Something other than Tiger

[Erky]

Rory has his work cut out for him. I think the talent that he is facing is much more fierce then Tiger ever had at the same age.

That's sort of the problem. Fields are deep, but golf needs a superstar, not a bunch of really good players.

 

[Cobberz]

Like many have said, Focus on the young guns. There has to be multiple great stories that nobody has heard about or told yet, facing adversity, almost giving up etc. I do like the one show on the golf channel (I cant remember what its called) where they focus on one tour players lifestyle (kinda like MTV cribs) Honestly if the tour was like it is now when Tiger started I do not think he would have dominated like he did. The caliber of golfer on tour nowadays is way more advanced than 16 years ago, and there was a lot of great talent back then too. I just think its a little ridiculous that theres a golf tournament being televised with X amount of great talent, and they cut to tiger packing up his car after WD'ing for 35 minutes, and then Horschel and Fowler get absolutely no TV time after Tiger quits. I know a lot of people love Tiger etc, but most knowledgeable golf fans are very tired of this song and dance with talking about him 24/7. So many topics could be talked about within the PGA hopefully these commentators will wake up and start doing something with it

 

[Canadan]

That might work for a print magazine, but I don't think that would work well for TV at all. The average viewer is going to move on from the channel if they start talking about players they don't know or have interest in. For the average viewer, they want to see someone become dominant again. I think once these players, such as Rory, start making a big name for themselves with their accomplishments, more average viewers will want to see/hear about them.

For the average viewer, I think it's going to be dependent on the players themselves and their accomplishments. The average viewer didn't become a Tiger fan because of his back story, they became a fan because of his dominance of the sport.

Just my opinion though.

What happens if Tiger never gets back to competitive golf and he retires? Is golf just over?

There are guys making names for themselves. There are competitive tournaments every weekend as the PGA Tour continues to showcase exceptional talent. That the tour is very much a 'strike gold and win' right now makes every weekend exciting, not a foregone conclusion. If golf wants to move past the Tiger years, they are going to have to start now.

If you put Hahn's story into the ears of a majority of Golf Channel viewership, does it not make this past Sunday's playoff 100x better and more exciting? I think it does. Beats the hell out of 'some dude I don't know winning while Tiger fixes his game' PGA Sunday.

 

[jhstew1]

The GC will always fall back to the easy way to fill a segment or show with Tiger, because he still moves the needle. look at this week, Tiger talk had calmed down & then Harmon says "if Tiger asked i will help him" and BOOM the Tiger Can of worms is open again, they relive all of his major wins/losses, how many w/ this coach or that coach, etc. It's just too easy for them to fall back on Tiger.

How do they fix this, someone needs to dominate the Tour, they could talk about Rickie, Bubba, Reed all they want but if they are not dominating, the average person will say "who?" Right now Rory is the one to do it. The other thing about Tiger, he was so private(to 99% of the world), you had to watch GC for any info on him. These days guys are on social media with pics all the time, its a different time now.

 

[jt2929]

More focus on the young talent! The problem is there hasn't been any young talented player come around like Tiger Woods did. There needs to be a player that takes over like he did and demands the attention, then all cameras will be off him. But I don't see that happening soon unless someone catches fire

But then we will be in the same situation, complaining about coverage of this one player.

 

[Canadan]

I never said that. But it's quite simple to see where the average viewer stands on golf with and without Tiger. All you have to do is look at TV and tournament ratings with and without Tiger. I get it that hardcore golf fans are fed up with seeing and hearing about Tiger all the time, but the "average" viewer isn't a hard core golf fan.

Because Tiger is a household name. People cheer for him because he's been shoved down their throats for over a decade. They know his story and they are familiar with his game, of COURSE they want more... But if the last 6 tournaments from Tiger say anything, it's that they are going to have to find a new strategy to drive golf interest. Their cash cow is about to be put out to pasture.

 

[Tadashi70]

That might work for a print magazine, but I don't think that would work well for TV at all. The average viewer is going to move on from the channel if they start talking about players they don't know or have interest in. For the average viewer, they want to see someone become dominant again. I think once these players, such as Rory, start making a big name for themselves with their accomplishments, more average viewers will want to see/hear about them.

For the average viewer, I think it's going to be dependent on the players themselves and their accomplishments. The average viewer didn't become a Tiger fan because of his back story, they became a fan because of his dominance of the sport.

Just my opinion though.

Once Rory makes a name for himself? I think he has taken care of that, the media just doesn't want put him on that pedistal. This guy is every bit as dominate as TW was, just playing a much stronger breed of player.

