Golf, Cable TV and the Commentators
Golf in the fifties and sixties was available on television. You couldn’t stay up all night to watch it, or necessarily have it in color, but everything was in order. You worked your five day week and watched the third, fourth or perhaps both, rounds on the weekend. You could even watch the big three duke it out – nice.
Then, modern technology separated the men from the boys, the casual golf spectator from the rabid maniac who needed it all the time. Wikipedia tells me that Bill Rasmussen, a fired commentator from the Hartford Whalers hockey team, got together with son Scott and insurance agent to form the ESP network in ’78 – quite a response to the sting of getting fired. In that day, their location choice, Plainville, CT, wouldn’t allow satellite dishes – wasn’t that quaint? So, they tried an acre or two in Bristol, situated on a dump – cost them $91 (ah, the good old days). Once Annheuser-Busch got involved, it went off like a rocket. Now, I look down the first page of sites, and I see “Golf-ESPN,” “World Championship Golf,” “PGA Tour Schedule,” “ESPN Golf Blog,” “Golf News & Video,” “ESPN Coverage of the U.S. Open,” “Golf Home ESPN” and “ESPN – UK.” Well done, Bill.
Then it got even wilder around 2007, when Alabaman Joseph Gibbs and legend Arnold Palmer came up with $80 million to launch the Golf Channel. It hardly seems fair, does it, considering that ESPN only cost $91 to incorporate. As of that year, it became the exclusive carrier for the PGA Tour, not to mention broadcasting in high-def almost right off the bat. There was a UK Golf Channel as well, but it folded in the year that the Golf Channel was launched, for want of more live golf.
Certainly, things have moved fast since the ‘70s, especially for an avid golfer from the 50s and 60s, waiting for the school days to fly by so that I could watch some calm weekend golf. As with all great institutions, whether historical or ongoing, faces are needed to drive them. Naturally, ESPN and the Golf Channel have put a series of commentators before us through the years that reflect a wide spectrum of personalities.
American blogger Chris Hibler has offered his choices for the top ten, dealing primarily with the modern age (that is, a decade after we landed on the moon). He begins with Jim Nantz in the 10th spot, crediting his voice and describing him as being synonymous with the Masters – ok, that’s good.
Next comes Stephanie Sparks – Hibler qualifies her as coming from the LPGA, but I wish he wouldn’t sound apologetic about it – no need.
On Ken Venturi, we agree big-time…pure class, pure talent, not afraid to comment on either side of the question. He mentions Roger Maltbie as a “favorite uncle” type, and credits Gary McCord for his colorful on-the-job behavior – no problem there.
David Feherty – meh. I guess so. Johnny Miller ‘s place in commentator history marks the introduction of jalapenos to the dialogue – I guess we needed it. Even in the fifties, sportscasting could get a little bland.
He rounds it out with Frank Nobilo and Peter Aliss, who fail to register on my applause-o-meter entirely, and Nick Faldo as the numero uno of the era.
I don’t have any particular objection to any of these, and agree wholeheartedly on several. But! If there was a Seniors Tour, A Championship Tour for golf announcers, I would have to object. Bound by mid-century decorum, perhaps, but Gene Sarazen, formerly a great, great player on tour was excellent, and no matter who you dig up, there will never be another Heywood Hale-Broun. Love him, hate him, but there will never be another.
Golf is in the space age now, with everything else that’s current. It will never go back to that quiet weekend spot on one of the three channels, nor will we ever hear the niceties spoken again in the same way, even though some of them obviously wanted to throttle the other, even in the black-and-white fifties. So, here’s a sigh of reminiscence, and then I promise to move on.
My own experience with Golf was related to finally getting cable and tuning in to the Golf Channel! I wasn’t too privy to the other channels, but it was the Golf Channel and Sportscenter that were the mainstays (back in the day when Rich Eisen was still an anchor there). I remember Tiger competing in his college championships. (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1004/tiger.woods.college/content.21.html )
Here’s a 1994 video of ESPN’s 15th year anniversary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCa5SQufmHI
They also came out with a book charting the ESPN evolution:
“Those guys have all the fun: Inside the World of ESPN”
Those Guys Have All Fun
Per business: part of the interestness of business ventures is how little capital is needed to begin when you invest all of your profits right back into the business (assuming this is what ESPN did with the $91 to buy the acre of land). The small steps add up.
About technology evolution: The only thing certain about technology and sport is “this too shall pass” – Golf for the young will be something different for what it is to the reader now, and new technologies heretofore unseen (at least to them) will be as taken for granted as water!
It’ll be interesting to see how the ‘young guns’ view Golf Today – living in a time when in Elementary school there already existed Twitter!
Predicting what is next will be interesting: I think its an opportunity to raise the new up and comers on technology that is focused on women’s golf.
For fun (just for a laugh)
Will Ferrell playing with an early ESPN interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VRKKSr669U
If you have a chance to visit the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida you will find a wonderful display of the history of broadcasting especially the television coverage of golf. It is truly amazing how the techniques that are used today allow us to see so much more. If you have not visited this site yet you must go.
Patricia Tate recently posted..Golf, Cable TV and the Commentators