Of the four Majors, The Open Championship probably offers the best overall television experience. Unlike at The Masters – where the patchy coverages can lead to fans feeling rather fed up – we’re able to watch live golf from 6am (1am eastern) all the way through until about 9pm (4pm eastern).
That said, there are still areas to improve upon. I completely acknowledge the logistical challenges and budgets involved, but I don’t think any of the below suggestions would be too difficult to implement at Royal Portrush and beyond…
1st tee
I might be on my own here, but I find it tedious watching several groups hit off the 1st tee. I’d much rather be watching players hitting approaches or birdie putts, especially given that 1st holes don’t tend to be the most exciting.
Leaderboard Colour
This is a fairly niche point and it’s possible that no one else has given this any thought whatsoever, but I think they’ve used the wrong colours to display pars and bogeys (pars are whitish and bogeys are grey). It’s the same on The Open website, too.
Revolving leaderboard
I see no reason why there shouldn’t be a revolving A-Z leaderboard at the bottom of the screen at all times. There’s a constant top-ten leaderboard on the right-hand side, so either supplement that or tweak that to show every player in the field.
Shot tracer
Shot-tracer technology has improved the viewing experience tremendously and it should be used on every tee shot and approach shot. Failing that, there should be a graphic at the bottom-left or bottom-right of the screen showing the direction of the ball. Coverage has moved on so much, and the days of a golfer hitting a ball and viewers having no idea where it’s gone should be confined to the past.
Alternative commentary options
Not everyone wants to listen to the chosen commentators and there should be at least one alternative audio feed provided. You can’t please everyone, but if you’ve formed a dislike of a particular commentator, your options are to mute the television or turn to radio.
Hole difficulty rankings
This one is a complete no-brainer. There’s no reason why the hole difficulty ranking shouldn’t be displayed in the top-left corner in addition to the hole number and yardage information.
Less dead time
This is quite a big gripe of mine. Often directors will cut to a player too soon before they hit a shot and linger for too long afterwards, before then showing 30 seconds of flags flapping in the wind. I’m not a fan of LIV Golf, but I do think there are lessons to be learned from the high-paced broadcast.
Featured group conundrum
On the whole, featured groups have been a good thing for golf coverage, but sometimes there are too many eggs in the featured group basket, meaning not enough shots from elsewhere on the golf course (which can be irritating if the players in those groups aren’t playing well). I’d be in favour of a stream that excludes shots from featured groups and a feed that exclusively shows their shots, with the main broadcast having better balance between the two.
Wind direction graphics
This is similar to the hole-difficulty point. There should be graphics showing the wind direction on every long-game shot, whether that’s fully overlaid on the screen or in a box off to the side. Wind direction has such a huge influence on proceedings – especially on a links course – and it would enhance the broadcast so much if we could see its strength and exact direction on every shot.
Putting angles
Where possible – and I accept this isn’t always possible – putts should be shown from either behind the golf ball or behind the hole. There should never be a scenario where a putt is shown side-on unless it’s the only available angle. Graphics that show putting lines can also be a welcome addition, especially on longer putts.
Commentary criticism
At times, banter is welcome in the commentary box and a sign of good camaraderie between the analysts, which is important. But I think the Sky Sports golf team overdoes it slightly. Also, it can become tiresome when people in the box talk about how bad they are at golf and how much they struggled with certain shots – they’re all multiple winners on tour! How do you think we feel?
Too much Rory
This is a controversial one, but I think all the attention on McIlroy is overkill. I get it – he completed the Career Grand Slam at Augusta and he’s from Northern Ireland, but there’s enough time to focus on him and give due consideration to others in the field.
More double screens
Double screens can be a very effective way of showing concurrent putts so there’s more time to give full-screen attention to drives and irons. It’s something you seldom see on Open Championship broadcasts, if ever.
Guest commentators
Graeme McDowell has been a welcome addition to the commentary booth and using players who are still competing on tour adds a totally different perspective. I also enjoy it when someone who’s played in the morning wave does some guest commentary in the afternoon, discussing the challenge of the course and some of the subtle nuances.
Have I missed anything? What do you think can be improved? Leave your comments below!
