Paul Azinger Commentaries (MERGED)

[BigManSlim]

Zinger is really really bad. I think they should work on improving the make up in the booth. I don't think the lead analyst needs to be a major champion or even an elite level player. I'm sure there are some more journeymen players that are more articulate and insightful. That person may not have the named cache of a major champion but could do a better job perhaps.

 

I also think the inability to add any color in the form of analytics is a mistake. It's like they are so close to dipping their collective toes in it but just can't figure out how to do it. I get that they can't get too in the weeds with stats or risk losing the casual observer. But as an example they could explain strokes gained driving and how the data informed Bryson to do what he's done. Explain the fact that SG data has changed the entire way tour players look at their game (ie less reliance on traditional stats like fairways hit and total putts). A stats nerd who is good at explaining things could add SOOOOO much color to the broadcast but still fit the narrative angle they seem to embrace.

[Wasted_Talent]

Not a fan at all.  It seems like he always trying to build drama.  He will say "you can't go left of this green or your dead."  As soon as the player makes contact he will say something like, "oh no, is that going left?"  "I think it may be going left."  then the balls lands right in the center of the green.

[BNGL]

2 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

Dude got *cancer* when he was at the peak of his career.  He was player of the year on tour in 87, had won 4 times in the year leading up to the 93 PGA, including the Tour Championship, and the Memorial, with a tie for 3rd at the US Open in there as well.  All with a shoulder in such pain he couldn't lift his arm above his head, which he later found was cancer.  Did I mention that?  Cancer?  Dude won a tournament and played in a Ryder Cup after cancer treatment.  

 

I'm no fan of his announcing either, but you really need to quit slagging his playing career. 

 

Jeez, Tony Lema wasn't a great player in your eyes either based on your criteria.  

 

I’m not sure he’s being totally rational I get the hunch he’s having a go. Which is fine but it highlights a bigger issue in the modern game today. Some people don’t realize how good past players are. Plain and simple. Now I’m a golf nut, but Paul was playing the best in the world at that time and to be fair it wasn’t like he won an event right after he recovered I think it was 5/6 maybe even 7 years? So and the Ryder Cup selection was a bit of stretch if I remember correctly. 
 

One of the saddest golf stories I have heard secondhand is that Gary Woodland had no idea who Jackie Burke was. Think about that, two time major winner (Masters and PGA) 20 time tour champion, 5 time Ryder cupper he had no idea who he was. Jackie was a great player. Did he need to know, no not at all it just surprised me to hear that and a lot of guys are kind of ignorant about the history of the game. Which sucks tbh.

 

rant over

[Krt22]

This is like asking if anyone is a fan of genital warts

[khalespace]

I watch golf and don't pay much attention to the announcers as long as they provide relevant information. I find the European Tour's camera work very poor when compared to the PGA's. During the The Open Championship, they missed a lot of ball flights and struggled to find where the balls landed.

 

I think many think the European announcers are better because they are mostly British with an accent that Americans think is sexy.

[JaNelson38]

Azinger isn't great, but most former pro athletes aren't good in a broadcast format anyway.  They're there to provide analysis and insights as to what the competitors are doing, thinking, and feeling.  That's really the long and short of it.  

 

As far as putting a "journeyman" up there as opposed to an accomplished player/major winner, it would be no different....in fact it proabably would be worse.  Anyone who has listened to PGA Tour radio coverage when guys like Dennis Paulson doing the actual analysis can attest to this.  

 

 

[golfortennis]

2 hours ago, JaNelson38 said:

Azinger isn't great, but most former pro athletes aren't good in a broadcast format anyway.  They're there to provide analysis and insights as to what the competitors are doing, thinking, and feeling.  That's really the long and short of it.  

 

As far as putting a "journeyman" up there as opposed to an accomplished player/major winner, it would be no different....in fact it proabably would be worse.  Anyone who has listened to PGA Tour radio coverage when guys like Dennis Paulson doing the actual analysis can attest to this.  

 

 

 

Oh come on, now.  Radio?  I love golf as much as anyone, but there is no way I want to listen to it on the radio.  Paulson may be very rough to listen to, but I think having to do golf.... on radio... is enough of a handicap already that nobody will come out sounding good.

[golfortennis]

3 hours ago, BNGL said:

I’m not sure he’s being totally rational I get the hunch he’s having a go. Which is fine but it highlights a bigger issue in the modern game today. Some people don’t realize how good past players are. Plain and simple. Now I’m a golf nut, but Paul was playing the best in the world at that time and to be fair it wasn’t like he won an event right after he recovered I think it was 5/6 maybe even 7 years? So and the Ryder Cup selection was a bit of stretch if I remember correctly. 
 

One of the saddest golf stories I have heard secondhand is that Gary Woodland had no idea who Jackie Burke was. Think about that, two time major winner (Masters and PGA) 20 time tour champion, 5 time Ryder cupper he had no idea who he was. Jackie was a great player. Did he need to know, no not at all it just surprised me to hear that and a lot of guys are kind of ignorant about the history of the game. Which sucks tbh.

