NBC lead analyst

[vamosjackets]

Honestly, I've never given this a lot of thought until like this year, when it seems to have become a blown up story.  Maybe I've just been oblivious before.  I've normally enjoyed all of the guys the networks have on.  I definitely like Fax and Zinger.  I liked Duval when they had him on there a couple years ago.  Also enjoy Faldo, though his giveaway of Rory and Morikawa's sandy hole-outs at the Maters 2 years ago was a blunder.  Kis hasn't done a whole lot for me, but I could see him growing on me.  Faherty is good as a color guy, but I haven't enjoyed the LIV broadcasts the few times I've tried to watch. 

 

Jim Nantz is just the announcer you hear in your head when you're imagining sinking a putt at your home course to win the Masters.  I'd always enjoy him, but might be partial toward keeping him exclusive to the Masters. 

 

Jack is too old, but I'd enjoy having Tom Watson among the group. He'd keep it classy and would have a respect-demanding presence/voice. 

 

In the off-the-wall suggestion category, they could try some beloved announcers from other sports - If Skip Caray was still with us, he'd be my first pick. As a GT Yellow Jacket, I'm also partial toward Wes Durham. Another off-the-wall suggestion might be a YouTube golf personality. I personally think Pete Finch would have a great voice and personality for it.  Grant might be fun to have beside him to have the "Oh my gosh!" comments provide drama (or comedic relief when they're not warranted). They'd have to take it seriously enough to do their homework though, which might not be their cup-o-tea. 

[Titleist99]

It's got to be me......I just find it weird with this obsession with golf announcers and analysts. When watching a golf tournament I find the talking heads as white noise.

 

Other than statistics and context, the analysis is somewhat irrelevant. IMO

 

I have my hands full just watching the golf shots, trackman, leaderboard, and the flow of the event.

 

Like I said, maybe it's just me....🙂

[J-Blade]

2 minutes ago, Titleist99 said:

It's got to be me......I just find it weird with this obsession with golf announcers and analysts. When watching a golf tournament I find the talking heads as white noise.

 

Other than statistics and context, the analysis is somewhat irrelevant. IMO

 

I have my hands full just watching the golf shots, trackman, leaderboard, and the flow of the event.

 

Like I said, maybe it's just me....🙂

Agreed. That said, I really miss Pat Summerall and Ken Venturi...

[Chunked]

I’d like for it to be a golfer and a comedian in the booth. So, maybe Kisner and Bargatze. If they are going to be there talking then let it be entertaining. 

[PedronNiall]

Donald has been the most solid of the recent pros who have taken the chair. He's clearly the most comfortable and doesn't have the awkwardness of Kisner or Smylie when in that specific spotlight. Kaufman should stick to Happy Hour & Par 3 coverage where he brings out the actual personalities of the players he interacts with and Kisner should either get serious about his game or get serious about honing his broadcast chops because right now he's mediocre on all fronts. 

 

As I'm never shy about such things I'll throw out that they should have Brandel in the booth. For all the hate he gets about his GC commentary he gets almost nothing but positive reception when he's on during prime time. Probably best that they don't just sign him right away until they know the power won't change how he handles event coverage but right now there's no one else in the NBC stable close to him when it comes to having both professional presentation and relevant insight during a live round. 

 

Faldo would also be a welcome return. 

[acemac14]

Crazy how they don't have it all lined up and figured out and have been playing merry-go-round. Hoping they have a good mix and treat it like a freaking major and have golf explanations, good stories (not just re-treads) and have some fun with it. Also just show us the golf and explain the context and stop showing dudes tapping in for par that is meaningless for them and also at the end of the leaderboard. 

[Archimedes65]

On 5/1/2024 at 10:31 AM, J-Blade said:

Agreed. That said, I really miss Pat Summerall and Ken Venturi...

 

100%.  Both pure professionals. Tirico is great, Gannon and Sands are good.  Few other good professional annnouncers out there; names escape me.

 

I’d rather sand my junk than ever listen to Faldo, Azinger, or Miller call a golf tournament again.

