Improving Golf Telecasts
When Frank Nobilo did his piece on the Golf Channel after the U.S. Open on Sunday, it got me thinking about ways the broadcast giants could improve golf telecasts. The first thing that came to mind was a cap-cam that a player would wear. First off, it’s understandable that most players would never wear something like this during a competitive round, but I think asking a player to wear one during a practice round or pro-am would be extremely beneficial.
Secondly, I’d give players the option of having their audio muted in between shots, so that discussions between player and caddie would remain private. Another idea would be to an in-the-round view of a couple of greens. Broadcast networks already place mics on and around greens, but my idea would be to add small cameras placed very low to the ground, around the circumference of the green to give viewers the illusion of how undulating greens are. In fact, the BBC already places cameras in some of the bunkers at British Open sites, and it gives a very interesting view of a player hitting out of the bunker.
Professional football, basketball, and NASCAR have all come up with innovative ideas for improving their telecasts, and golf needs to do the same.