Golf Channel to Broadcast Nationwide Tour Without Announcers
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 2, 2010 9:22 AM EDT
in Golfiness
Email
PrintRemember that experiment when an NFL game was broadcast in its entirety without announcers? And how huge of a failure it was? Well, it's never been tried in golf before, and Golf Channel thinks it's about time to give it a run.
Our pal Jerry Foltz shared the news last night on Twitter, and then I e-mailed him to chat about it some more.
Here's the low down: on September 18, Golf Channel will broadcast the third round of the Nationwide Tour's Boise Open without an announce crew - at least in the traditional sense.
Stephanie Sparks and Glen Parkin will conduct interviews during the back nine on a couple of holes where there is always a log jam. (Exploiting slow play for better coverage? I like that.) Foltz and Curt Byrum will be in the booth, responding to viewer tweets and e-mails.
All shot and bio info about players and caddies will be done via graphics. A lot of the story will be told by players and caddies, as Golf Channel is bringing in a ton of extra field microphones to pick up as much inside the ropes chatter as possible.
Jerry said he thinks it's a pretty cool idea, and I have to agree with him as a one-off. For as much as any of us complain about certain golf broadcasters (Johnny Miller), they are an integral part of making golf come alive.
26 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I like it, but I think that the vast majority won’t because they seem to need to have everything explained to them. In slowly spoken duosyllabic vocabulary, in fact.
That’s pretty close to what I said to Jerry. Announcers need to exist in the long haul, but for a one-time deal, it’s cool.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 2, 2010 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions
I just wish they were more like Premiership (English soccer) announcers. They don’t overkill with the commentary and much of the time let the action speak for itself.
In America we like our TV sports announcers to be almost like radio men and give us a verbal description of what’s happening so vivid that we don’t really need to watch the picture and see it for ourselves.
by Charles Boyer on Sep 2, 2010 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions
Ian Darke is my hero
As is Chris Kamara. Kammy is the funniest guy in sports, period.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8gKmQ6Hrro&feature=youtube_gdata_player
by Charles Boyer on Sep 2, 2010 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions
I wonder what would happen if Johnny Miller said that Mickelson was “fighting like beavers” the way Kammy did in this other classic of his:
by Charles Boyer on Sep 2, 2010 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions
All I know is that I laugh out loud every time I hear that clip and that I have pulled it out when we’re playing golf. The guys here in the US always ask me WTH I am talking about and always laugh really hard when they see it.
by Charles Boyer on Sep 2, 2010 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Those who watch golf generally know something about the sport so we really don’t need a second-by-second account provided by an announcer. If caddies and players are miked they’ll provide all the commentary necessary. This is a brilliant idea.
I wish I had more time to watch Premiership.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
I think there’s a perfect medium to be reached here. If this were more of the story in each telecast with PBP, then it’d be perfect.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 2, 2010 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions
As are us Yanks who enjoy your national game with a fervor not dissimilar to yours.
Of course, we skip the whole hooligan thing that’s a part of the gameday experience especially in the nChampionship, but that’s because there are no firms to join into over here. :-)
I kid, but yeah, there are a lot of people who know their football in Europe, mainly because they play(ed) the game and follow their pro favorites intently.
by Charles Boyer on Sep 2, 2010 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
It's getting better, OMP - thanks to some draconian measures
But I do smile when the blokes (oops) on the sofa know so much more about the rules than the expert commentators and are more eagle-eyed than the ref.
Blokes on the sofe are easy to identify Wendy
the rest of us got off our rumps and did sport the best we could :)
OK gang !! Listen up here
let’s not tell Court about this, cause you just know he’ll go off on a rant about dead air space….er somthin like that anyhoo…STUB
I’m sorry for not popping in on this earlier, Stub…I’ve just been wiping away the tears of joy. :-D
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Court, I think this could really be a good thing, and
a wave of the future….If they mike the players and caddies, just think of all the F-bombs, Sons a Bit***s, S**t, and other assorted goodies we will get, and those won’t even just be from Tiger…I simply can’t wait…..IMHO….STUB
Could be fun
If “they” actually acknowledge the audience by responding to the twitter questions and comments – and get some good interaction with the players at the logjam – this could be really good. It’s all in the execution. I thought the Mojo 6 was going to be exciting, until I saw what “they” did to it.
I do prefer less chatter – I like the European Tour coverage style – you don’t need to tell me what I can see.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Have a golf story tip? Contact editor Charles Boyer and he will follow the story! Thanks!
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
