Golf on TV Without Fans

Text of Letter Written to Jason Gay at the WSJ:

"I tried to watch the PGA on TV but gave up principally because of: (i) the boredom of the production (along with the painfulness of watching Bryson DeChambeau’s swing); and (ii) more important, the incongruity of the economic pain being borne by so many people while someone makes $1.4 million for playing a few rounds of golf. That said, watching golf being played without fans present is such a marked improvement for viewers that consideration should be given by the PGA and USGA to stage all televised tournaments without fans First, while golf, like poker and life, is a mixture of luck and skill, allowing fans gives fan-favorite players (most notably Tiger Woods) a distinct advantage over non-fan-favorite players because shots they hit off-target have an omnipresent and deeper wall of fans lining the fairways that increase the chances of keeping the ball from landing in a more-errant location compared to shots by other players. Second, eliminating fans would lessen the annoyance experienced by the TV viewer having to listen to inane drunken outbursts and repetitive mantras such as “Kooch” being screamed every time a certain golfer with a permanent smile hits a shot. Relatedly, instead of having to watch mobs running all over the place, broadcasts without fans would replicate the serenity that makes golf such a pleasant experience for those who play it away from the TV cameras. Alternatively, if the broadcast channels insist on having fans present, then allow a few fans to walk with each group a la Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf so that the audience can hear some polite clapping after a decent shot or an ooh after a good shot or a small groan after an errant one."