It’s time for a major overhaul of golf’s live coverage
Have Patrick Cantlay and Kevin Na finished their rounds at Riviera yet? Alex Perry questions why people are still watching in this week’s Dialled In
Morning. Welcome to another edition of Dialled In. There’s a downbeat mood in the NCG editorial department today after we lost our match against the sales team on Friday. Still, Moortown was in excellent nick given the weather conditions of the previous week, so that was nice.
Did you catch any of the golf on Sunday? Every time Patrick Cantlay stood over a shot I thought my TV was rebooting. I kept picturing golf fans all over the country smacking their Sky boxes.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about…
Pre-shot routine:
Look
Walk up
Look
Regrip
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Look
Waggle
Hit pic.twitter.com/nDRn6Wig20— Jamie Kennedy (@jamierkennedy) February 18, 2018
It genuinely makes my teeth itch just watching it. And of course golf Twitter was either annoyed…
One minute 32 seconds for Cantlay over his par putt at the 4th. And he’s by no means the slowest in the field ??
— Keith Jackson (@KeithDJackson) February 18, 2018
…or had fun with it…
Cantlay ? pic.twitter.com/MYypxp0swm
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 18, 2018
It wasn’t just Cantlay, of course, Kevin Na was also in contention…
SERIOUSLY, Kevin Na?!?!
That Is A Tap In, MATE! pic.twitter.com/YMmNT6m5H7
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) February 18, 2018
Bold of the PGA Tour account to persist with “#QuickHits” in a tournament led by Patrick Cantlay and Kevin Na.
— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) February 18, 2018
But when he finally did hit the ball…
Kevin Na’s recoil game is too strong right now. pic.twitter.com/ipPHeESoAv
— Skratch (@Skratch) February 18, 2018
Kevin Na on 17 pic.twitter.com/HTqg2CKe06
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) February 18, 2018
On a serious note, is slow play killing the game as a spectator sport? I can barely watch it any more and I blimmin’ love watching golf.
It’s got to a point now where it’s something I’ll just have on in the background while I do something else, rather than watching intently.
I think we’ve got to a point now where the coverage needs to be around three hours long, with an hour of highlights showing what’s happened that day and then two hours of “live” coverage which is on a slight delay. Otherwise, you’ll just get people turning off.
If you’ve affected by any of the scenes in tonight’s golf, please call the number on the screen now.
Speaking of ridiculous pre-shot routines
The Angry Club Golfer has had his say…
Dirty talk
Plenty of golfers like to talk to their ball while it’s in flight, and Justin Thomas is no different.
Well, except for what he’s actually saying…
??@JustinThomas34 has a way with words … pic.twitter.com/DzqbVAbuh3
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 17, 2018
Oh boys
While watching Bubba Watson ease his way to victory at Riviera, I was reminded, completely out of the blue, of the time he was joined by Rickie Fowler, Ben Crane and Hunter Mahan to form Golf Boys…
For no other reason than Bubba leading the Genesis Open, I just remembered Golf Boys – Oh Oh Oh.https://t.co/gFeY9RwfRk
— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) February 18, 2018
Goodness me they did a sequel.
Who else has seen this filth?https://t.co/IPEnRumTzh
— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) February 18, 2018
I’m not going to knock it because it was for charity, so I’ll just say this: Bubba Watson is exceptionally hairy.
10 and done
Also, remember when Bubba said he was going to quit golf once he won 10 PGA Tour titles? Well his Genesis Open victory was his 10th.
Watch this space.
(Don’t watch this space. He’s obviously not going to.)
Ryder Cupdate
We’d all love to see Bubba back on the Ryder Cup team. Oh go on then let’s watch it again…
Every time.
Now, imagine if Cantlay and Na were a team at the Ryder Cup? European opponents would just concede every hole in a bid to get round before sunset.
Anyway, here’s the latest from our old pal Nosferatu…
#RyderCup projection update as of 19-Feb-2018. No changes in the top 8 qualifiers for either team, but the two winners, @bubbawatson and @joostluiten have made significant moves… #OWGR @thomasbjorngolf @jimfuryk pic.twitter.com/l3KIvMIGib
— Nosferatu (@VC606) February 19, 2018
If the Ryder Cup was next week and they were the teams, who would win?
Twin peaks
I love this.
Gary and Guy Tilston are twins. And they are European Tour caddies. And they were both on the bags of players who had holes-in-one over the weekend. Mark Townsend has the full run down in his Oman Open wrap.
That’s it from me. Enjoy your week. Goodbye.
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
