Golf is ringing in the holiday season on a gifting spree — and what’s beneath the tree? Ah, yes: sweet, sweet made-for-TV competition. The latest offering, the return of the Skins Game, aired for audiences on Amazon Prime on Black Friday.
The Skins Game had some strong moments following the footsteps of its predecessors, including The Match and last year’s The Showdown. But like many things in the golf world, the event also drew criticism from fans who found the format stale and competition uninspiring.
The book was closed on the Skins Game by 1 p.m. or so ET, but the genre of made-for-TV events is here to stay. So what would the GOLF.com team do to spruce up the fun? We dive in below.
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): Well, Sean, we finally did it: We’re fixing television by bringing back the written word.
Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): Hahaha, yeah…
James: In all seriousness, I assembled us here because I wanted a chance to talk about the Skins Game. I thought the broadcast was … solid! And that’s certainly better than nothing for Black Friday morning. But I don’t think it’s offensive to say the experience didn’t exactly blow my socks off. Before we set our chainsaws to anything, let’s practice a little holiday cheer: What was something you liked about Amazon’s golf debut?
Sean: I liked that we gave up on using AirPods. All four players were mic’d up but not one of them knew what the broadcast booth was saying. They were just playing, with Xander electing to be the foil to Tommy Fleetwood’s easy cool, to egg on Shane Lowry against Keegan Bradley, to grab the mic from Colt Knost at times. As much as it’s nice to have broadcasters occasionally communicating back and forth with players, I think letting the players just be the players simplified it a lot … so long as you have a Xander pulling some strings himself.
James: And I’ll say this: I enjoyed the broadcast team. Andrew Catalon is preposterously underrated as a golf broadcaster, and Colt Knost earned his Thanksgiving leftovers after handling an enormous load as the telecast’s on-course analyst (and hoofing it for all 18 holes!).
Sean: To me, that’s what a lot of made-for-TV golf productions have been. Some good actors! Some half-relevant golf. A lot of internal hype about what’s different this time around. But count ‘em up. We’ve seen a lot of iterations in recent memory.
James: Yeah, I think it’s important to remember that made-for-TV golf did recently reinvent the wheel for golf on television. A lot of people forget that drone tracers and mic’d players and on-course interviews were pipe dreams in the golf world when The Match arrived on the scene seven years ago. Now, in no small part thanks to made-for-TV golf, they are a part of our everyday experience.
Sean: True and accurate as that reminder is … I do think the form hasn’t exactly leapt forward as much as it has inched forward. Which, I guess, is why we’re chatting right now.
James: Yes! So I’ve tasked us each with bringing three innovations YOU would enact that’d launch us forward in golf TV. I’ll let you start.
Sean: I wouldn’t call it an innovation by any means, but simply getting and staying on brand with what the event is or at least want to be feels so crucial to gathering meaningful attention. By that I mean, do not let Peter Jacobsen tell me that Keegan Bradley is treating putts in this event like he treats putts at the Masters; there isn’t a golf fan on the planet who is ready to walk down that path of belief, so make sure the message stays on message. Knost’s interviews were friendly and light-hearted, which matched the mood of the players. But then there also was the competing notion, which was shared at times, that these pros will do anything to beat each other. I mean, Tommy Fleetwood ripped into town from Dubai and raced back home, without enough time for a practice round. This ain’t cuttin’ teeth!
So, in short, please make it about one thing and keep it about that one thing. That just might be enough to bring some focused meaning to those five hours we’ll spend together.
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James: I always think about golf TV in terms of three buckets: The diehard fan, the median fan and the casual fan. I think made-for-TV golf has figured out the casual fan. In made-for-TV golf’s mind, the casual golf fan is a facsimile of the average American: They want funny jokes and cool visuals and players competing for lots of dough. That’s how you get the Skins Game.
I’m less sure that made-for-TV golf has figured out the diehard or even the median golf fan. How does tuning in make you smarter? How do you learn something about playing the game from the pros? How does it take you DEEPER into the lives of pro golfers?
In some ways, this should be the easiest place for made-for-TV golf to experiment: There is OODLES of time between the tee and green on every hole and only a handful of players. Why not throw in a swing instructor? Or bring back some version of Ken Brown’s “Brownie Points” segment? Or source swing tips from the players watching at home? These are just three top-of-mind ideas, but I think anything catering to the diehards will catch on. Sean, what’s your second fix?
Sean: I was going to suggest something like that! The roving nature of Knost felt ever-present, which is good, but I also felt myself wanting to learn more. When Keegan Bradley is talking about trying to hit this long-iron fade, and Xander Schauffele is chiding him for trying to hit a long-iron fade, it would be great to see a broadcast force Keegan to explain that for the viewer in with as much detail as possible. I’ve had Xander and Tommy give me instruction tips before — this is their expertise! Forcing them to share it, in the moment, as they size up a shot, feels perfectly fair given the amount of money they’re receiving.
James: My second shift is simple: Why does this video have to be live? I know we’re prisoners of the moment here, and there are some intrinsic advantages to live competition, but why not follow in the footsteps of the Internet Invitational and hire editors who can craft a story that moves? I heard Knost loud and clear when he pointed out on X that the Black Friday air date made it hard for the broadcast to lure interesting guests — so why not experiment with a different filming date that is polished for TV to air on Black Friday?
Sean: That would cure one of the things that ailed this broadcast: how frequently producers had to dump the audio for five seconds because they brought in a Grade-A cusser like Shane Lowry. I think my final innovation is also a hat-tip to YouTube Golf: get two-man teams to band together and take on the world — i.e., get Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas to say “We’re in” for win-or-go-home matches, as many as you want to do, against other notable duos. JT and Spieth vs. Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler. Winner takes on Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. Winner of that takes on Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, or — gasp! — Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. These events are often organized via interest from a sponsor, the desires of one or two TV execs, and involve whichever pros are around, vaguely interested and available. If two players showed some genuine zest for trying to hold (and retain) the championship belt, I could start to envision a longer runway. (Footnote: This stems entirely from JT and Spieth being endlessly entertaining against Tiger Woods and McIlroy a couple years back.)
James: My third fix is also pretty simple: Better venues. Truly great golf courses are what elevate the U.S. Open every year, but there are dozens of truly great golf courses that don’t possess the infrastructure to host a major event (and dozens more with truly crazy visuals that also add to the fun). Make those courses the centerpiece of the experience in the same way as the pros. Star power can’t only be found on the OWGR!
Zak: I’m with you there. Panther National is a rollicking time, but it’s just not that relatable (yet) because it’s not known. I can’t go play it. You can’t, either. But that’s a completely different can of worms that complicates things. Panther National’s private, wide-open nature is exactly what helped it host this enterprise. I’m not sure what Southern course is the perfect setting for future Black Friday matches, but it needs to have plenty of space to make this dream-like production come to fruition.