Late Week Laments - The Yin and the Yang of It All

Just a little golf news today, but lots of people beclowning themselves... This is why I got into blogging.

Tiger, The Adult in the Room - Patrick Reed continues to adhere to the terms of the Blogger Full Employment Act of 2018, for which I give constant thanks.  Patrick spared no effort in alienating all involved, though his comments about Spieth garnered most of the ink and pixels.  I had speculated that his comment about Tiger apologizing to him after their Friday fourball loss might prove to be be the most problematic, as The Striped One has well-known issues with privacy.

 Now comes word that the elder statesman tried to be just that:

Woods is the captain now, ready to lead the U.S. squad against the International team during the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia. Reed figures to be a key piece of that team.

And they recently had a very different conversation coming off Reed’s very public comments about Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk and former partner Jordan Spieth, whom Reed said didn’t want to play with him in Paris. 

“We spoke after the Ryder Cup for a long period of time,” Woods said. “We talked amongst us and it will stay between us.”

A courtesy that Patrick notably does not extend to others....  I was surprised to see Patrick at Albany, though I figured that perhaps the invites predated Paris.  

How has Patrick repaid Tiger for the invite and the fatherly chat?  The same way he's treated everyone in his stormy career, by throwing them under a bus.  We've already discussed his toneless touting of his singles record, upon which he doubled down when asked about his former partner:

During the event's Wednesday pro-am, the New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro asked

Reed whether he'd reached out to Spieth in the two months since. "Nope," Reed said before adding, "He has my number." 

Wow. It got a lot chillier in the Bahamas all of a sudden. 

Reed went on to tell Cannizzaro, "I have nothing against Jordan, nothing against him at all. That [perception] is done by the media, that’s not done by how he or I feel."

Stay by the phone, Patrick, I'm sure that call is coming through at any moment now....

But our hero isn't done demonstrating his abject cluelessness....  Remember his "I wanted to light up the room like Phil" nonsense?  It turns out that it was all our fault, and I for one am glad to have the benefit of his wisdom:

But Reed wasn’t done there. He defended his decision to air his grievances publicly in the post-Ryder Cup press conference because “something needed to be changed.” Reed

feels the reaction to his comments was overblown, claiming that Phil Mickelson was treated much differently after his own Ryder Cup diatribe in 2014.

“He did it and got praised. I did it and got destroyed. It all depends on who the person is, obviously,” Reed said. 

If nothing else, Reed’s comments prove that fissures on the U.S. Ryder Cup team have not closed, and we will continue to monitor them leading into the Presidents Cup next fall, a team that will be captained by Woods.

Wow!  You don't need to be a fan of Phil's 2014 hissy fit, which I'm not, to understand that it matters terribly who the person speaking is, as it should.  

At this juncture he's trashed Tiger, Phil, Furyk, Spieth and Thomas, and I'm sure I'm leaving a name or two out.  Those guys figure to be involved in future cup efforts, so that will be one deliciously awkward team room.... 

Da' Match, The Hits Keep Coming - Brandel Chamblee takes to the pages of Golf Channel's website to offer his thoughts on the event, and you'll be shocked to hear his overwrought reaction:

Let’s call this affair in Las Vegas what it really was: two stars trying to rehabilitate their images, that had little initial gravity and failed to generate its own energy when neither Tiger nor Phil could find authentic motivation in the carnival atmosphere. Tiger and Phil looked like two guys who needed the money and were only there for it. That’s fine, everyone watching likely has been guilty of the same, but we are not meant, in watching these events, to be reminded of our lives. When an athlete gets lost in their art and performs like they don’t need the money, the audience gets lost with them and forgets their own lives; that’s transcendent.

The Match was not transcendent, it was transparent, and it demeaned the game. Period.

Brandel has some valid criticisms, but this event simply wasn't important to demean our game....  Phil swiping his moving ball on Saturday at the U.S. Open perhaps, but not this.

But Brandel does mention an interesting antecedent:

As for being a vehicle for growing the game, there was at least precedent for such a thought. In the mid-'60s, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, both well past their primes, played a match for "Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf". The immediate and lasting popularity of that proved to be the catalyst for what is now the PGA Tour Champions. That match undoubtedly grew the game. But Hogan and Snead were not billed as raconteurs and they had what could legitimately be called a rivalry. Add to it the mystique that followed Hogan, the fact that Snead had the sweetest swing in history and that the TV audience, seeing very little of them on their screens over the years, was ravenous to watch them play.

The whole production of "Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf" took the game to exotic locales and presented golf in a way consistent with its traditions of comportment and class. The Hogan and Snead match put the older stars and the game on center stage and those of a like mind decided to stick around. Which was a far cry from the weed-style entertainment of The Match, which made promises it couldn’t keep, shined a light on the greedy – not the charitable side of golf – and put its two biggest stars in a position to fail. The Match may grow the game, just as weeds grow on your lawn.

Let me try to explain where I differ with Brandel, who seems to think golf needs to be treated delicately.  

My problem with the event isn't that they tried to mix the game of golf with reality television, it's that they did so in such an obviously inept manner.  Phil is very much the "raconteur", it's just that there was no way he could carry five hours of commercial-free television.  I could see beforehand why this wouldn't work, and Phil keeps assuring me that he's much smarter....

The far harder question is how can this be made to work and be interesting?

Joel Beall takes a good crack at it, though internal consistency doesn't seem to be a prerequisite:

Less in the booth is more

A three-person booth, a handful of on-course reporters (you’ll see why in a second)...and that’s it. A pre-game crew isn’t warranted, particularly one where Capital One

spokesmen non-golf personalities stop by and offer a whole lotta nothin'. There's an impulse to deviate from normal golf broadcasts, which we applaud and welcome. But welcoming a score of voices into the booth isn't innovation. 

