This got me thinking. Why is it I can't seem to watch a game I enjoy so much playing? It dawned on me that the reason I can't stay glued onto a tournament is because the networks don't show the facets of the game that make it so interesting. All you pretty much see when you watch is the player as he sets up and swings at the ball, and then the screen cuts to where the ball lands. You know he hit a good or bad shot based on where the ball lands. Is it on the fairway or rough? Is it on the green or bunker? And that's pretty much all you see. What's missing here is the viewer's ability to truly appreciate the skill involved in hitting a good shot. It isn't that the networks don't try because they do. They show slow motion videos of a swing as the commentators talk about the pro's form and basics. They talk about how these things contribute to the resulting shot. It's a valiant effort at making the game interesting but something is missing. I feel that this isn't enough to really get people to appreciate the skill involved in hitting a golf ball in the precise manner that golf professionals do.
Think about any other sport on television. Almost every sport you watch will show the entire area where the action is happening. In basketball you see the half of the court where the players are trying to score. If there's a fast break, the camera will quickly zoom out or pan to where the ball is going. In football it's pretty much the same thing. Hockey, tennis, badminton, and any other sport, it's the same formula. The problem with watching golf on TV is that they show the player's swing and where the ball lands but skip over everything in between. And then one day while watching the PGA tour I saw this:
Golf ProTracer Compilation 2014 PLAYERS Championship
I thought to myself "Woah! That's awesome! I can see if they shot a fade, draw, or straight on." It was at this moment that I realized what was really missing in golf. Again, it has everything to do with appreciating the skill involved in achieving the perfect golf shot. To the casual viewer it may be no big deal but to the average golfer it's one of the hardest things to achieve - control of the shot! TV networks need to show a graphic of the hole being played and track the player's shot from a bird's eye view. Think about it. If you've ever watched billiards on TV you would have noticed that commentators will sometimes draw on the screen. They show where the "hazards" are, where the player is likely to bank a shot, or where the ball will likely be placed at the end of a shot. Now imagine something like this being done in golf. You've got a ball a fraction of the size of a pool ball and 300-400 yards of fairway and these guys can put the ball exactly where they want most of the time. That's amazing! But the only way to show this is to:1. Track the flight/path of the ball exactly the way Protracer does it off the tee. But don't just track the tee shot, track all the shots before the putting green.
2. Show a graphic of the hole being played complete with hazards and roughs. Golf is played over 18 holes and each hole has its unique features and challenges. It's often difficult to appreciate the significance of where these hole-specific features and challenges are when you can't see where they are in relation to the player's shot.
3. Commentators should be able to draw on the graphic to indicate ideal ball placement and/or other areas related to making a good golf shot (just like they do in billiards).
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| How much more compelling would golf be if you saw graphics like this?
Golf is such a great game to learn and play, it could be such a joy to watch if only TV could present it in a way that is compelling and interesting to all viewers (from beginner to pro).
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