I recently did some digging into the quality of televised golf coverage, and despite my own dissatisfaction with the viewing experience, I was shocked to discover in my early investigations that the PGA Tour only aired 88 shots in a full hour of coverage.
LIV Golf has produced more encouraging results, showing 120 over the same time frame, but I’m eager to see how the DP World Tour compares to the other elite tours in the men’s pro game.
Stopwatch and notepad in hand, I sat down to watch 60 minutes of coverage of the Italian Open, but to be honest, I quickly regretted it. Here are three reasons why I didn't enjoy the experience…
1. Number of golf strokes displayed
When comparing the three major tours and their television coverage, I guessed that the DP World Tour would be closest to its strategic partner, the PGA Tour…and that has proven to be the case.
In the hour of golf I watched, a total of 85 shots were played, which is 3 shots less than the PGA Tour. This puts the DP World Tour in last place, 35 shots less than LIV Golf.
One thing I would say about this product is that we didn’t see unnecessary viewers leaving the studio to watch random filler content, instead we saw a lot of viewers standing around waiting for their partner to hole the ball or make the next shot.
Sometimes we get some on-field interviews with players participating in the tournament that can actually be quite insightful, but overall I feel like the balance between meaningful coverage and “dead time” is still pretty poor.
2. Press hard
If I asked you to guess how many of those 85 shots were putts, I'm sure most people would underestimate it. 65% of the televised shots (56 total) were putts, with the camera constantly switching from one green to another, showing players hitting the same routine.
The tedious process of reading the green, striking the ball, picking it up close or getting it in the hole, and then eventually repeating the process with the next player on the carousel was more than my brain could handle—and by the midway point, I began to question what fun I was having watching the game.
The turning point came when the audience was asked to watch 13 putts in a row, and then over the course of 15 minutes, we were able to get a total of 17 putts and zero tee shots…which brings me to my next point.
In the one-hour live golf broadcast of the Italian Open, 56 putts were shown.
(Image source: Getty Images)
3. How is the Italian Open course like?
The answer to that question is, I can’t tell you. I could barely see anything about Adriatic Golf Club Cervia other than its complex of greens. With the DP World Tour returning to the Emilia-Romagna region for the first time in 31 years, I was excited to see a different place after three years (and the Ryder Cup) at Marco Simone Golf Club.
As a spectator with a genuine interest in the course and the challenges it presents, I strive to understand how the course will play over the weekend or which holes may be the key determiners in the final sprint on Sunday.
I understand that the logistics of covering the entire course with cameras might not be feasible at an event of this magnitude, but I think it’s not too much to ask to at least allow the featured groups to see every tee shot.
So, what needs to change?
Italian Open golf broadcast: only seven tee shots shown in one hour of live golf
(Image source: Getty Images)
Frankly, the DP World Tour is not on the same level as the PGA Tour in terms of field strength overall. I personally don’t think it can compare to LIV Golf regardless of world ranking points, so what does it need to do to stand out?
First, I think it has to make the viewing experience more engaging. If you want more people to watch and participate in the tour and therefore increase its popularity among fans and players, showing 56 putts in an hour is not going to work.
We can’t see every shot of every player on a golf course, that would be ridiculous, but a little more variation in play across the golf course, combined with the already positive “inside the ropes” course experience, would immediately improve the situation.
My concern is that without a niche product, the DP World Tour may continue to struggle to capture the attention of fans. With many golf fans becoming increasingly apathetic about the TV viewing experience, this could be the perfect opportunity to shake things up and try something new.