 

[Jman]

Once Rory makes a name for himself? I think he has taken care of that, the media just doesn't want put him on that pedistal. This guy is every bit as dominate as TW was, just playing a much stronger breed of player.

And look right there, that bold, is a HELL of a story in and of itself.

 

[fairband]

I would take some more Lydia Ko talk, she has the best potential to be Tiger-like on the LPGA. I know the LPGA is not nearly as popular as the PGA but a dominant player could change that.

 

[jt2929]

Casual viewers don't watch the Golf Channel. And until the media decides to stop being lazy and create stories around the talent that is there, we won't convert casual viewers to dedicated viewers.

100% agree with this.

 

[moosejaa]

I think they could do better in the TV broadcasts. It's a minor thing but have some graphic in the corner of the screen with the name, headshot and score of who it is in the group that they're currently showing. It's hard to keep track sometimes the way they bounce around so much during the telecast. I think that would be helpful.

I like those spots of "These guys are good" highlighting certain players. Keep those coming.

 

[bigskyirish]

I think this is a tough problem. One one hand, I think that the media does a terrible job highlighting other players and developing other stories. And I think there are a lot of great stories out there. On the other hand, I can see why the media covers Tiger they way they do. Off the top of my head, I can't think of another person in any sport who has done what Tiger has done for golf in the last 15-20 years. I'm not saying there isn't one, just that I can't think of one. Look at what purse money was when he started playing and what it is today. Same thing for ratings -- last year's Masters ratings without Tiger were the worst since 1993.

As much as we all love golf, we are in the distinct minority. And Tiger helped bridge that gap. For example, I love to hear stories and see coverage of guys like Spieth, DJ, Fowler, etc. But my wife is a non-golfer and of those three, Rickie Fowler is probably the only one she would recognize and she could not care less about a story on Rickie Fowler. But she'll pay attention if Tiger is involved. For the most part, she hates watching golf and thinks it's insanely boring. But the last time Tiger won the Masters, she sat at a now-defunct ESPNZone and watched the whole round on Sunday with me on the big screen. So I think it makes some sense for the media to simply ride the Tiger stories to death. He brings in people (and revenue) that other golf stories do not.

That said, I couldn't agree more that the media and golf as a whole need to find a way to transition. Tiger is not going to be around forever, and the game needs to find a way to continue the momentum he built without him as the driving force.

Edit to add that I scrolled through the three pages of posts that popped up while I was typing mine and I also agree that the media needs to try. Even if moving past Tiger and engaging wider audiences is a tough problem, there's no way that the problem is going to be solved if no one ever puts some effort into it. The only way to engage people like my wife on something other than Tiger is to make other players and other stories engaging. That might not be an easy thing to do, but it's about time they start giving it a shot.

 

[Mulligan9111]

Point is though, if they don't TRY, then nothing will happen and they will be standing pat.

You can point to whatever, the bottom line is they aren't TRYING to write the story that hooks you into this young talent. They're writing the one fed to them on a glute activated platter.

I would argue they have tried in the past while Tiger was on hiatus with injuries. The problem is that no matter what they have tried, nothing catches viewers for them like a Tiger Woods story. They have tried to push Ricky, Jordan, Keegan, Bubba, heck almost all of the top stars in the past. They've done specials on them and talked extensively about each of them for different tournaments and lead ups into tournaments and after their victories.

I don't like the media one bit, but I do understand why they are doing what they are doing. They have to gain the most exposure possible, and right now in this day and age, Tiger gives them that. Until another player comes a long and starts dominating, such as Rory is starting to do, I don't think the average viewer isn't going to change.

 

[Jman]

I would argue they have tried in the past while Tiger was on hiatus with injuries. The problem is that no matter what they have tried, nothing catches viewers for them like a Tiger Woods story. They have tried to push Ricky, Jordan, Keegan, Bubba, heck almost all of the top stars in the past. They've done specials on them and talked extensively about each of them for different tournaments and lead ups into tournaments and after their victories.

I don't like the media one bit, but I do understand why they are doing what they are doing. They have to gain the most exposure possible, and right now in this day and age, Tiger gives them that. Until another player comes a long and starts dominating, such as Rory is starting to do, I don't think the average viewer isn't going to change.

When Tiger was on hiatus, they talked nonstop about Tiger being on hiatus. There was never a dedicated push at anything else. Even now, hiatus, and same shat different day.

 

[Canadan]

When Tiger was on hiatus, they talked nonstop about Tiger being on hiatus. There was never a dedicated push at anything else. Even now, hiatus, and same shat different day.

Ain't that the truth. So far as I've seen over the last couple tourneys, GC would be just as inclined to end the tournament with Tiger's WD and talk about him until he signs up for another event.

