Peter McCleery | |
October 3, 2006
Today Peter McCleery looks at the television coverage and the ramifications of CBS replacing Lanny Wadkins for Nick Faldo, then having Wadkins leave CBS.
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GolfObserver editors
Faldo in, Wadkins out--a good trade for CBS golf
I first received word of a "major" annoucement forthcoming from CBS Sports this morning regarding on-air talent. The second e-mail confirmed it was golf-related (why else would a golf writer get such notification?). I tried to guess: Ian Baker-Finch, long rumored to be joining CBS when ABC/ESPN packs it in, could this of been the annoucement? Hardly qualifies as a "major" hire, plus the golf world has know about this for months, sorry "Finchy."
To learn a few hours later that it involved Nick Faldo, of ABC, the Golf Channel, and six majors fame, joining CBS as lead analyst, was indeed a pleasant surprise. I figured Faldo's sparring partner, Paul Azinger, might be more likely an addition to the CBS group. Zinger deserves to land somewhere, and I still hope it'll be on NBC, which needs some fresh blood as badly as CBS did.
Faldo trades places with Lanny Wadkins, who replaced the "legendary" Ken Venturi four years ago. While I initially welcomed a change after 29 years of Kenny and his well-worn repertoire, Wadkins ultimately disappointed us. He was, quite simply, too repetitve with his own overused and unnecessary phrases, like "that is well done!" and "at this point in time," among others, all of which he should have been told to retire before they grated on so many viewers' nerves and ears.
When Wadkins joined CBS a well-versed TV person predicted there was little room for improvement there. What you saw is what you were gonna get. This is also, largely the fault of the producers and directors he worked with for not properly "coaching" their people on how to get better, something any armchair critic could have done with Wadkins.
Wadkins had his moments at the Masters bluntly assessing players' shots and choices. He did not ramble on and on, making his sometimes obvious points pungently ("this course forces Phil to play smart golf," he'd say at Augusta). He was in the mold of Venturi in that he rarely ventured into anything outside pure golf shots, and his attempts to pass himself off as a part of a humorous get-along gang did not really work. CBS' golf became duller with him as its lead voice.
A well-known announcer once was quizzed by a friend on the debut of a surprise new voice. "No magic?" he asked. No, there wasn't, and there wasn't with Wadkins, either. There isn't with many in TV sports, golf included. It's a certain spark of inspiration that goes on when people appear on the screen and with a mike; in my experience (not counting the highly skilled and at times underrated anchors, who are professional announcers), three former players have had it: Peter Alliss, Johnny Miller and David Feherty. Faldo appears to have it too, but time may tell otherwise.
Faldo was much admired and rightly so for his work alongside Mike Tirico and Azinger, and will now rival CBS'/TGC's Peter Oosterhuis as the busiest man in the business. He'll do 16 PGA Tour events for CBS plus a handful of others exclusively for the Golf Channel, beginning with the first three of '07. When CBS has the weekend coverage, look for Faldo on TGC on Thursday/Friday and then moving in with Jim Nantz for the weekend; otherwise, he'll be spending more time next to Nantz than Kelly Tilghman.
CBS will allow Faldo to continue to work on ABC's only remaining golf property, the British Open, but I suspect ABC may not want him anymore if he becomes so closely identified with another network. This doesn't leave much time for Faldo's career as a senior golfer, but he says he'll play the Champions Tour, too (he turns 50 in July, in time for the British Senior Open at Muirfield, site of his first major win 20 years ago).
Maybe Wadkins, released from the booth by mutual consent after reportedly renewing his CBS contract, will find his missing game instead?
Faldo's hire and emergence as Mr. Golf on TV continues his amazing transformation from an aloof/loner/player who was famous for saying NOTHING to his fellow competitors before or during his rounds, making more enemies than friends along the way. Now, it's as if a totally different person has come out--funny, likable, a little unpredictable at times but rarely dull. He seems to recognize the power and value of the ole telly as few players have. He dresses very well, too.
Faldo does tend to jabber on a bit and talk quite a bit about himself during his stints. The best thing that could be said about Wadkins' work is that he did not domineer and let the others on the CBS team (McCord, Kostis, Oosty, Feherty) have their say (not so good when it is Bobby Clampett talking). Whether Faldo will truly "fit in" remains to be seen; he appeared cordial with the crew at ABC, but you never know. And it doesn't really matter. As long as he continues to offer fresh and entertaining commentary on a regular basis, who cares about his relationship with his colleagues?
His honesty may have the Masters folks on edge; he may have a hard time not telling us what he thinks of the course changes on a few holes. That delicate topic was nicely sidestepped on CBS in recent years as the crew fell into a unanimous chorus of approval.
I was worried that 20+ weeks of Wadkins on CBS would get awfully wearying awfully quickly next year. In the case of both CBS and NBC, expanding their weekend outings with the tourneys ABC left behind, I'd advocate alternating teams and voices to keep from wearing out viewers with any individual or group. TGC did it well on the Champions Tour with Frank Nobilo and Brandel Chamblee, but the networks seem to like the continuity of coming at it--and us--with the same team, week after week. It's a "comfort factor" thing , but I'd rather they'd make us all a little less comfortable.
Faldo does that. I doubt he's a favorite in Ponte Vedra with his put-downs. With this move, CBS significantly improves its lot. And as for Baker-Finch?? CBS' needn't bother, because with Faldo, Feherty and Oosterhuis it already has an abundance of British/Irish voices. Unless he's replacing Clampett...
Finchy is no Faldo, but he makes more sense for NBC. It's their move now to expand and improve their commentary unit in time for the expanded '07 schedule. Zinger, by the way, is still available. NBC could use him to juice Johnny Miller and stand in for Miller on those weeks that Miller doesn't show up in the booth.
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