[Mr.Cleeks]

 

Brandel’s gonna be insufferable. Not looking forward to this 

[st1800e]

I’ll be watching with whoever they have talking.   Don’t care who it is.   

[Tpfol]

You know the broadcasting is good, and doing its job, when you dont notice it all.

The golf, and the course should always be in the forefront.

NBC just force feeds so much additional nonsense, it makes the job almost impossible. 

I despise Chamblee and his political commentary, but his golf knowledge is impeccable. If he focuses on keeping the field/tournament in the forefront, and not his own opinions/diatribes, I think he can be very good. Alas, it's NBC so there will be more "human interest" stories and pre-prepared commentary filling up the airspace which will make enjoying it mostly impossible

 

[Ghost of Snead]

26 minutes ago, stinger_gc said:

 

Brandel’s gonna be insufferable. Not looking forward to this 

 

You won't see the same opinionated Brandel as you see on the "Live at ..." shows. He is better prepared than any other golf media personality and knows the golf swing and the PGAT better than anyone else out there.

 

[MK7Golf21]

10 minutes ago, Ghost of Snead said:

 

You won't see the same opinionated Brandel as you see on the "Live at ..." shows. He is better prepared than any other golf media personality and knows the golf swing and the PGAT better than anyone else out there.

 

 

yea, I've heard him as a tournament broadcaster before and he is way less opinionated, almost a little boring. 

[Mr.Cleeks]

36 minutes ago, Ghost of Snead said:

 

You won't see the same opinionated Brandel as you see on the "Live at ..." shows. He is better prepared than any other golf media personality and knows the golf swing and the PGAT better than anyone else out there.

 

Honestly I want boring

[Archimedes65]

Chamblee shouldn’t be anywhere near a live broadcast.  Nobody needs to use so many words to say so little.  He’s the golf equivalent of the NHL’s creepy Pierre McGuire, the latter of which is, thankfully, retired.

[rblmp32]

2 hours ago, Archimedes65 said:

Chamblee shouldn’t be anywhere near a live broadcast.  Nobody needs to use so many words to say so little.  He’s the golf equivalent of the NHL’s creepy Pierre McGuire, the latter of which is, thankfully, retired.

 

I wanted to like Brandel but I wasn't impressed when he was in the booth earlier this year.  

[Archimedes65]

37 minutes ago, rblmp32 said:

 

I wanted to like Brandel but I wasn't impressed when he was in the booth earlier this year.  

 

Kisner’s comments on Chamblee a while back were spot on.  Every time he opens his mouth, he just spouts reams of inane statistics in an effort to show how smart he is, but instead just makes himself look like a clown.  Can’t wait until the tournament when he comments on how someone’s got a lie “just like Jack had in the third round of the ‘72 Open Championship, with four blades of grass behind the ball, a blinding sun quartering from about 20 degrees west, a 12 degree wind from 4 o’clock, 78% humidity, when he hit a 7 iron one groove low, purposely of course, and rolled it up 12’ 4 1-2” below the hole and then made the 4 degree left to right breaking putt with one revolution of the ball to spare.”  And he’ll say all that without taking a breath… 

[Double K]

9 hours ago, stinger_gc said:

 

Brandel’s gonna be insufferable. Not looking forward to this 

Why are we being punished? 

 

Did we do something wrong?

[StoutKing]

Would prefer Azinger still in the box, at least at majors

[fowlerscousin]

Was faxon good or bad for rory as a coach

[Archimedes65]

32 minutes ago, StoutKing said:

Would prefer Azinger still in the box, at least at majors

 

As much as I don’t love him, I’d definitely take him over Chamblee.  My problem with the Azinger/Faldo/Miller grumpy old ex golfer commentator crowd from their arrogant bygone era is that they’re relentless critical, with even their compliments being back handed.  Their arrogance and disdain for the current group of golfers just oozes.  Nothing’s ever good enough and the jealousy of both the players having today’s technology and making much bigger money is just a constant in their commentary.  They’re just self centered a-holes at their core IMO, as were a lot of the pro golfers of their generation.

