When you watch golf on tv, what part of the actual play (or even segments) would like to see more of:

Iron Play
Driving
Putting
Chipping and Sand Play
Individual Rounds
Instruction
Trackman Stats

GOLF!

And I don't want to see just the leaders. I really wish the PGA Tour coverage was more like the EUro coverage.

I wish the announcers would stop talking when the mics pick up conversations between player and caddy. The exchange between Phil and Bones yesterday when Phil was in the bush was very interesting (the announcers were quiet during this time). Good stuff hearing the player's thought process, too often the announcers talk over some good stuff.

I've long been a fan of the European telecast, and the announcers are really great.
I seem to recall one telecast where I don't remember seeing one single shot of the announcers,
but the job done by them was well above what we get here in the States. Our Network
producers seem to think they are showing a reality show instead of a golf tournament.
I want be suprised to see Howie Mandell in the booth before long.

Agreed. Also, the conversation between them on Phil's approach to 18 was cool to hear. Bones seems to be just as analytical as Phil. I guess that can be good and bad. Still nice to hear how they arrive at a decision on which way to play the shot.

+2

+3

More camera views of the wives! Kidding!...well kind of

Actually I agree, I like to hear the conversation between the players and caddies as well. Get a more in depth look at their thought process for each shot.

Quit highlighting Tigers every shot. He was out of the Tournament. Other guys who were closer to the leaders should have had more coverage. I know it is a ratings game, but come on, give these other guys props.

In Europe we call Announcers Commentators because they commentate on what is going on, In the US they just announce....anything.

Why does the Golf Channel braodcast thursday friday and then switch to the Networks? why not also have the golf cahnnel providing their coverage on sat/sun for the more interested golfer...... the netwoirk covearge is dumned down to the lowest denominator imho. Why do they show ads for other programs during the golf coverage?.... it really is P*** poor.

Also why are you not allowed to say AD or Advertisement on US TV??? ie instead of saying...'coming right back after a word from our sponsors...' why not say 'coming back after the after the ads'? ..... I just don't get it........

I dont need to see everyone of Tiger's shots or a recap of his last 9 holes. If he does something great then lets see it. I would say that besides Tiger and the last group, you dont get to see many shots from other players. It would be good to see more of the groups ahead of the leaders and then we would have some idea of how the holes coming up are playing.

I like to hear the player/caddie conversations, but usually that is pretty boring. Most caddies give the yardage and what is playing and then the player pulls a club and hits it. Phil and Bones do a lot more conversating before each shot, which is usually entertaining.

I would like to see less of the players taping down spike marks or rereading the putt after they miss it. I know we have all done it, but that seems to be the automatic pro response, like when they say "one shot at a time" and things like that in interviews. I also hate when a player blames the caddie for a bad read when they kill it through the line or hit a bad putt. I guess a player blames anything but themselves and therefore they can keep their confidence higher.

PGA tour pros play on some of the greatest conditioned courses in the world, I couldnt imagine what they would do on a subpar municipal course.

While I am ranting, I know all about the "thru line" and have played in many professional tournaments and in college. But if you are in one of the last groups 60-144+ people have walked around that hole already during the course of play that day, is one more footprint going to make a difference? I know it is a courtesy to other players, but c'mon, it doesnt matter.

+4

Iron Play---------------------10
Driving-----------------------10
Putting-------------------------1 way to much boring!!! IMHO
Chipping and Sand Play------8
Individual Rounds-------------1 if its only a recap of Tigers round The Golf Channel will take care of that!
Instruction---------------------5
Trackman Stats-------------10 10 10 10 with trajactory

JuNiOR

Edit; Forgot to add a lot more mic. interaction between Caddie and Player making club selection without commentators trying to interupt and hear themselves PLEASE be silent at this point PLEASE you guy how to ruin a great interaction with "I think what he means " shut up....

I dont care to see so much putting....anyone can be a great putter with practice.....not everyone can hit a driver like the pros, or approach shots....I'd love to see more of those. I especially like seeing 2nd shots on par 5s as well as driver statistics (ball speed, launch angle, ect)

Dr. B

irons shots... yes...with stats... distance to hole... iron selection

putting .... no... only fun to watch when it matters on sunday

driving... maybe

Funny you say that, because the biggest thing that separates the pros from amateurs is not the driver but the game from inside 150 yards, including putting. For that matter, anybody can be a great driver with practice and coaching -- and it's a whole lot more fun to practice.

More Tiger. I think we need a urinal cam.

Seriously though, I'd like to see more than just a few guys play, so +4 i guess

I do hate when they pan from one putt to the next for a long time and don't show irons or drives.
I really enjoy trackman when they use it, but I can't stand the putting lines; They never seem to be correct.
I honestly wish they would put ballspeed, clubhead speed, spin rate on the screen with every tee shot.
I could do without the instruction.

I love to see trajectory. A lot of the skill of the game is lost to the TV audience because they cannot see how well the players control the ball in the air.

For too long we have had to put up with a shot of a player hitting the ball, cut to a shot of the ball against the sky, cut to ball hitting the green. No clue as to how the ball was flighted.

I actually like that Tiger gets so much focus. Not because it is Tiger, but because I like to see the progression of a hole or even a round. Not just a shot here a putt there split amongst thirty or so golfers.

I like to see the driver swings and iron swings but tracking the ball is the air does nothing for me. I like seeing the short game chips and flops because in many cases you can see the swing, the ball and the landing all in one camera angle.

