in the pond at Arnie's tournament it was treated with humor wihoput one media person questioning whether he was setting a good example and yet whenever Tiger just tossed a club on his bag after a poor shot he got pilloried. IMO everything Tiger did was put under a microscope. If you were around in the 60's you would have seen Palmer chain smoking, cursing and throwing clubs all over the course while the media praised it as "folksy competitiveness".

The media crucified Ben Hogan in his prime much as they did Tiger. A lot of that is that they didn't run tabs for the writers in the bars like Fuzzy and others did. Tiger and Ben were bad interviews. Also, with respect to Tiger, there was and still is a degree of a racist double standard. While the divorce rate is very high among pro golfers Tiger cheats on his wife and is treated like a criminal. Dustin Johnson has drug-fueled sex parties with other player's wives and all is quickly forgiven, never to be mentioned again without one name being named.

Double standard.

Tiger was the Jackie Robinson of golf. I always thought that Robinson's problem was with the fans but actually the racism was more of an issue among the major league players than the public. There were a few black pros before Tiger but none with anywhere close to his talent and success. Even to this day Tiger remains highly popular among the masses while the golf media tries to bury his legacy.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Anyone that watches golf for the announcers is missing the best part.

No-one watches golf for the announcers. However the Fox coverage (NOT just the announcers) make the experience a lot less than it could be with competent coverage.

 

[stamfordhusky]

As far as Tigers on-course behavior, I read a lot of comments like yours but as a player who had the cameras on him from his first pro tournament I thought he handled himself pretty well. I remember the announcers questioning his fist pumping as "over the top" while at the same time saying that Hale Irwin's high fiving fans as he ran down the fairway as "wonderful". When Rory tossed a club in the pond at Arnie's tournament it was treated with humor wihoput one media person questioning whether he was setting a good example and yet whenever Tiger just tossed a club on his bag after a poor shot he got pilloried. IMO everything Tiger did was put under a microscope. If you were around in the 60's you would have seen Palmer chain smoking, cursing and throwing clubs all over the course while the media praised it as "folksy competitiveness".

Tiger's cursing was worse than Arnie's. Worse, however, was Tiger's habit of spitting on the green after missing a putt. Many of his fellow competitors weren't happy about that.

 

[Huskee11]

Again, agreed - no question, Tiger in his prime was better than the top players of today. Also agree Mickelson and Els are solid players for any era, although Phil has a maddening tendency to be his own worst enemy. Garcia, except for Ryder Cup, not so much.

But ultimately, my lyin` eyes tell me that the top players of today - B. Watson, D. Johnson, Speith, McElroy, Day - though not better than Tiger, will prove to be better golfers than those of the 90`s and 2000`s that Tiger was competing with. Also think the tour is deeper now than it ever has been.

Here are the runners up in Tiger`s major victories:
1997 Masters - Kite
1999 PGA - Garcia
2000 Open - Els, Jiminez
2000 British - Els, Bjorn
2000 PGA - Bob May
2001 masters - Duval
2002 Masters - Goosen
2002 Open - Mickelson
2005 Masters - DeMarco
2005 British - Montgomerie
2006 British - DeMarco
2007 PGA - Woody Austin
2008 Open - Mediate

Impressive list, but only modestly so.

Maybe the TV media "pilloried" Tiger after a negative reaction to a poor shot, although I can`t say I personally recall them making a huge deal over it. On the other hand, my recollection is that from a larger overall perspective he was held in awe, was loudly and deservedly praised for his incredible skills and competitiveness, and that he was the star of the golf show, whether atop the leaderboard (as he typically was) or not.

Re being bored with WCBB - not in the slightest!!!

 

[Huskee11]

Addendum - Tom Watson on Tiger Woods:

"I think he needs to clean up his act there and show respect for the game that people before him have shown."

 

[Checkmate]

I would put Azinger right up there with Johnny Miller who is my fave golf announcer but i agree with the folks that put the announcers far secondarily to great visuals.Fox got a bad rap last year but that course they played on was a nightmare for good camera placement and the crew had a steep learning curve besides.This year's coverage is immensely worthier of our viewership.

Azinger did a terrible job handling the possible penalty on Dustin Johnson. His notion that the players just had to deal with the mental challenges of not knowing the actual score was ridiculous. He lacked the backbone to criticize the USGA for not making a prompt decision on the probable penalty on Johnson. The tournament was a circus for an hour or so. And could have been a train-wreck at the end.

 

[Blakeon18]

I would say that Charlie Sifford was the Jackie Robinson of golf....far moreso than Tiger.

BTW: I see that the U.S. Open is coming to our neighborhood in 2022...The Country Club in Brookline Ma.
Site of Francis Ouimet winning over the favored Englishmen...of Julius Boros winning a playoff in 1963 in a 3 man playoff including Palmer...of Curtis Strange
winning the first of 2 in a row in 1988...and of the Ryder Cup in 1999 with the 'highlight' of the American team storming the 17th green upon the winning putt....still perturbing
the Euros to this day. I have galleried there several times....a wonderful/olde school course....New England at its' best.
Not as hard as Oakmont but a very worthy site.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The future venues announced by the USGA.

Year Edition Course Location Dates Times hosted
2017 117th Erin Hills Erin, Wisconsin June 15–18 Never
2018 118th Shinnecock Hills Golf Club Shinnecock Hills, New York June 14–17 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004
2019 119th Pebble Beach Golf Links Pebble Beach, California June 13–16 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010
2020 120th Winged Foot Golf Club Mamaroneck, New York June 18–21 1929, 1959, 1974, 1984, 2006
2021 121st Torrey Pines Golf Course La Jolla, California June 17–20 2008
2022 122nd The Country Club Brookline, Massachusetts June 16–19 1913, 1963, 1988
2023 123rd Los Angeles Country Club Los Angeles, California June 15–18 Never
2024 124th Pinehurst Resort, Course No. 2 Pinehurst, North Carolina June 13–16 1999, 2005, 2014
2025 125th Oakmont Country Club Oakmont, Pennsylvania June 12–15 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007, 2016
2026 126th Shinnecock Hills Golf Club Shinnecock Hills, New York June 18–21 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004, (2018)

I hope to go in 2018-2021 at least. I've been to all 4 of those venues for the Open before (Pebble 3x).