While we're here... 

Silence can be golden

Ernie Johnson, bless his heart, was on the warpath when it came to narration, and a Twitter search of "Peter Jacobsen + mute" produces NSFW results. Take a page from the Vin Scully Playbook: dead air is perfectly fine. Sometimes, the moment even calls for it. 

Bring in a comedian

Again, this should be entertaining, and the broadcast desperately required levity. This doesn't require someone who dabbles in high-concept pieces, although Norm MacDonald thrives in this arena, and given he was at The Match, this certainly makes him a candidate. Pair a comic with Dan Hicks (a man who knows how to direct traffic, not cause it) and Geoff Ogilvy (an Internet favor) and you got yourself a viable booth.

Less is more, except if Norm MacDonald is available....  Seriously, let me know when you've squared that circle....

No live mics

Know why Charles Barkley endures as a prominent figure into his mid-50s? He's funny. Not athlete funny, funny funny. So while it's understandable fans were disappointed at the lack of engaging discourse between Tiger and Phil, the dirty truth is that's the norm, with Sir Charles a far outlier. Continue to have the players mic'd, on the off-chance anything of substance is actually said. But without smack-talk or organic banter, there's no need to hear every mundane comment or observation. And there's DEFINITELY no need to hear Phil's "I just did 40 minutes on elliptical" breathing, which continues to haunt our dreams.

 I said this from the get-go....  Much better to have the broadcaster screen the audio, and allow us to listen to only the worthwhile bits.

Add undercards

At least two, three being ideal. The big mistake would be making these traditional one-on-one bouts. Mix in a scramble or alternate shot, even a game of Wolf, tag on an in-group reporter and let these serve as interstitials rather than the forced convos between Tiger and Phil. 

There's a chance, just like boxing, the undercards could be more compelling watches than the title fight. Conversely, as this year has testified, Tiger continues to be golf's needle. Whatever scenario you can concoct—Spieth vs. Reed, DJ vs. Koepka, top-flight juniors, DeChambeau debating a Modern Flat Earth Truther—Woods will still draw the most eyes.

Everyone is suggesting this, blindingly oblivious to the obvious fact that Jordan Spieth, as an example, isn't likely to be anyone's undercard.

But this highlights an important issue about our game, which explains why match play isn't used in the professional game.  Any one match is more likely to disappoint than please, so how can that be accommodated?  A Spieth-Reed undercard would excite, but they ain't coming unless they're cut in on the take, and that raises a whole bunch of questions about the financial model.

Kontent is King - Discovery CEO David Zaslav spends nine minutes on Squawk Box touting his new deals with the PGA Tour and Tiger Woods, which can be viewed on Geoff's blog, along with a follow-up interview with Tiger.  Give them a viewing if you're interested in the subject of the future of golf media.

Geoff has a couple of quibbles, including this overlooked issue:

Like many stories on Tiger’s new deal with Discovery and the PGA Tour, this interview Discovery CEO David Zaslav glosses over one key element of the Tiger Woods-is-coming-to-your-living room-next-year-narrative: he’s not, if you live in the United States. (At least not on Discovery’s GolfTV, he will be seen on PGA Tour Live, Golf Channel, NBC, CBS and TNT, among others).

Nor is Tiger going to be seen on American screens until 2022 at the earliest as part of this content play that more like the PGA Tour building its own network while wisely consolidating its international presentation, as something looking to satisfy viewers.

He's been all over this U.S. market issue, which does seem to be deliberately swept under the rug.  That to me is just a timing issue, with this seemingly the more substantive contribution:

More interesting for those on the television side of this story is the increasingly debatable 

vision of a world where we all watch things on a phone. Zaslav emphasizes repeatedly in this interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, even holding up his phone twice to highlight his predictable “Netflix” comparison.

Anyone who has watched golf on a phone can tell you that the viewing experience is generally limited since it is not shot for such devices nor can it ever be made compelling as a cell phone product give the length of a round. Then again, maybe this will finally encourage the PGA Tour to do something about slow play! 

Conversely, on a large screen golf is brilliant, giving the sport an aesthetic advantage over others. Sponsors pay handsomely to be viewed in as many homes as possible and to have their logos seen as easily as possible, without being obtrusive. The phone push seems to conflict with the needs of sponsors.

These kids today....  I quite agree with Shack, though I'm of course far removed from the target demographic....  I don't watch anything on my phone, not even on my iPad in most cases.

Now let's digress and enjoy Tiger's part in this for a sec....

The 14-time Major champion said he was excited for the new endeavor, which he hoped would generate enthusiasm for the game among a new, younger audience.

"I want to talk to golf fans and golfers everywhere, directly, and straight from me," Woods said. 

"That's important to me. Talking about what we care about: what's happening on the course, how to play better, how can I shoot lower scores tomorrow, how can I beat my friends?" 

The 42-year-old said sharing his knowledge of the game through training videos was his way of giving back to people who share his love for the game. 

"Getting the chance to do instruction is exciting," he said. 

"I've always been focused on my own game and this experience can help players everywhere. Whether you're a long-time player or a beginner, there are some things that help us all play better." 

"If I can help the next generation enjoy the game more and play better, that's pretty special."

Unfortunately, I watched that on my phone, and the small screen precluded noticing whether Tiger's nose was growing during his comments.....

Zaslav wants to be the Netflix of the golf world, but is that a necessary thing?  To me, the content sounds dreadful, as if the world needs more instructional videos....  The only thing missing is Tin Cup on an endless loop.... 

And the timing is schadenfreudalicious, coming as it does after the perfect demonstration of Tiger's disappointing TV presence....  Color me skeptical, though that is of course my default position.

Enjoy the weekend and we'll catch up on Monday.