Arnold Palmer Coverage on Setanta/Golf Channel

JCDUB

I've been watching the golf on Setanta courtesy of The Golf Channel for the last hour and a half, and am utterly disgusted with the Americans coverage.

Padraig is playing with Tiger and Mark Wilson, and is currently level par on the 16th green.

I saw Padraig's approach to 16 and a birdie putt to bring him to -1 on 12, while we have seen every shot of Tiger and most of Wilson's in the same period.

So we missed how he went from -1 to level between the thirteenth tee and the 16th, not seeing one shot, while being subjected to the likes of Hunter Mahan tapping in two footers for a birdie to get him to level par!!

Setanta would want to have stern words with the Golf Channel over this, I'm sure they are paying good money for this appalling coverage.

I'm not even going to mention the ad breaks as this is just par for the course for all American stations, but the coverage is atrocious!!

Blunder

while i agree with what you are saying, I Dont think the golf chanell are too worried about setanta or their thoughts. Its not like setanta can go elsewhere for coverage. Also the golf channel are only looking after the interests of their american viewership. As proven during his absence tiger is the biggest draw in golf. More viewers = more sponsorship money.

MisterAnarchy

To be honest the golf channels coverage in general is brutal.
Their commentators are poor.
That Rich Lerner guy reminds me of Troy McClure,complete buffoon.

clg23

I was just thinking the same thing, then they go and show his 2nd shot on the 18th and he dumps it in the lake... but he has holed out to save par...

golf nut

We should contact Setanta and let them know how we feel

WHIP IT!

Blunder wrote: »

while i agree with what you are saying, I Dont think the golf chanell are too worried about setanta or their thoughts. Its not like setanta can go elsewhere for coverage. Also the golf channel are only looking after the interests of their american viewership. As proven during his absence tiger is the biggest draw in golf. More viewers = more sponsorship money.

But I would imagine the American viewers would be very interested in watching Harrington - the winner of 3 Majors in the last 18months - particularly when he's paired with Woods, no??

Their coverage tonight has been such a f*cking letdown...

Blunder

WHIP IT! wrote: »

But I would imagine the American viewers would be very interested in watching Harrington - the winner of 3 Majors in the last 18months - particularly when he's paired with Woods, no??

Maybe if he was a couple under and up near the top of the leader board. Americans abandoned watching golf on TV in their millions while Tiger was off. While a lot of Americans who watch golf would be interested in Harrington most of viewers would prefer to see tigers leg buckle under yet another blocked drive.

THe golf Channel will go to a commercial break or get a picture of a blimp or show a replay of Tiger throwing a club into the ground while his other playing partners play their shots so as not to miss any of Tigers shots.

You can be sure that Harrington was hardly used in the marketing of this event in the american media and if you were to ask who people wanted to see this week it'd always be tiger.

copacetic

that doesn't hold water when they are showing all Wilsons shots when he is one shot better off that Harrington and nowhere near as well known.

Blunder

Wilson is pretty well known in america. He had a win recently enough.He may not be known over this side of the Atlantic but he is known to american golf fans.
I wouldnt say either that they were showing every shot of his. They showed a few shots when he knocked it close and holed some putts for birdies. I dont recall seeing too much of him other than that.

The golf channel will show birdies and big numbers but straight forward scoring doesnt really register on their radar.

I'm not trying to defend the coverage. I'm just saying thats the way it is.

copacetic

Nowhere near as well know as Harrington, he won the last Major over there remember. From the 14-16th they showed pretty much every shot of Wilsons, but only 2 of Harringtons that I saw.

Hallowed

I was watching last night also. The coverage was everything I would expect from the Golf Channel. Tiger tying his shoelaces gets more coverage than a 3 time major winner hitting shots.
The worst about the coverage in my opinion was the interviews with Arnold Palmer himself. I know the guy is a legend but I reckon when the cameras went back on course the two interviewers must have needed a rope ladder to pull themselves back out of his as*.
They did however show a great shot he hit 3 or 4 years ago with a driver off the fairway. Class shot.

FlutterinBantam

Arnold Palmer is a nice guy, but that's the way the Americans do it.

The two commentators were so cloying and unctuous I nearly got sick.

In fact Arnie was a little embarrassed with the adulation I felt.

But, get used to it folks, that the way they do things over there.

As long as Setanta take the direct feed from the Golf Channel, that's the way it's going to be.

Coolio

It was scandalous treatment of Harrington by the Golf Channel. Winner of last 2 majors! I'm sure Palmer paired them together because he felt they were a good pair for people to follow around the course. For them to show him such disrespect is very annoying.

There's no argument for showing other, albeit American, golfers. If there was such an appetite from viewers for these guys they wouldn't have switched off while tiger was out. So the idea that viewers will suddenly rather see guys they wouldn't watch in their own garden over a guy currently holding 2 majors and who has beaten tiger at head to head over the years is ludicrous. He didn't burn up the course yesterday but he's close to getting it right.

FlutterinBantam

To be honest Palmer obliquely referred to this when he said golfers should interact more with the galleries.

Now Woods might be the best golfer ever, no quibble with that, but personality wise, I would opine he has the personality of an otter with a boil on its arse.

I would far prefer watching Mickelson/Harrington/Monty Woody Austin that some sour geezer who quite frankly bores the puckered hole off me.

I'm sure lots of other people.viewers think the same way.

ccmp

Agreed, the coverage is woeful. I must have seen that ad for echo shoes 50 times over the last 4 days. The spread of golfers that you get to see is extremely limited.

Mister Sifter

I didn't see this, but Ian Carter in his BBC blog, says:

Was I alone in feeling uncomfortable as American television did its best to locate Woods's lost ball on the final hole of his third round?

While a succession of replays were shown of his errant second shot ploughing into a thick grassy bank, commentator Johnny Miller was relaying specific instructions to on course reporters who were assisting the search party.

In this case there was not much advantage to be gained; not even Woods would have been able to advance the ball to the green had it been found.

But this isn't the point. The fact is he was gaining a potential advantage through his omnipresence on our screens, which seems unfair to those in the same tournament who plod away unnoticed.

And while we're on the subject of Woods's TV presence, it was interesting to note that NBC overran their third round coverage by 10 minutes or so to cover the dramatic end to his third round.

But as soon as he'd holed his putt it was time to say bye-bye from Bay Hill, never mind that the leader Sean O'Hair and Jason Gore were still to complete their rounds and drop the shots that helped let Woods back into the tournament.

Good job too that neither O'Hair nor Gore needed any extra help finding their ball on that final hole.