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Today from the Forums: “How would you improve golf television coverage?”

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@riggsbarstool

Today from the Forums, we take a look at a discussion on how WRXers would improve golf TV coverage. Golf TV coverage has come in for its share of criticism in recent weeks on the likes of social media, and FairwaysToHeaven kicks off the discussion with his six ideas to improve the broadcasts:

  • “Fox seems to lead the way with the drone footage, and it was pretty impressive at Pebble for the US Open. Not sure if its money or logistics that prevents more use of drones, but check out this feed… You can’t tell me networks, if they actually cared about quality of coverage, couldn’t incorporate drone usage more.

  • We absolutely need more handheld cameras to eliminate the generic top-down views from towers to greens. Give me more views as if I’m watching from the sidelines rather than a tower. No more tracking ball through the air which gives us ball in sky look.
  • We must show off the course elevation. Current tv camera angles not only eliminate elevation and undulations but eliminate hole layout, sense of distance to pin, etc. and many shots are so generic the viewer wouldn’t be able to tell if it was footage from any other course in the world…example…every top-down zoomed-in view of a player putting on green.
  • Stop zooming in on putts rolling towards the hole – which only eliminate player, caddy, fans reactions to a miss/make
  • I’m ok with recorded footage. Show more shots. Show fewer tap in putts.
  • And of course…. eliminate the fluff…showing the announcers, showing a FedEx cup leaderboard in February, we can have CEO interview audio while watching golf…we don’t need visual, etc”

Our members have been getting involved in the discussion and sharing their thoughts in our forum.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • LeoLeo99: “Get a chance to watch the feature group telecast. I forget where I was watching it, but they use more handheld cameras, and they stay with a group. So, you see all the interaction between the players and caddies. It’s a lot more of “being there” feel to the broadcast.”
  • FlyingBasset: “Really great responses in here so far. I’ll summarize my thoughts since they have mostly been covered. 1) Drone coverage – not happening. Drones large enough to carry HD cameras are NOT quiet. And the noise is also not constant as claimed – any time they move or even account for wind they change pitch quite a lot. It’s one thing if you can drown it out by being over the ocean, but players would hate this IMO. The cost-benefit ratio is just not there compared to things like ShotLink and ShotTracer. 2) CEO interviews – Eh, give them their 15 minutes for the money their companies are paying. 3) Shots covered – I completely agree with showing more shots and less putts. I don’t watch to see the best players in the world tap in 2 footers – I do that enough myself. Overall it just needs to be a higher shot-to-putt ratio. Overall, we have so much to be thankful for with golf coverage. ShotTracer and ShotLink have revolutionized how we watch golf, and I think that has a lot more room to grow. PGA Tour Live allows people to get the extra golf-coverage they want for a reasonable cost. And if you subscribe through Amazon Prime, no commercials to boot! Best $65 I’ve ever spent (I’m watching at work right now!) Bonus Gripe: I know we said no ragging on announcers, but give us more stories or opinions instead of generic comments. They’re around these players all day! I would honestly rather hear about the pastrami on rye Rory had for lunch instead of ‘OMG he hits it sooooooo far!’ on every, single, tee shot.”
  • Fyll: “Bring on the drones.”
  • Hawkeye77: “Remember the fad of showing the putting line all the time? Eventually wore off and thank goodness. Tracer is okay; I like it in the little box off to the side. ‘Demanding’ having every tee shot and iron shot traced isn’t necessary at all, and plenty of them get shown. Still enjoy watching golf and not a video game like the NFL has become.”

Entire Thread: “How would you improve golf television coverage?”

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at gianni@golfwrx.com

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Robert

    Mar 8, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    Run a list of the sponsors periodically on a ticker tape at the bottom of the screen. Ditch the other sports updates.

  2. Cdub

    Mar 8, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    Take Azinger off the air!

  3. Shallowface

    Mar 8, 2020 at 1:39 pm

    One thing I would eliminate are pre and post round interviews. There’s no content.

    Pre-round: “What do you need to do today?” “Well I need to drive it in play and hit the greens and if I make some putts I should be right there.”

