10 Ways FOX could have improved it’s first US Open coverage!
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In my opinion, the inaugural coverage of the 115th US Open Championship by FOX Sports was OK.
US TV coverage can learn a lot from the European Tour. Less screen time for the announcers and more coverage of the golf. The Europeans have this down to a fine art.
As John Strege points out while writing for Golf Digest’s The Loop, some broadcasters like Brad Faxon, Julie Inkster, and Holly Sonders was underutilized while too much homage to the USGA was poured out in buckets by Greg Norman. It got a bit much towards the end.
And finally, in my opinion, the word “fescue” was said about a hundred thousand times! What happened to “He hit it in the rough”? Why did it always have to be “He hit it in the fescue”? I hope future broadcasts of this championship can learn from their glaring mistakes!
How did Fox Sports do with its initial foray into U.S. Open broadcasting? Let’s start with the premise that it’s a thankless job. If social media were the sole arbiter of what constitutes quality sports broadcasting, well, then no one does it well, whatever the sport, whoever the anchors and analysts.
FOX Sports Joe Buck was the lone professional in the booth!
Fox did fine. Not great, but OK for a first effort, and nothing that would cause heads to explode. Or longing for ESPN and Berman.
So, with that said, here is my two cents (which at that price is probably too much) on 10 things Fox could do to improve:
1. Holly Sonders was not put to use in her strengths and instead was in the wrong role as interviewer.
Not a strength. She’d have been better in the role of moderator, as she did for Golf Channel, which leads us to…
2. Curt Menefee, an otherwise outstanding broadcaster and host of Fox NFL Sunday.
But his limited knowledge of golf became apparent early in the week. Sonders would have been a better fit.
3. Less USGA worship. It’s not going to happen, of course, because the USGA is Fox’s “partner,” as they like to say.
To its credit, though, Fox did not shy from reporting on course criticisms, which by extension were USGA criticisms.
4. What to do about Greg Norman? He’s an identifiable brand in the lead analyst’s chair, and that’s fine.
But he tended not to lead the analysis, but to follow points made by other commentators. Maybe less Norman and more Brad Faxon?
5. Less talking, period.
Cutting to the set for roundtable discussions was overdone, too. Show the golf.