Golf is a tough sport to cover. Its even harder to watch it live. Some people like to set up camp behind a tee, others behind a green, then others like me like to walk and follow a group. i don't care if its Tiger and Phil at Augusta or Sunday or Johnny Qschool and Bobby Nobody, I just like to see how they play the game from shot to shot.

Oh and about Golf Channel early round coverage...


Way tooo much McCord. The guy never bothered me on network coverage, but on Golf Channel they just let him off the chain. The guy is an idiot.

this is why they make DVR boys Sunday is usually the only round i watch live unless I'm out of town. I'm always FF'ing through the putting and hitting PLAY on driving, approach shots, trouble shots, or sand shots. i am a big fan of the European coverage it is WAY better than NBC, CBS, or any of that.

Hell, even my wife said "now these announcers are soft spoken and sound knowledgeable (speaking about the Euro announcers), unlike Johnny Miller"

SLAM!!

I say they should have Bubba Watson mic'd up 100% of the time so we can hear him b***h out his playing partners.

More of everyone else, and FAR less of Eldrick.

As someone mentioned, a DVR is practically mandatory with all the ingratiating coverage these days.

golf channel cant afford to bid for the rights for the weekend rounds, so thats why they only do thurs/fri and early round coverage on the weekends.

i watch golf constantly. i watch so much golf that my girlfriend actually knows the announcer names and how much kelly tilghman sucks haha.

id like to hear more interaction between the player and the caddy

id like directv to do the player camera channels more than just on the majors. for those who dont know what that is, directv gets like 3-4 channels and dedicates each channel to one group, and the channel shows everything that the group does from start of round to end of round. they started doing it last year at the us open, and its a really cool feature. they have a camera that follows the group and shows their entire round.

id like to hear less of the announcers.

show me more mid iron/approach shots

I enjoy watching the drives and iron play. What i really hate is when they key in on the ball in flight, you can't tell what it is doing or where it is going. I loved the Masters internet coverage of Amen corner. The camera angles on the iron play really let you see the swing and then flight pattern of the ball. I think most shots where from a below angle looking up. I also loved when they miked the caddies, it really gave us some great insight into the thought process going on.

One thing I don't get is why the heck isn't there MORE golf on the Golf Channel? I get that the tour needs the network broadcasts on the weekend, and I dig that, but what about the hours of golf that fans never get to see?

Do we really need more Skycaddie infomercials, or god fore bid "THE HAMMER", Booooooooooom! Why can't GC broadcast more than 3 hours on Thursdays and Fridays when golfers are on the course for 10 hours? Makes no sense to me.

I know only hard core fans, or those who work from home (like me) would watch, but isn't that the point of having a TV Network dedicated to your sport, for the hardcore fans? It makes no sense to me that you can only watch your favorite golfers on one of the first two days, and only then if they are playing great or the GC decideds they are worthy of being in a featured group.

END OF RANT

Less putting. I love protracer/trackman - great to see ball flight with corresponding swing.

Oh- and lots more mic pick up of players/caddies.

I agree with seeing the trajectory, and not just with the highlighted glowing computer line. I want to see a wide shot and see the actual ball if possible. I remember during this years masters, a couple of shots of Tigers and Phils from in between trees where they had to draw the ball out and around from the woods were shown and you could see the spin of the ball and its trajectory. Very impressive. Granted this may be hard to show on TV but Im sure they could figure it out. This is what i want to see.

lol mikey, don't forget the Rosetta Stone commercials. I am soooooooooooooooooooooo sick of those.

less tiger unless it counts, and WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less putting. Id prefer they only show long birdie putts or some super clutch putts, then show full coverage on Sunday.

I just wanna watch the pro's swing the club!

I enjoy watching the super slow-mo video of the players swing and the ball at impact.

To see:

More analysis of drives, irons, pitches, chips and putts.

The way the networks 'package' the golf - stop that, please. By the time the intros are done, 5 minutes have gone by. That's like 10 shots you could have shown.

The way the network announcers inject themselves into the golf. Yes, you had your day in the sun. I don't want to hear about it again and again. If you do it, please tell it in an way that tells us something new or someone else.

More improvement on tracking the flight of the ball.

I like the Euro style of announcing/presentation too. They can spiff up the graphics/music/intros and that wouldn't cut into time. The number of actual shots they show is awesome.

+1

The ball flight is so interesting , in relation to the ground, not the sky.
Players attitude is part of the fun, that is why we see so much putting.
You cannot blame them to show Tiger, he is the show, even when he is not at his best, they show him,
not Mickelson or Garcia or Furyk, just the tiger.

Swingvision, trackman. High tech analysis. I want to see Angle of Attack all kinds of stats

i would actually love to see only 1 person covered for the entire round and show a protracer on every single shot they hit for the entire round

would never happen, but that would be the most informative for somebody who is trying to gain insight on how a tour pro actually plays a round

totally forgot about the protracer!!!! ahhh i love that thing!!!

i wish it was on during the whole round.

I know right!!!

I have a bone to pick with how they film golf... why do they zoom in on the ball the minute any shot is played? it takes away all perspective from the shot. I actually wish they would zoom out so you could see what kind of shot they hit. Seeing a ball fly through the air looks the same whether it is going to the green or into the woods. I really wish they would find a better way give the viewer an idea of the kinds of shots they play. The pro-tracer is a start, very cool feature.