Golf rings in the holidays this holiday season – and what’s under the tree? Ah, yes: sweet, sweet made-for-TV match. The latest offering, the return of the Skins Game, aired to audiences on Amazon Prime on Black Friday.
The Skins Game had some strong moments following in the footsteps of its predecessors, including The Match and last year’s The confrontation. But like many things in golf, the event also drew criticism from fans who found the format stale and the competition uninspiring.
The book was closed on the Skins Game by 1pm or so ET, but the TV event genre is here to stay. So what would the GOLF.com team do to spice up the fun? We’ll dive into it below.
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): Well, Sean, we’ve finally done it: we’re fixing the television by bringing back the written word.
Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): Hahaha, yes…
James: In all seriousness, I brought us together here because I wanted a chance to talk about the Skins game. I thought the broadcast was… solid! And that’s certainly better than nothing for Black Friday morning. But I don’t think it’s offensive to say that the experience didn’t exactly blow my socks off. Before we set our chainsaws to anything, let’s practice a little holiday cheer: What was something you enjoyed about Amazon’s golf debut?
Sean: I liked that we gave up using AirPods. All four players had the microphone on, but none of them knew what the broadcast booth was saying. They were ordinary to play, with Xander choosing to be the foil to Tommy Fleetwood’s easy composure, to attack Shane Lowry against Keegan Bradley, to occasionally take the microphone from Colt Knost. As nice as it is for broadcasters to communicate back and forth with players every now and then, I think it’s a lot easier to just let the players be the players… as long as you have a Xander pulling the strings himself.
James: And I will say this: I enjoyed the broadcast team. Andrew Catalon is ridiculously underrated as a golf broadcaster, and Colt Knost earned his Thanksgiving leftovers after carrying a huge load as a course analyst on the broadcast (and lasting through all 18 holes!).
Sean: To me, that’s what a lot of TV golf productions have been. Some good actors! A bit of semi-relevant golf. A lot of internal hype about what is different this time. But count them up. We’ve seen many iterations in recent history.
James: Yes, I think it’s important to remember that televised golf recently reinvented the wheel for televised golf. Many people forget that’s what drone tracers, microphone players, and on-court interviews were dream dreams in the golf world when The Match arrived on the scene seven years ago. Now, thanks in no small part to made-for-TV golf, they are part of our everyday experience.
James: Yes! So I tasked all of us with coming up with three innovations that YOU would implement that would launch us forward on golf TV. I’ll let you start.
Sean: I wouldn’t call it an innovation by any means, just get it and stay with it by brand with what the event is or at least wants to be, feels so crucial to attracting meaningful attention. By that I mean, don’t let Peter Jacobsen tell me that Keegan Bradley treats putts in this event the way he treats putts at the Masters; There isn’t a golf fan on the planet willing to walk that path of faith, so make sure you stay on message. Knost’s interviews were friendly and light-hearted, which matched the mood of the players. But then there was the competing idea, sometimes shared, that these professionals will do everything they can to beat each other. I mean, Tommy Fleetwood came into town from Dubai and raced back home without enough time for a practice lap. This is not teeth grinding!
In short, make it about one thing and keep it about that one thing. That might be enough to give some focused meaning to the five hours we’ll spend together.
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James: I always think of golf TV in terms of three categories: the diehard fan, the average fan and the casual fan. I think made-for-TV golf has discovered the casual fan. In the spirit of TV golf, the casual golf fan is a facsimile of the average American: they want funny jokes and cool images and players competing for big money. This is how you get the Skins game.
I’m less sure that made-for-TV golf has been discovered by the diehard or even the average golf fan. How does tuning make you smarter? How do you learn about playing the game from the pros? How does it take you DEEPER into the lives of professional golfers?
In some ways, this should be the easiest place for television golf to experiment: there is a LOT of time between the tee and the green on each hole, and there are only a handful of players. Why not hire a swing instructor? Or bring back a version of Ken Brown’s “Brownie Points” segment? Or get swing tips from the players watching at home? These are just three top-of-mind ideas, but I think anything aimed at the diehards will catch on. Sean, what’s your second solution?
Sean: I wanted to suggest something like that! The wandering nature of Knost always felt present, which is good, but I also felt like I wanted that learn more. When Keegan Bradley talks about trying to hit this long iron fade, and Xander Schauffele chides him for trying to hit a long iron fade, it would be great to see a broadcast forcing Keegan to explain that for the viewer with as much detail as possible. I’ve had Xander and Tommy give instructional tips before – this is their expertise! Forcing them to share it, at the moment they have an opportunity, feels completely fair considering the amount of money they receive.
James: My second service is simple: why does this video need to be live? I know we’re prisoners of the moment here, and there are some intrinsic benefits to live competition, but why not follow in the footsteps of the Internet Invitational and hire editors who can create a story that moves? I heard Knost loud and clear when he pointed out on
Sean: That would solve one of the problems that ailed this broadcast: how often producers had to dump the audio for five seconds because they brought in a top-tier curse star like Shane Lowry. I think my latest innovation is also a tip for YouTube Golf: have two-man teams team up and conquer the world – i.e., have Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas say “We’re in” for win-or-go-home matches, as many as you want, against other notable duos. JT and Spieth vs. Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler. The winner will face Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. The winner of that will take on Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, or – gasp! —Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. These events are often organized through the interest of a sponsor, the wishes of one or two TV executives – this one felt like one Things Chad Mumm Really Loves production – and involve all professionals who are nearby, vaguely interested and available. If two players showed genuine enthusiasm to hold (and keep) the championship title, I could imagine a longer catwalk. (Footnote: This stems entirely from the fact that JT and Spieth were endlessly entertaining against Tiger Woods and McIlroy a few years ago.)
James: My third solution is also quite simple: better locations. Truly great golf courses are what takes the US Open to the next level every year, but there are dozens of truly great courses that don’t have the infrastructure to host a major event (and dozens more with truly crazy visuals that also add to the fun). To make that one courses are the center of the experience, in the same way as the professionals. Star power isn’t just found at the OWGR!
Bag: I’m there with you. Panther National is an exciting time, but it isn’t as recognizable (yet) because it isn’t known. I can’t go play it. You can’t do that either. But that’s a whole different can of worms, which complicates matters. The private, wide-open nature of Panther National is exactly what helped it host this venture. I’m not sure which Southern course is the perfect setting for future Black Friday matches, but there should be plenty of room for this dreamlike production to come to fruition.
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