 

rant over

 

It was 6-7 years later when he won again.  The RC selection may have been a stretch, but he had to be playing at least reasonably well to merit selection.  The point is, he had a career *after* cancer that a larger-than-you-would-think group of guys would love to have had.  

 

I would expect more of Woodland had he come up 30 years ago, even if Burke was still from 60 years before, but I'm not sure I would hold it against a guy who grew up in an environment where there was only Woods in golf the way the media went about it, with a little Nicklaus thrown in as Woods' "target" for his career.  Hard to expect players to know greats from the past when they barely ever hear about the really good players who were playing at that time.  I get what you are saying, but being a millenial, he only saw a very narrow window of golf other than what he played in himself.

 

[Phreddy]

Liked him as player and a Ryder Cup Captain.  I had high expectations as an announcer and he has already worn thin.  If you drank a beer every time he used the word "pressure" you would be passed out within the hour and at Betty Ford by the end of the tournament.

 

Phred

[oughtaquit]

5 hours ago, nitram said:

So who do you recommend for the job?

David Duval or David Feherty. 

[BNGL]

13 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

 

It was 6-7 years later when he won again.  The RC selection may have been a stretch, but he had to be playing at least reasonably well to merit selection.  The point is, he had a career *after* cancer that a larger-than-you-would-think group of guys would love to have had.  

 

I would expect more of Woodland had he come up 30 years ago, even if Burke was still from 60 years before, but I'm not sure I would hold it against a guy who grew up in an environment where there was only Woods in golf the way the media went about it, with a little Nicklaus thrown in as Woods' "target" for his career.  Hard to expect players to know greats from the past when they barely ever hear about the really good players who were playing at that time.  I get what you are saying, but being a millenial, he only saw a very narrow window of golf other than what he played in himself.

 

Yeah I get that, I’m glad you get the point though guys today just don’t understand how good guys before them were. 
 

For the record Paul and I are good friends, we’re alums of the same university and golf team, we didn’t play together he was a few years ahead of me. But all this is still my opinion not based on facts just what I think

[me05501]

5 hours ago, BigManSlim said:

Zinger is really really bad. I think they should work on improving the make up in the booth. I don't think the lead analyst needs to be a major champion or even an elite level player. I'm sure there are some more journeymen players that are more articulate and insightful. That person may not have the named cache of a major champion but could do a better job perhaps.

 

I also think the inability to add any color in the form of analytics is a mistake. It's like they are so close to dipping their collective toes in it but just can't figure out how to do it. I get that they can't get too in the weeds with stats or risk losing the casual observer. But as an example they could explain strokes gained driving and how the data informed Bryson to do what he's done. Explain the fact that SG data has changed the entire way tour players look at their game (ie less reliance on traditional stats like fairways hit and total putts). A stats nerd who is good at explaining things could add SOOOOO much color to the broadcast but still fit the narrative angle they seem to embrace.

 

I think the one thing that makes televised golf almost unique among sports is the fact that almost everyone watching probably plays the game at some level. I think they can afford to go into the weeds a bit as far as strategy and technique goes, and I'm always glad when they do. 

 

It would make a lot less sense for a football anchor to break down exactly how a QB executes a fake handoff, for instance. 

[kwcsports]

On 8/30/2021 at 3:48 PM, PappyVanWinkle53 said:

Sure, he can be hard to listen to at times......but you can't say he doesn't championship golf bona fides.....he won a major and has 10+ other professional wins.

I've never said he wasn't an amazing golfer, he is just an idiot in the booth haha. 2 very different things.

[golfortennis]

40 minutes ago, me05501 said:

 

I think the one thing that makes televised golf almost unique among sports is the fact that almost everyone watching probably plays the game at some level. I think they can afford to go into the weeds a bit as far as strategy and technique goes, and I'm always glad when they do. 

 

It would make a lot less sense for a football anchor to break down exactly how a QB executes a fake handoff, for instance. 

 

I read an interesting book several years ago, and one of the topics the author touched on was football coaches and announcers.  He said one reason baseball managers get criticized so much is because baseball made sure everyone understood how the game was played.  Football coaches try to maintain an air of mystery, or "special knowledge" that only a select few can understand.  He also then discussed how one announcer in particular did not find it beneath him to explain basic details to viewers, and how it made for a better viewing experience.

 

I might actually argue your point that it's more important for an announcer to break down some of that stuff(time limits respected of course.)   

[kwcsports]

22 hours ago, Nixhex524 said:

Gannon is great, totally underrated announcer.  I'd be fine if he did every PGA event.

I like Gannon as well. Underrated is correct.

[kwcsports]

4 hours ago, khalespace said:

I watch golf and don't pay much attention to the announcers as long as they provide relevant information. I find the European Tour's camera work very poor when compared to the PGA's. During the The Open Championship, they missed a lot of ball flights and struggled to find where the balls landed.

