Editor, Times-Union: Roger Grossman’s comments about the excess time spent by the media on Tiger Woods, from print to TV to sound bites, was a good read. Tiger’s dynastic performance from 1997 to 2008 in tandem with one of the biggest economic booms in U.S. history spurred exponential growth in golf participation, especially among the middle class. Sadly, golf’s current state has nothing new to draw from (as Roger mentioned the void left by Woods that no golfer has filled with anything close in terms of dominance or attraction to viewers), so they’ll consequently fill our flat screens, computer screens, podcasts and print with Tiger Woods coverage. What does it say about the state of golf that the media covering it (with lots of pre-coverage ratings research in its infrastructure like ESPN has) chooses golf’s equivalent to Mad Men’s Don Draper as its hottest topic (Don Draper, that is, in his current state in that show’s final season)? Some folks might not like the ubiquity of Tiger Woods coverage descending upon us, but it’s bound to happen because it’s (sadly) all golf has left for any current hope of the revenue streams that result from broad appeal. Think about it! ESPN (Entertainment Sports Programming Network) contains an invisible fifth letter in its name; “R” …for Research. They know what it takes to get the broad appeal it needs to get the ratings it expects to sell ads and make money from its Masters coverage. This echoes another response I made to a basketball article Roger wrote at the end of 2014. Like it or not THAT will be the state of high school basketball each December hereafter, and THIS is the state of golf. Enjoy what you can find to enjoy in it or spend time getting interested in something else. The casual viewers and participants comprise the majority of the coveted ratings in entertainment and sports. The ardent viewers and participants just assure the light bill is covered. Speaking for myself, I bought my first set of “nice” clubs in 1997 and sold them in 2009. Big companies and networks are counting on people like me to come and go, and convince me to part with my money in that interim where my interest peaks. Casual/prodigal golf fans paid the Disney (EPSN’s parent company) shareholders’ dividends and the executives’ bonuses.
