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Masters vs. U.S. Open vs. British Open: Which one is more stodgy?

J

johnnya2k6

Last time, it was the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards on the prestigious side.

Now we ask...of the three biggest golf tournaments, who has the stodginess quota: The Masters, U.S. Open, or The British Open?

The Masters may be "a tradition unlike any other" with the majestic views of Augusta National Golf Club and that ever timeless theme music, but as discussed before, CBS (which has had them since 1956) has always tried in vain to maintain their time-honored coverage policy. Calling the fans "patrons" rather than spectators is one notable example; very limited commercial breaks, different graphics, and no running CBS promos of any kind are another. Let's hope that if Tiger Woods wins this year, they'll try to do their damnedest not to cut to Lindsey Vonn.

The U.S. Open is pretty much the Masters Lite; unlike Augusta, a different golf course plays host every year and there is rarely any stodginess whatsoever when it comes to NBC's coverage. Case in point: aerial and Steadicam shots, which are a no-no at the Masters. But a few years ago, they started playing the final round in primetime, giving Bob Costas a chance to shine...and not that goon last year!

British Open (or The Open Championship to some): Also played on a random course annually (the ones in Scotland are a whole lot tougher -- and sometimes windy -- than Augusta) and is over 150 years older than the Masters or U.S. Open; for years, it has been on ABC before moving them to ESPN. And speaking of ESPN, they carried the third round in 1999 due to ABC News' coverage of the plane crash off the Massachusetts coast that killed JFK Jr. Stodgy value: None.

We also got the PGA Championship, but I'm not touching that. At least being that it's also on CBS, Jim Nantz and company can cut loose a bit without resorting to any Masters-like gimmicks.
 
CBS pretty much serves at the pleasure of Augusta National, which has broad control over how the tournament is broadcast. Camera positions, when coverage can be run, broadcasters, commercial times, everything is in Augusta's control, including what the announcers can say and how they address things.

Frankly though, I'm glad they're stodgy. The tournament's graphics are a couple generations behind the current CBS package, which means they're actually readable and not glossy. It's nice and basic, no ugly metal towers everywhere, and respectful fans not clicking away on their left-in-their-cars-or-gate cameras every minute at risk of being banned forever. And don't even expect them to acknowledge golfers have private lives, much less wives and girlfriends; CBS is on a year-by-year deal with the Masters, and seeing as one of the network's announcers was banned for making a not-kosher reference once a gallery having a "mob" look and another saying the green was so smooth it was "bikini-waxed"...don't expect them or ESPN to acknowledge anybody except the golfers.

I really think with HD though, the British Open has lost alot. The "European" PAL look in the analog age gave it a different patina than most tournaments for sure, but now with HD and being reduced to ESPN, it doesn't feel 'major' any longer, along with the course pool being more limited than it has in the past. I really am of the opinion that ESPN, except for the Masters where they're under heavy control, their tournaments are subject to many more gimmicks and the windbagging commentary. It's one of those cases where the BBC coverage is much better, especially since a do-everything announcer like Tirico on his summer NBA break is their main golf guy that time of year.

PGA Championship coverage is actually really good. TNT has a good team with CBS, and they both seem to have really nice coverage without getting too into turning away casual fans like me, which is what I don't like about NBC's golf coverage. Because of the Golf Channel connection and what seems to be a very long schedule with the Open, their coverage goes on forever and seems more tuned to the hardcore fan than casuals.
 
mrschimpf said:
I really think with HD though, the British Open has lost alot. The "European" PAL look in the analog age gave it a different patina than most tournaments for sure, but now with HD and being reduced to ESPN, it doesn't feel 'major' any longer, along with the course pool being more limited than it has in the past. I really am of the opinion that ESPN, except for the Masters where they're under heavy control, their tournaments are subject to many more gimmicks and the windbagging commentary. It's one of those cases where the BBC coverage is much better, especially since a do-everything announcer like Tirico on his summer NBA break is their main golf guy that time of year.
Click to expand...

Does this announcer have more than one name or is this only the person's last name? If this is only the person's last name, I wish to know the person's first name.
 
MIKE Tirico.

Is Mario your first or last name? I wish to know.
 
The Masters, by a very WIDE margin. It's always pathetic to watch CBS grovel at the feet of the people who run the Masters, lest they do or say the wrong thing. The other two entities don't ban broadcasters for perceived insults (a special hello to Jack Whitaker and Gary McCord), and they don't appear to be as adamant about living in the past as the good 'ol boys in Augusta.
 
Jack Whittaker once got banned from Augusta National for calling the fans (oops, Patrons) there "a mob".

In fact, Augusta National threatened to move the Masters to NBC if CBS had even kept Whittaker on their payroll even though he had been banned from covering future Masters.

But while the Whittaker ban struck, cooler heads prevailed and CBS was allowed to keep the Masters. This is the 58th straight year CBS has carried the tournament; what's mind-boggling is that CBS and Augusta have had a series of 58 single-year TV rights contracts!

Personally, I'd like to see CBS and the Masters sign a long-term deal that would make CBS the sole broadcaster of the Masters (no more shunting the first two rounds to ESPN) with live coverage on all four days, and more hours of live coverage than is the case now.

Ideally, this is the schedule of TV coverage that future Masters should have:

* Day One (Thursday): 1:30-6 P.M. EDT and a half-hour wrap-up at 11:30 P.M. ET/PT.

* Day Two (Friday): 1:30-6 P.M. EDT and a half-hour wrap-up in prime-time.

* Day Three (Saturday): 1-7 P.M. EDT.

* Day Four (Sunday): 1-7:30 P.M. EDT (this way, there can be an extended Green Jacket Ceremony and a wrap-up of the weekend running until 7:30; CBS could expand "60 Minutes" to 90 minutes that evening, from 7:30-9 EDT and run two hours of other prime-time programs after "60").

As golf's biggest event, the Masters deserves the kind of on-air time given to the other "majors".
 
Remember this disclaimer the NBA on CBS had for a time in the '70s: "Announcers broadcasting this event are subject to the approval of the National Basketball Association"?

In the case of the Masters, you'll should substitute Augusta National for the NBA.
 
I'm all for Master on CBS on Weekdays because if on ESPN it should use it's own Crew not CBS and even NBC Crew when NBC is covering Golf on the Weekend and ESPN has it in the week.
 
johnnya2k6 said:
Remember this disclaimer the NBA on CBS had for a time in the '70s: "Announcers broadcasting this event are subject to the approval of the National Basketball Association"?

In the case of the Masters, you'll should substitute Augusta National for the NBA.
Click to expand...

That's the case with all sports, where the announcers are not directly employed by the leagues/teams/organizations.
 
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