 

[Mulligan9111]

Once Rory makes a name for himself? I think he has taken care of that, the media just doesn't want put him on that pedistal. This guy is every bit as dominate as TW was, just playing a much stronger breed of player.

I'm sorry but Rory is not every bit as dominate as TW was. Rory is great, I love watching him play golf, but come on man.

 

[JB]

Watch any other league channel. NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, etc. Then watch the Golf Channel. And see the lack of creativity and input.
For all the talk of "The average fan wants it"...THe average fan is not watching the golf channel. The demographic is not even close to the average casual fan.

 

[mikeg_74]

I'm sorry but Rory is not every bit as dominate as TW was. Rory is great, I love watching him play golf, but come on man.

Nobody will ever be that dominant IMO, but still not a reason to ignore or pass over current accomplishments. Rory's current major domination alone is worthy of being covered more. Throw in Fowler's top 5's from last year & you have some stories to be written for sure.

 

[Mulligan9111]

When Tiger was on hiatus, they talked nonstop about Tiger being on hiatus. There was never a dedicated push at anything else. Even now, hiatus, and same shat different day.

Apparently you and I watch two different Golf Channels. There was a huge Jordan Spieth push the year he got his first win. There was a huge Rory push last year after his performance at the Open, Bridgestone, and PGA Championship. There has been huge pushes for Bubba, even did a special where Bubba went back to his hometown after his Master's win, etc. etc. Yes there was discussion about Tiger, but it was not all Tiger 24/7 during his hiatus. The problem is that people didn't seem to gives a rats behind about those other stories. Is that the media's fault, or is it the viewership's fault?

You might not care about ratings or anything like that, but Television networks and media outlets do. Ratings tells them what people are tuning into and what they are aren't tuning into.

 

[Paladin]

I think there needs to be a new generation of writers/journos punching their ticket by covering other golfers. Too many in the golf press business have gotten where they are by their access (or lack thereof) to Tiger. I don't see the Tiger obsession as an indictment of Tiger, but it is an indictment of people who have made covering Tiger bigger than covering golf. Those are the writers that need to get their walking papers and replaced with people willing to cover and engage the personalities that are emerging on tour. I think right now the problem is that any golfer on tour is wary of the "Tiger Treatment." Rightfully so. The press in the golf industry became unconscionably sordid when Tiger was going through his...issues. They're proving equally provocative about writing his eulogy now.

The problem isn't golf. The problem isn't Tiger. The problem is the industry that makes writing about Tiger a self-licking ice cream cone, IMO.

 

[Canadan]

I'm sorry but Rory is not every bit as dominate as TW was. Rory is great, I love watching him play golf, but come on man.

Do you think Tiger will ever dominate again the way he did 5+ years ago?

If he doesn't, how many bad finishes/WDs will it take before this TigerGolfChannel strategy and the 'casual fan who wants the coverage' will last before they need to completely redesign their platform of coverage?

 

[JB]

Apparently you and I watch two different Golf Channels.

Apparently we are, because it is on all day every day in my office and we are seeing very different things or consider "huge push" something very different. Two fifteen minute segments or a signle 15 minute special is very different than 18 minutes out of a 22 minute show 6 days a week.

 

[Jman]

Apparently you and I watch two different Golf Channels. There was a huge Jordan Spieth push the year he got his first win. There was a huge Rory push last year after his performance at the Open, Bridgestone, and PGA Championship. There has been huge pushes for Bubba, even did a special where Bubba went back to his hometown after his Master's win, etc. etc. Yes there was discussion about Tiger, but it was not all Tiger 24/7 during his hiatus. The problem is that people didn't seem to gives a rats behind about those other stories. Is that the media's fault, or is it the viewership's fault?

You might not care about ratings or anything like that, but Television networks and media outlets do. Ratings tells them what people are tuning into and what they are aren't tuning into.

LOL, OK dude, its always been all Tiger, and until they grow the willingness to WORK for a story, it always will be.

 

[Lynchburg14]

Aim it toward the young guys.

 

[bigskyirish]

Watch any other league channel. NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, etc. Then watch the Golf Channel. And see the lack of creativity and input.
For all the talk of "The average fan wants it"...THe average fan is not watching the golf channel. The demographic is not even close to the average casual fan.

Totally agree with this. If we're just talking about the golf channel, none of what I said really applies. If the Golf Channel would even do a small handful of interesting stories on other guys it would be a HUGE improvement. Watching a roundtable on when Tiger might play again followed by an hourlong highlight reel of Tiger's best U.S. Open moments simply isn't interesting at this point.