NBC Golf - Light on Humor, Heavy on Innovation

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347482.post-1111799079929482712005-03-29T20:28:00.000-08:002007-02-22T20:02:37.251-08:002007-02-22T20:02:37.251-08:00NBC Golf - Light on Humor, Heavy on InnovationNBC is one of the big 3 over-the-air U.S. television golf broadcasters. NBC's point man is Johnny Miller, an interesting commentator because he has many opinions that he's not afraid to voice. For that, I respect him. But he and his compatriots are about as funny as my foreign-speaking grandma that I don't understand. Because I value wit and humor in my golf coverage, NBC is my least favorite golf announcing team. <a href='http://grouchygolf.blogspot.com/2004/08/tiger-woods-swing-video-first-person.html'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/186/1269/200/Eye%20of%20Tiger%20-%20Camera01.jpg' align="left"></a>However, NBC makes up for it somewhat with technological innovation. While CBS has <a href="http://www.grouchygolf.blogspot.com/2004/07/cbs-swingvision-rules.html" rel="tag">SwingVision</a> and ABC has <a href="http://grouchygolf.blogspot.com/2005/06/han-and-x-mo-abcs-answer-to-cbs.html" rel="tag">X-Mo</a>, these are really just super slo-mo cameras. NBC will do the generic slo-mo every once in awhile, but they also experiment with new camera angles and viewpoints. Remember when NBC affixed a miniature camera on the bill of Tiger's Nike cap at the Williams World Challenge several years ago and called it the "<a href="http://grouchygolf.blogspot.com/2004/08/tiger-woods-swing-video-first-person.html" rel="tag">Eye of the Tiger</a>"? It was the first time someone not named Tiger could see the game's best swing from a first-person perspective. Then in 2002, NBC introduced the Matrix-inspired, wraparound-angle camera effect called "<a href="http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/ny-beth0519.story" rel="nofollow">Swing View</a>." The technology utilizes more than 30 cameras to capture golf swings in motion from different angles. Johnny Miller used the technology quite effectively to slo-mo a golf swing, stop it, and then swing the camera around to another angle to break down a player's swing. While it was a little rough around the edges, it was another great innovation. At last year's U.S. Open, NBC debuted the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2004-06-17-hiestand-column_x.htm" rel="nofollow">Bunker-Cam</a>, a microscopic camera embedded in the lip of the front bunker that can pan and tilt by remote control. It's kinda cool, but no real value. <a href='http://www.pga.com/news/tours/pga-tour/camera031605.cfm' rel="nofollow"><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/img/186/1269/200/CableCam021.jpg' align="right"></a>NBC was supposed to introduce another innovation to golf coverage at last weekend's Players Championship. Called the "<a href="http://www.pga.com/news/tours/pga-tour/camera031605.cfm" rel="nofollow">Cable Cam</a>", it features a camera on a cable that is capable of moving up to 60 mph as it tracks the shots on the par-3 17th. I watched most of NBC's coverage, but I didn't notice any shots from the Cable Cam. I assume the weather prevented NBC from using it, a real shame. I applaud NBC for taking technology to golf coverage. My only complaint is that they don't use this stuff often enough and on a consistent basis. Maybe one day, golfers will play tournaments wearing "Eye of the Tiger" cameras. If that ever happens, you can be certain to see it on NBC first.Golf Grouchnoreply@blogger.com6