Golfing News & Blog Articles
First World COVID-19 Dilemma: Should TV Help Find Lost Balls?
Twice during the Sky Sports/Golf Channel telecast of the Aberdeen Standard Scottish Open (at least that I saw) Lee Westwood was aided by television sharing the approximate coordinates of a lost ball. Both were found.
This prompted a tweet from European Legends Tour player David Shacklady that generated a wide variety of replies:
Nothing against Lee Westwood but for the 2nd time today sky TV and Ken Brown using replay to help find his ball yet even though they showed Lucas Herbert's drive go in the grass I never saw any TV replay to help him and he never found it.
How can this be fair?@SkySportsGolf pic.twitter.com/oNfdiKrh0b
I didn’t think much of the assistance because television is part of the competition in so many different ways. Plus, only those devoid of a heart want to see an avoidable lost ball. (Though many commenters expressed delight in pros experiencing what we mere mortals go through.)
Since the fan-free return, Brooks Koepka predicted lost balls earlier this year and we did see two consequential ones created by Winged Foot’s rough. But this situation was different:
A) This is the most linksy course professional golf has visited since the restart, with lost balls more easily found due to the variety of grasses and other odd landmarks. (One of Westwood’s lost balls came down near some yellow wildflowers and a tree stump, which the Sky team relayed to the on-course reporter).
B) There was a view that one player, a likable veteran, received assistance because he’s a likable veteran, while another leader did not earn similar treatment. While happenstance is mostly likely the culprit, the inequitable treatment had a fair share demanding that television stay out of the proceedings in the name of fairness.
I don’t believe this is a Rules issue as much as it’s a philosophic question of what role should television play? With betting projected to become a prime revenue source and the fan based connected to the proceedings via capital, these weird little first world dilemmas take on a different edge with outside money on the line. We already know how upset viewers get when they perceive a slight when tallying up shots shown, so imagine if one player is seemingly helped more than another?
This topic may be moot when spectators return and any television assistance will return to its former role as the equivalent of fans identifying where a ball went. But for a while attendance will be light, cameras will still roll and I suspect, there will be a randomness to lost balls identified with the help of television.
