Of the four Majors, The Open Championship probably offers the best overall television experience. Unlike at The Masters – where the patchy coverages can lead to fans feeling rather fed up – we’re able to watch live golf from 6am (1am eastern) all the way through until about 9pm (4pm eastern).
That said, there are still areas to improve upon. I completely acknowledge the logistical challenges and budgets involved, but I don’t think any of the below suggestions would be too difficult to implement at Royal Portrush and beyond…
1st tee
I might be on my own here, but I find it tedious watching several groups hit off the 1st tee. I’d much rather be watching players hitting approaches or birdie putts, especially given that 1st holes don’t tend to be the most exciting.
Leaderboard Colour
This is a fairly niche point and it’s possible that no one else has given this any thought whatsoever, but I think they’ve used the wrong colours to display pars and bogeys (pars are whitish and bogeys are grey). It’s the same on The Open website, too.
Revolving leaderboard
I see no reason why there shouldn’t be a revolving A-Z leaderboard at the bottom of the screen at all times. There’s a constant top-ten leaderboard on the right-hand side, so either supplement that or tweak that to show every player in the field.
Shot tracer
Shot-tracer technology has improved the viewing experience tremendously and it should be used on every tee shot and approach shot. Failing that, there should be a graphic at the bottom-left or bottom-right of the screen showing the direction of the ball. Coverage has moved on so much, and the days of a golfer hitting a ball and viewers having no idea where it’s gone should be confined to the past.
Not everyone wants to listen to the chosen commentators and there should be at least one alternative audio feed provided. You can’t please everyone, but if you’ve formed a dislike of a particular commentator, your options are to mute the television or turn to radio.
There are some great golf commentators, but more variety would be welcomed
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Hole difficulty rankings
This one is a complete no-brainer. There’s no reason why the hole difficulty ranking shouldn’t be displayed in the top-left corner in addition to…
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