Enhancing a “Tradition Like No Other”
Let’s face it… in the post-Tiger era (my opinion is that he will not reclaim his old glory, hence the $100 bet I made with MJ that Tiger won’t beat Jack’s record) golf could use some help. We all can agree that golf with Tiger is more exciting than golf without Tiger. The proof is in the pudding, ratings were down 26% for this past US Open.
How can we make golf more exciting and keep the game in line with the history and the tradition that we’ve come to expect? Of course you could go the route mentioned by guys like @TheRealKRE which look like this:
(putting girls in bikinis throughout the course won’t fly, girls can barely even step on the course at Augusta)
Nonetheless, the USGA needs to implement some new techniques to keep our ADD-society plugged in, watching this incredible sport. I wrote this statement over the weekend on my Bradley Open Facebook page:
[Although I agree with the no phone policy at the Open, think about the added "buzz" they're missing out on by not allowing thousands in attendance to tweet, status update and mobile upload pics of all the cool stuff going on at Congressional. #justsaying ]
The USGA needs to enhance our viewing pleasure and I have some ideas:
— Allow the caddies to live tweet during the rounds
I love this idea! Think about it: Rory and his caddy are lining up for a clutch tee shot at 18 for a victory. You’re watching the caddy and Rory go back and forth in conversation, then the caddy tweets: ["I said 5 iron, Rory wants to use a 6, lets see if he has the muscle #risky"] We read the tweet as Rory is lining up his shot, Rory tees off, comes up short and lands in the bunker. Next tweet comes across: ["I guess I wasn't as strong as I thought, Rory just said to me... #caddyknowsbest"] Now thats entertainment.
— Allow golfers to tweet during the round
This may not be realistic but imagine the entertainment. John Daly tweets: ["some idiot in the crowd just sneezed during my back swing, stupid #washingtonians #damn" Fun!
--- Mic-up the players
Bret Oliverio from 106.7 The Fan talked about this subject yesterday morning and I couldn't agree more. He reminded me in a tweet about the need for television viewing enhancements and how it's been done in other sports:
It's all about more access. If they can enhance TV poker then they can enhance golf on TV. I want to know if Westwood is going to be aggressive on this par-4. I want to know what Tiger says to himself about the drunk idiot to his right who sneezed during his back swing. I want to know how their reading the angles on the greens. Maybe I can learn something as I'm watching 6-hours of golf coverage on my weekend and feel more a part of the action.
--- Put an Erin Andrews-type out on the course for live interviews
Listen, if they can interview the "head ball coach" right before kickoff, Rick Carlise before the 4th qtr in the NBA Finals or Dirk Nowitzki before he heads in for halftime then they can interview Rory as he steps up to the 18th tee box in a major. That's must see tv!
["Rory, you've been erratic with your driver all afternoon, do you plan on risking it on 18 with only a one-shot lead over Day?]
["Sergio, on 17 you just missed a 3ft uphill putt, can you explain to our television viewing audience how a professional golfer with so much on the line, comes up short in that opportunity?" ]
["Rory, has wearing blue shirts with white pants annoyed you this weekend as much as it's annoyed our audience?"]
These are just some of my ideas… What do you think?
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