    Post-round: “What do you need to do tomorrow?” “Well I need to drive it in play and hit the greens and if I make some putts I should be right there.”

    Post round Sunday: “How’d it go out there today?” Well I drove it well (or didn’t it depends), I hit my irons great (or didn’t, it depends) and my putter was on fire (or cold as ice, it depends).

  4. Rich Douglas

    Mar 6, 2020 at 11:53 pm

    Split screen: golfer and shot tracer on one half, overhead map with shot tracer on the other. Every single time on every single full shot.

    Keep the golfer and his surroundings in the camera while watching a put. No need for a close-up.

    Strategy, club choices, alternatives, etc. Keep it analytical.

  5. MarC

    Mar 6, 2020 at 9:57 pm

    Get rid of the Blimp and add a fleet of drones! Call them GLIMPS! CHEERS!!

  6. Madeline Morgan

    Mar 6, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    Take a page out of European Tour coverage and have announcers mostly just STFU. The American penchant for constant air-filling blather and shameless shilling for corporate sponsors is annoying, distracting, generally uninformative, and too often provides cover for USGA/PGA Tour idiocy or the bad play and/or bad behavior of players. Fewer putts, more full shots. The relentless avalanche of commercial breaks has long since gotten completely out of hand.

    • A. Commoner

      Mar 6, 2020 at 6:39 pm

      Maddy: Excellent post. My short version: Muzzle the entire TV crew.

    • Shallowface

      Mar 8, 2020 at 1:01 pm

      The problem with complaining about the sponsors or the commercials is that without the sponsors there would be no professional golf. It is advertising money trying to reach an affluent audience. The only reason we have professional sports is because someone pays for them. The players would do well to remember that.
      What I really do not want is would-be stand up comedians providing any degree of yuk yuk commentary. You don’t see it in any other sport, and we don’t need it in golf.
      I enjoy the commentary of Paul Azinger and Johnny Miller before him. Call out choking dogs when they expose themselves on national television.
      Finally, and we don’t see as much of this with Tiger not playing much anymore, but stop the fawning over him. The most ordinary shots get “Okay! Okay!” or “that was a smart play.” More than likely it was a miss, just like it was for anyone else who hit it.

  7. CrashTestDummy

    Mar 6, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    Those are pretty amazing shots. Got to be so difficult to get them with a drone though.

  8. db

    Mar 6, 2020 at 11:56 am

    shot tracer every full shot..

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Equipment

Srixon ZXi combo or TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo? – GolfWRXers discuss

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In our forums, our members have been pitting a Srixon ZXi combo against a TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo. WRXer ‘edutch22’ is on the hunt for a new set of irons and kicks off the thread saying:

“Looking at picking up a new set of irons and think I’ve narrowed it down to Srixon ZXi combo or Taylormade P7CB/770 combo. I am currently a 5 cap and allbeit I feel irons are my weakness. My miss is a little to the toe side. I am decently steep at 4-5 down. Always thought I am high spin but recently on trackman my 7 was spinning at 5800 roughly. 

My question or looking for thoughts on which one would benefit me more from a forgiveness standpoint? Or is there another iron is should be looking at entirely? I only get to play about once or twice a week, if I am not playing a 2-3 day event. Thanks in advance.”

And our members have been sharing their thoughts and suggestions in response.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • manima1: “You just can’t go wrong with Srixon ZXi7.”
  • MattM97: “You have to hit them to know, the V-Sole on the Srixon can be make or break for many.”
  • dmeeksDC: “P7CB is more forgiving for me than ZXi7 because my main miss is low middle and the P7CB still flies and spins great on that miss. These are both really nice irons but I like the P7CB more than the Zxi7 and the P770 (or P790) more than the Zxi5. The Srixons are larger so if that gives you confidence that is the way to go. I don’t feel like I get any benefit from the V-sole and the P7CBs live up to their high Maltby forgiveness rating so the TaylorMades have been great for me.”