[Titleist99]

23 minutes ago, Archimedes65 said:

 

As much as I don’t love him, I’d definitely take him over Chamblee.  My problem with the Azinger/Faldo/Miller grumpy old ex golfer commentator crowd from their arrogant bygone era is that they’re relentless critical, with even their compliments being back handed.  Their arrogance and disdain for the current group of golfers just oozes.  Nothing’s ever good enough and the jealousy of both the players having today’s technology and making much bigger money is just a constant in their commentary.  They’re just self centered a-holes at their core IMO, as were a lot of the pro golfers of their generation.

You just described the WRX er crowd to a TEE. (I kid)🤣🤣

 

Azinger was one of my favorites, he was in everybody's head.

 

NBC is still trying to replace him. Last year was one of the best years, then they go and replace Zinger.

Edited May 7, 2024 by Titleist99

[Kai Slater]

I have to agree on the grumpy old ex-golfer dynamic.  Johnny Miller could often be brutal on his commentary when a player's shot was off line or missed the target.  I can recall several instances where a player would hit a less than perfect shot and he would say something like....."Roger, what in the world was he thinking by hitting the ball over there?".....Roger, "I don't know John, that was a horrible decision, I have no idea why he hit it over there."   I remember thinking, what if the guy just happened to hit a bad shot?  We all do it, where we don't execute the shot they way we intended.  It happens......but not according to the grumpy, old, ex-golfer announcers.

[Jolter]

One good thing about the tv is that if you don't like the sound you can just mute it and keep on watching. With Chamblee, all it will take to mute is the first time he pontificates about LIV Golf and/or its players.

[OBbogey5]

On 4/30/2024 at 10:36 AM, Jolter said:

With all the hemming and hawing by NBC, just beg Miller to come back for the US and Open Championships for this year. Then decide what real path NBC wants to venture forth into the future. If they want to be cheap, there are plenty on the GC that can fill that chair at a reasonable price since they are already being paid by NBC/Universal and obviously really don't care about ratings.

Miller’s commentary about the state of the tour game would be worth hearing. 

[bekgolf]

40 minutes ago, OBbogey5 said:

Miller’s commentary about the state of the tour game would be worth hearing. 

 

I'd like to see Johnny back in the booth.  His hindsight was uncanny.  Lol.

[StoutKing]

13 minutes ago, bekgolf said:

 

I'd like to see Johnny back in the booth.  His hindsight was uncanny.  Lol.

Johnny was the best, especially at US Opens.  That being said I don't see him returning at age 77.

[PedronNiall]

Was great hearing people say Miller was too harsh like broadcasters are supposed to be less than critical of those they cover. Yes, the guy talked about his 62 and being a groove low or high a bit but he was good, entertaining, and didn't talk nonstop. 

 

As for now, Chamblee has his haters but the majority agree he handles himself well in prime time. Not expecting any issues. 

[Archimedes65]

8 hours ago, PedronNiall said:

Was great hearing people say Miller was too harsh like broadcasters are supposed to be less than critical of those they cover. Yes, the guy talked about his 62 and being a groove low or high a bit but he was good, entertaining, and didn't talk nonstop. 

 

As for now, Chamblee has his haters but the majority agree he handles himself well in prime time. Not expecting any issues. 

 

😂  The play by play guy isn’t supposed to be overly critical of the players during the broadcast.  They’re part of the product being sold.  Do you typically hear a baseball or basketball play by play guy rip a player during a game?  They’ll comment on a poor play, but they won’t denigrate them like Miller, Faldo, and Azinger, nor will their comments drip with arrogance.  Why the difference?  Because those other sports use professional sportscasters as their play by play guys, while golf uses bitter old ex golfers.

[st1800e]

9 hours ago, PedronNiall said:

the guy talked about his 62

63

[GungHoGolf]

1 hour ago, Archimedes65 said:

while golf uses bitter old ex golfers.

What other types of old ex golfers are there?