The Masters Tournament finished last weekend with a somewhat tame Sunday round and without many familiar names atop the leaderboard. While Hideki winning is certainly memorable, and his caddy bowing in respect to the course was even more-so, in all regards, the tournament won’t be remembered as an all-time great.
This feeling is directly reflected in the Master’s TV ratings. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t good. In a time where almost every sport is growing in TV popularity, Golf’s crown jewel is at its dullest in more than two decades.
Golf faces a serious conundrum. Golf as a sport just experienced one of the largest increases in participation in recent memory, while golf at the highest level sees less viewers than it has in 23 years. What gives?
Actually, it’s pretty obvious. Golf is fun to play. Golf is a pain to watch.
It’s almost impossible to get emotionally invested in 80% of the ~150 tour players, it’s a chore to wade through hours of commercials each day of a tournament, and it’s painful to have commentators and announcers treat viewers as incompetent.
Want an example of a sport getting it right at the moment? F1.
Watching cars go around a track 60 times isn’t intrinsically that much more entertaining as watching Golf, but my god does the broadcast of F1 make it a way better entertainment experience.
- F1 makes it so easy to get invested in the drivers, sharing storylines, adding context and creating rivalries.
- F1 uses creative and non-interrupting advertising methods. Sure I know there are economics involved here, but up to 23 minutes of commercials in an hour of golf? That doesn’t feel good as a viewer.
- F1 broadcasts give you a bit of info as a beginner to the sport, but they don’t over-explain every little aspect, allowing you as a viewer to get hooked, and then learn and explore on your own. As a golf announcer, I don’t need to just be told that a certain shot is hard. Tell me why.
All-in-all, Golf faces a tough choice when it comes to all the new blood flowing into the sport. There’s a path to converting those people into Professional Golf fans through genuinely interesting storylines, enjoyable viewing experiences, and enticing details. Then there’s another path where the professional game remains hard to enjoy, has high barriers to entry, and pushes viewers away.
Two Off the First 