My own thoughts on the history of golf
Harry Vardon was the first superstar of the game. You may have others who won before him, but can you think of the names? Golf became popular with Francis Quimet’s win in the 1913 US Open. A young strapping lad, with a ten-year-old caddy named Eddie Lowery, took down the great Harry Vardon in a playoff (Bill Paxton directed a fantastic movie entitled The Greatest Game Ever Played about the feat). St Andrews is the official home of golf. The greatest Masters Tournament ever played was Jack Nicklaus’ last win in 1986. David Feherty has become the “voice” of golf.
There is no denying it. His Irish accent floats over the television screen and seems to transport the listeners back in time where shepherds where still using their canes and inventing the game. He also has this uncanny wit about him that seems to transcend all other announcers. Where others will “tell it like it is,” Mr. Feherty (I am using “Mr.” as a sign of respect) adds more to the proceeding with a sense of humor that is unmatched. There are countless times I will be listening to his comments during a tournament and think, “that was a colorful way of saying exactly what I was thinking.”
For example, when Tiger Woods first busted onto the scene, the announcers seems to have a Thesaurus handy to come up with new adjectives for the word “good.” I remember watching a tournament some years back and Mr. Feherty was walking with Tiger Woods. Woods seem to hit another one of his impossible shots that others just dream about and I vividly remember Mr. Feherty saying, “I know there weren’t two of him on Noah’s Ark.” (Please forgive me, but this is out of my memory and might not be his exact words.)
David Feherty is a monthly contributing editor for Golf.com and his style of writing seems to go beyond his words on the course. His column on how to make money while at a golf tournament had me crying from laughing so hard. In a nutshell, he explains about being a spectator at a tournament, getting hit with a golf ball and what you should do next. In one section of his column, he is describing which tour player you should get hit by. To quote from the article:
“In fact, just go with Phil, because he has a track record of being kind of a sucker for a good piece of writhing in agony, and he’ll pretty much give you the entire contents of his pockets and the gum he keeps stuck to the back of his Callaway belt buckle.” Link to article
For a comparison of comedic style of broadcasting that did not work, we look no further that NBC. Monday Night Football brought in, I feel, one of the smartest comedians alive in Dennis Miller awhile back to give the audience someone to listen to who is just like them. Miller didn’t work out because was too smart for the audience. A lot of Miller’s words flew right over their heads and out the window to greener pastures.
In contrast, CBS got the right individual for the job. I have always enjoyed watching golf on CBS host of networks. However, now I am actually enjoying listening to them as well.