The Golf Watch

Rich Lerner asks the right questions in sit-down with Jim Thorpe

Beginning in early April, Champions Tour player Jim Thorpe will serve a one-year sentence for failing to pay nearly $2 million in taxes.  

I had yet to see an extensive interview conducted with Thorpe until Rich Lerner of Golf Channel sat down with the 13-time Champions Tour winner in a special that aired on last weekend's Golf Central, with an uncut version that ran on the network's Web site. 

Lerner, one of the network's veteran reporters, asked the important questions that needed to be asked (in no particular order):

What did happen, why weren't you able to pay?

Where were your accountants?

You thought maybe--I'll be able to work out a payment arrangement with the IRS.  Why were you unable to do that?

The charges allege that rather than pay the tax liabilities, you spent a strong 7 figures, a couple million dollars on the construction of a new home, another $60K or so on a new car.  It seems to me that the judge may have been saying if you knew that you had to pay the government a couple million in back taxes, why not a million dollar home versus a $2M dollar home, and why not a $30K car rather than a $60K car?  That's what I'm reading into this.

You were investigated but not criminally prosecuted for not filing taxes from 1992-1995.  How much did that previous incident factor into the judges decision you think?

Although the abridged special that aired over the weekend was informative,Thorpe opens up and addresses almost all of Lerner's questions head-on during the uncut version.  Thorpe expresses disappointment in the way the trial was handled and dissatisfaction with the Tour's treatment of the situation.

But most of all he is upset with himself, shouldering the blame for most of what has happened. 

Lerner's ability to get Thorpe to open up for 30 min. is a testament to the trust the longtime Golf Channel on-air personality has earned with so many professional golfers on the PGA, Champions and LPGA Tours.  I hope Golf Channel continues to run these raw interviews on their Web site. 

It is important to note that Thorpe plays in one of Golf Channel's charity events.  Golf Channel disclosed this relationship early on in the segment.  It's this transparency that added credibility to the interview.

Mark Rolfing should take over as lead analyst on Aloha swing

As anti-climactic as some of the tournaments can be early on in the season, I still enjoy watching the tournaments in Hawaii (two months off from watching golf and being stuck with non-stop Tigergate coverage will make any golf enthusiast go crazy).

Mark Rolfing has always been a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the Aloha swing.  I know, I know, it sometimes sounds like he is working for the Hawaii Tourism Authority (is he??), but it is nice to get some insider knowledge on an area that is so foreign for us east coasters.  Nobody knows Kapalua as well as Rolfing, and it shows. 

I'm still not sure why Nick Faldo is on the anchor desk when Rolfing is at his finest. Faldo rarely offers anything to enhance the telecast, while Rolfing offers real insight and uncovers hidden gems each year.

I can only hope that Golf Channel and the other networks can learn from this.  If there is an insider who knows a golf course better than anyone else, make sure no one else is stealing their air time. 

Andrade joins Golf Channel team

Billy Andrade, one of most charitable professional golfers out there, is joining up with The Golf Channel to broadcast the Tour Championship in Atlanta and 15 events in 2010.  Andrade is 45 now and hasn't been competitive on Tour for several years.

He made his official debut on TGC last week at the Walker Cup.  Andrade still has a little ways to go before he develops his on-air voice, but he had a strong debut.

Golf Channel announcer Byrum back in action with a win

That's right--Curt Byrum fired a final-round 6-under 66 to win the Arizona Open at 13-under 203. 

Winning the Arizona Open title is no walk in the park.  Think of all of the extremely talented club professionals and amateurs that tee it up year-round there, and fight for an opportunity to claim the title.

Congratulations to one of the most talented and genuine announcers out there. 

Mic'd up with Christina Kim mostly fluff

This has to stop.  Really.  Golf Channel decided to mic up the garrulous, outgoing Christina Kim for her first round at the LPGA Championship.  And it bordered on flat-out annoying...