Entire Thread: “Srixon ZXi combo or TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”

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Equipment

Mizuno Pro M13 vs Callaway X Forged: My actual fitting numbers – GolfWRXers discuss

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In our forums, our members have been reacting to a fitting session involving Mizuno’s Pro M13 and Callaway’s X Forged irons. WRXer ‘careergolfer’ recently went through a full fitting session and shared his numbers and commentary, saying:

“After playing Callaway Apex Pros for the pats 5 years, just went through a full iron fitting and thought the data was interesting enough to share. I’ve seen a lot of posts talking about fittings but not many with actual numbers, so here’s mine.

All 7-iron, same ball, same session. Final two were the ones I was choosing between:

Club Ball Speed Launch Spin Side Angle Carry Total
Current irons 121.1 mph 18.3° 6,691 rpm 0.7L 170 178
Callaway X Forged 125.8 mph 15.9° 6,144 rpm 2.2L 180 185
Mizuno M-13 125.8 mph 17.9° 6,638 rpm 2.2L 177 182

The consistency numbers are what actually made the decision:

Club Ball Speed SD Spin SD Total Yards SD
Current irons 3.3 294 5
Callaway X Forged 2.0 211 3
Mizuno M-13 1.1 150 2

Callaway won on distance by 3 yards but got there with a much lower ball flight (15.9° launch, 6,144 spin). The Mizuno matched my existing flight profile with nearly 3x tighter ball speed consistency.

Fitter also noted I’ve been setting up with a closed face at address to compensate for a heel-heavy dynamic lie. Ordered the M-13s 1° flat to bring impact back to neutral: the theory being if I can set up square, I can actually commit to the release. I’m not sure if this was the right call TBH but took the fitter’s guidance. I’ll see what happens.

Went with the Mizuno. Clubs aren’t in hand yet. Happy to share follow-up data once I’ve played them!”

And our members have been sharing their thoughts in response.

Here are a couple of posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • PowerCobra98: “M13 certainly performed well.  Enjoy the new irons once you get them!”
  • dmeeksDC: “Two completely different irons. The X Forged is a tour-type iron and would match up with the S3 in the Mizuno lineup. Not going to see a lot of M-13 on pro tours. It’s a crossover iron, three different types of construction in the same set. The M-13 would be more like the AI 150 as the M-13 7 iron is a half-hollow club versus X Forged, which is a straight up forged iron. M-13 middle irons have very thin faces, not holding up well for some buyers if you read through the M-13 thread. Hopefully Mizuno has corrected it. Given the differences in construction, that is surprising ball speed with the X Forged. To me the numbers are quite an endorsement of the X Forged considering it has no ‘tech.'”

Entire Thread: “Mizuno Pro M13 vs Callaway X Forged: My actual fitting numbers – GolfWRXers discuss”

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Equipment

Has there been a better driver since this Ping release? – GolfWRXers discuss

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In our forums, our members have been discussing drivers. WRXer ‘Ty-Webb’ is still playing Ping’s G400 LS driver and reaches out to fellow members saying:

“Playing the G400 LS still and wondering if newer is any better? For someone who thinks golf equipment is 90% marketing, change my mind.”

And our members have been weighing in with their top picks in response.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • meliaant: “As someone who graduated from the OG SIM to the Qi10, I can you two things: 1) on-center hits are essentially identical. 2) off-center hits are wildly, absurdly better with newer drivers.”
  • Golfingfanatic: “I went from the G400 to the GT2 – probably a wash distance wise from the sweet spot, but much better at handling spin off-center.. would definitely try some new stuff if you can.”
  • bluedot: “Given the number of heads and shafts that are available, plus the fact that you’re talking about a 9 yr old club, plus the available fitting technology, the answer is almost certainly yes.  Add to that the fact that the Ping LS models are sort of ‘specialized’ drivers, as are the Ping SFT’s; heck, you might need MORE spin! How much better is really the question, and that depends on how well suited the G400 LS is to your swing, and how you will go about finding an alternative.”

Entire Thread: “Has there been a better driver since this Ping release? – GolfWRXers discuss”

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