U.S. Open - Anyone watching?

[GrantNKY]

I am not a big fan of the Fox coverage at all. I was annoyed by several of the commentators, the shot tracer being overused, the muting of the crowd sound after each putt, and the clink of the ball as it fell into the cup.

I LOVE shottracer and wish it was used like this for every shot of every tournament. Nothing worse than the typical face on view of the golfer or the ball flying in the air and is having no idea where it’s going.

[nkypete]

I LOVE shottracer and wish it was used like this for every shot of every tournament. Nothing worse than the typical face on view of the golfer or the ball flying in the air and is having no idea where it’s going.

 

I liked shot tracer when it came out, but IMO, I just felt it was overused by FOX. Maybe the technology needs to be better and we need to see different views of the ball's path instead of just the one from the back.

[CincySportsFan]

I am not a big fan of the Fox coverage at all. I was annoyed by several of the commentators, the shot tracer being overused, the muting of the crowd sound after each putt, and the clink of the ball as it fell into the cup.

 

I LOVE shottracer and wish it was used like this for every shot of every tournament. Nothing worse than the typical face on view of the golfer or the ball flying in the air and is having no idea where it’s going.

 

I liked shot tracer when it came out, but IMO, I just felt it was overused by FOX. Maybe the technology needs to be better and we need to see different views of the ball's path instead of just the one from the back.

 

I think Fox has to rely on Shot tracer more, just because it seems like their camera operators can't track a ball in the air worth a darn. They seem like a bunch of middle school kids trying to follow a ball comared to the people that CBS and NBC use. I noticed this a couple years ago when they first started doing the US Open, and thought that they'd improve by now. It seems, sadly, I was mistaken.

 

Also, I think sometimes Fox is their own worst enemy. I think they try too hard to "Fox it up" (so to speak) that they miss the simple stuff that most people like. Having mics in different places might sound like a good idea...but, when you've got multiple, noticeable mutes in your broadcast because you have to turn those mics off for whatever reason...then you've missed the forrest for the trees.

[GrantNKY]

I liked shot tracer when it came out, but IMO, I just felt it was overused by FOX. Maybe the technology needs to be better and we need to see different views of the ball's path instead of just the one from the back.

To each his own.

[plantmanky]

I am not a big fan of the Fox coverage at all. I was annoyed by several of the commentators, the shot tracer being overused, the muting of the crowd sound after each putt, and the clink of the ball as it fell into the cup.

 

Agree with this. The crowd screaming is the best part of golf on TV.

 

They had to mute the crowd because of what was being said. I cant type some of the stuff heard on tee shots from Sunday.

[plantmanky]

I think Fox has to rely on Shot tracer more, just because it seems like their camera operators can't track a ball in the air worth a darn. They seem like a bunch of middle school kids trying to follow a ball comared to the people that CBS and NBC use. I noticed this a couple years ago when they first started doing the US Open, and thought that they'd improve by now. It seems, sadly, I was mistaken.

 

Also, I think sometimes Fox is their own worst enemy. I think they try too hard to "Fox it up" (so to speak) that they miss the simple stuff that most people like. Having mics in different places might sound like a good idea...but, when you've got multiple, noticeable mutes in your broadcast because you have to turn those mics off for whatever reason...then you've missed the forrest for the trees.

 

I never understood the allure of watching a ball travel through the air, focused in on the ball. Unless it hits another flying object, who wants to watch that.

[BigVMan23]

I like shot tracer, very much dislike Fox golf coverage...it's just not very good and I don't know that I can give one specific reason why.

 

I don't mind seeing the pros struggle some, but Saturday was brutal. If I want to see play that bad I can go to a number of local muni's within an hour of my house and see that on any given day. You can make any golf course essentially unplayable, there's no talent involved in setting it up that way. The talent comes in in making a tough course SEEM harder than it really is. Fail on the USGA's part.

[GrantNKY]

I like shot tracer, very much dislike Fox golf coverage...it's just not very good and I don't know that I can give one specific reason why.

 

I don't mind seeing the pros struggle some, but Saturday was brutal. If I want to see play that bad I can go to a number of local muni's within an hour of my house and see that on any given day. You can make any golf course essentially unplayable, there's no talent involved in setting it up that way. The talent comes in in making a tough course SEEM harder than it really is. Fail on the USGA's part.

Saturday was essentially a superintendents revenge day coupled with the fastest greens on tour and hardest golf course on tour. As Bryson Dechambeau said, “it was clown golf.”

[The Professor]

The USGA turned the Saturday section of the tournament to whoever had the most lucky breaks and bounces were the winners, not who had the most talent. Or whoever played earlier in the day had a little amount of moisture on the greens and were saved by that fact. The ones in the afternoon played on shiny grayish greens faster than an asphalt road.

The USGA got a big black eye as a result of their decisions in this US Open. They did the same thing in another US Open a few years ago. I hope this one taught them a lesson.

[BigVMan23]

Saturday was essentially a superintendents revenge day coupled with the fastest greens on tour and hardest golf course on tour. As Bryson Dechambeau said, “it was clown golf.”

 

What the USGA fails to realize, and they should know this better than anyone, that those greens, designed over a hundred years ago are not meant to be stimped at 13 plus. When they were built the mowing technology MIGHT could get them down to about a 9, if that. They become unplayable the way they were set up. How they don't factor this in is beyond me.

[woodsrider]

The USGA turned the Saturday section of the tournament to whoever had the most lucky breaks and bounces were the winners, not who had the most talent. Or whoever played earlier in the day had a little amount of moisture on the greens and were saved by that fact. The ones in the afternoon played on shiny grayish greens faster than an asphalt road.

The USGA got a big black eye as a result of their decisions in this US Open. They did the same thing in another US Open a few years ago. I hope this one taught them a lesson.

Not likely.

[woodsrider]

What the USGA fails to realize, and they should know this better than anyone, that those greens, designed over a hundred years ago are not meant to be stimped at 13 plus. When they were built the mowing technology MIGHT could get them down to about a 9, if that. They become unplayable the way they were set up. How they don't factor this in is beyond me.

What I don't get is they seemed hell bent on making the coarse as hard as possible with just the greens. What happened to narrow fairways and thick rough? Reward great shots and punish misses. It's pretty much that simple.

[GrantNKY]

What the USGA fails to realize, and they should know this better than anyone, that those greens, designed over a hundred years ago are not meant to be stimped at 13 plus. When they were built the mowing technology MIGHT could get them down to about a 9, if that. They become unplayable the way they were set up. How they don't factor this in is beyond me.

Exactly. Those greens also don’t need to be rolling at a 13 to be difficult anyways and they definitely don’t need to be dried up just to get them rolling quick as possible. It’s silly. Again I’ll go back to Merion in 2013. The winning score was still +1 but the greens were impeccable and the course played fair. Let the golf course be the defense. There are plenty of US Open tracks that are plenty difficult without the USGA interfering I.e. Merion, Pebble, Bethpage, Torrey, Pinehurst, Oakmont. Shinnecock is an insanely difficult golf course, but if the USGA feels they need to alter the course to make it US Open worthy then just don’t go to that site. Erin Hills last year was a joke, but they overcorrected this year with Shinnecock and it made them look even worse. Going to Pebble next year will get them back on track because the people at Pebble will tell the USGA where they can shove it if they want to mess with the greens there like they did at Shinnecock and Chambers Bay. The USGA comes in and tries to tell the people, who spend 365 Days a year maintaining the golf course, how to do their jobs.