For every televised hole that Kim played, we heard what she had to say.  We heard her call Michelle Wie a 'giraffe' and 'gangly.'  We heard her ask her caddy, Dan Wilson: "Where does (the phrase) 'a dime a dozen' come from?"  Golf Channel's Brian Hammons chimed in alongside a chuckling Dottie Pepper: "He's had to put up with this for a long time hasn't he?" 

Four simple words Golf Channel: Stick to the golf.  If you are going to mic up a player, all I want to hear the player talk about is club selection, and maybe just a little side conversation.  I don't want to hear about the outfit she picked out for Thursday. I can go to her twitter feed for that. 

I understand that the LPGA and television networks are trying to showcase the players in different ways.  I understand that the network is trying to humanize Kim.  But we don't need to hear her side conversations to understand that she is a fun-loving golfer, especially during one of the LPGA's most coveted tournaments.

If Golf Channel doesn't start showing more golf, they are going to lose their core base--however small it is--of those who want some serious content. 

Is the Players the fifth major? The Golf Channel sure thinks so

Hour-long plus pre-game shows.  Two hours post-games.  Extended first and second round coverage.  A set overlooking the 16th and 17th holes.  That's what The Golf Channel brought to the table at last week's Players Championship.

If you watched as much coverage as I did, you probably got tired of Kelly Tilghman and Rich Lerner calling the TPC "the fifth major."  But for casual onlookers, this kind of "beat you over the head" coverage works.

Just look at the jump in ratings for NBC.  Credit Tiger Woods for this, but also TGC.  Any individual tuning into the network observed some form of TPC coverage.  It was almost impossible to miss it.

I kept wondering though--can this tournament transcend that "best tournament that isn't a major" label?

And in the next 20 or 30 years, could the Players overtake a tournament like the PGA Championship in not only popularity, but prestige? 

 

Tim Rosaforte is the Rachel Nichols of golf investigative reporting

Alex Cejka said during a pre-round interview with Jimmy Roberts that his hero growing up was Bernhard Langer--and that he wasn't able to connect with him before Sunday's final round.

Soon after, Golf World's Tim Rosaforte appears on the screen and proudly says to Roberts, "That's right Jimmy, I reached him (Langer) in Boca Raton today."

Rosaforte never comes across as haughty--he's just extremely knowledgeable.  Regardless of how obscure a player is, he knows something about his/her past.

Rachel Nichols worked tirelessly last year on Brett Favre's comeback story.  Rosaforte is our insider. 

Hoggard: Expect a softer, kinder Quail Hollow

According to Rex Hoggard on Monday's edition of Golf Central, officials at the Quail Hollow Championship are dialing it down this year, cutting the rough down from three to two inches. 

This should be a major advantage for players like Woods and Mickelson, who aren't the straightest drivers on Tour. 

Nobilo: Howell should listen to nobody

Jerry Kelly, one of the nicest guys on Tour, won the Zurich Classic. But arguably the biggest story on Sunday was Charles Howell’s inability to close out the tournament. Ever since his arrival on Tour at the turn of the century, there were high expectations.

He hasn’t blossomed as many would have hoped. And Frank Nobilo had this advice:

If I were Charles Howell right now, I would turn off every radio, every tv set, I would just simply go out and play golf. I wouldn’t read a newspaper. I think it’s really in his head right now. Everyone is telling him how to play golf. The guy has tons of talent…

Charles is ready believe me. He is just so ramped up, he’s like a spring that’s going to explode. I would say listen to nobody. Just play golf. We always critique him—in the print and visual media. We say ‘Charles should do this, Charles should do that.’ Don’t listen to anybody.

Golf Channel Masters coverage excels

Hats off to the strong effort put forth by The Golf Channel team during Masters week—in particular on Sunday. 

One would think a three-hour pre-game and two-hour post-game would be too much, but TGC kept the material insightful and interesting.

Outside experts such as John Feinstein, Jim Gray and Larry Dorman were brought on to keep the analysis fresh, and they did just that. 

With new management at TGC, this is a sign of good things to come.