 

I think many think the European announcers are better because they are mostly British with an accent that Americans think is sexy.

The reason I think the Euro announcers are better is they keep their mouths shut more and let us enjoy the shots. Not babbling on over every shot. 

[me05501]

29 minutes ago, kwcsports said:

I like Gannon as well. Underrated is correct.

 

"Underrated" is exactly how you want sports announcers to be isn't it?

 

It's best when neither you nor the announcer are sitting there thinking pearls of deep wisdom are being dropped. When the announcer becomes the story, I'm gone. 

[Krt22]

1 hour ago, kwcsports said:

The reason I think the Euro announcers are better is they keep their mouths shut more and let us enjoy the shots. Not babbling on over every shot. 

You mean they would not reiterate the fact that BCD asked Cantlay to stop walking 37 times in 2 hrs time?

[ShowMe]

16 hours ago, grm24 said:

So does that mean Andy North has announcing bona fides? Curtis Strange? Greg Norman? Padraig Harrington? Olin Dutra (RIP)? Crenshaw?

Where did I say anything about announcing bona fides?  That said, Andy North is a good announcer.  Much better than Azinger.  So was Curtis Strange (not sure if he still announces).

[ShowMe]

10 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

Dude got *cancer* when he was at the peak of his career.  He was player of the year on tour in 87, had won 4 times in the year leading up to the 93 PGA, including the Tour Championship, and the Memorial, with a tie for 3rd at the US Open in there as well.  All with a shoulder in such pain he couldn't lift his arm above his head, which he later found was cancer.  Did I mention that?  Cancer?  Dude won a tournament and played in a Ryder Cup after cancer treatment.  

 

I'm no fan of his announcing either, but you really need to quit slagging his playing career. 

 

Jeez, Tony Lema wasn't a great player in your eyes either based on your criteria.  

 

Where was I "slagging" his playing career?  I just called him a very good, but not great, player.  Nicklaus, Woods, Palmer, Player, etc. were "GREAT" players.  To also characterize Azinger as being a great player does disservice to them.  Not everybody gets to be called great in sports, regardless of the extenuating circumstances.

[ShowMe]

9 hours ago, nitram said:

So who do you recommend for the job?

Brandel Chamblee.

 

Lol.  Just kidding!  

[PappyVanWinkle53]

5 hours ago, kwcsports said:

I've never said he wasn't an amazing golfer, he is just an idiot in the booth haha. 2 very different things.

My response was to OP who said Azinger "doesn't have Championship bona fides".....I disagree.

[m d g]

You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Paul is a very good boy. He always kept his room tidy and ate all of his vegetables.

 

If you keep this up, we will have words.

 

-- Paul Azinger's Mom

[grm24]

6 hours ago, ShowMe said:

Where did I say anything about announcing bona fides?  That said, Andy North is a good announcer.  Much better than Azinger.  So was Curtis Strange (not sure if he still announces).

So in this post where you stated you had to have won 2 majors to have championship bona fides wasn't about announcing when the entire thread is about announcing?

 

 

 

[OnkoInko]

He's absolutely horrible and it's incredible to me that they even hired him. And even worse they've stayed with him. Ti me it's obvious he has good connections at that network.

He's boring. Says nothing interesting. Just a dud as far as being on TV.

 

[buckethat72]

I hate listening to Zinger or Faldo pick holes in a current players swing just because he doesnt swing like its the 1990s.  I get that they won a lot of tournaments back then but the game has moved on and these guys are shooting 25 under not 3 under.  I stopped listening to zinger after he criticized Niemann for not keeping his head still while he went on to win and shoot 20 under par in the wind.

[Bob Anderson]

I like Azinger the golfer! HATE Azinger  the announcer! Anyone who says stupidly obvious comments like, “He really wants to make that putt!,” should not be allowed near a microphone!! He just won’t quit talking!!!  

[Big Cat 3]

Besides being unprepared, inarticulate, boring and with an annoying voice. Dumb Zinger needs to go away finally ... who the hell thought it was a good idea to give him this job(s).

[golfandfishing]

He latches on to one or two things every week and just refuses to let go. Yesterday he must have said “sometimes a downwind shot gets knocked out of the air” twenty times or more. 

[bladehunter]

I’d rather have Duval. But azinger isn’t all bad.  He has the guts of a burglar for sure.  And hits it straighter than train smoke.  ( assuming no curves in the track ). 
 

but seriously.  It does need to be someone with golf experience.  Otherwise we’d have Jimmy blanking Roberts and Jaime Diaz telling us and Damon hack how it’s done.  The 3 of those guys couldn’t shoot under par as a 3 man scramble from  the ladies tees.  So I think the lead guy needs to have been there and done that.  Until someone else wants to do it.  He’s what we have.  

Edited March 13, 2022 by bladehunter