Southern California's No. 1 Golf Source
STROKE OF THE DAY |
"Golf is my life and I love it. I'd play with rocks if I had to." |
-Margaret Curtis |
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF
CALENDAR
People
|
||||
|
Kelly Tilghman of The Golf Channel made history last month during the West Coast Swing when she became the first full-time female play-by-play sports announcer. It’s not going to work. Before you start accusing me of making chauvinist pig noises, hear me out. It’s not about Tilghman’s talent. She has paid her dues by serving every kind of role on The Golf Channel from silly to serious. She has been around the game most of her life, having grown up selling buckets of balls at her parents’ driving range in Florida. She’s a good stick, too, as evidenced by her golf scholarship from Duke in 1991. Tilghman, 37, can even sympathize with struggling pros, having kicked around on a couple of mini-tours before getting into the TV game. If anybody was ready for this kind of historic shot, Tilghman is “da man.” But she’s not a man, and that’s the problem. Tilghman is an attractive brunette with an athletic body. Whether The Golf Channel wants to admit it or not, guys tune in to watch her — and not necessarily for what she knows. Unlike a male sports anchor, I think Tilghman’s looks are going to work against her. How upfront are professional golfers going to be around her? How much of their real personalities will Tilghman ever get to see? During my years on the radio covering the Dodgers, the best information I got was when I was hanging out or playing golf with them, maybe having a beer or just being one of the guys. After a while, a player trusts you. You never breach the confidentiality, but it’s that inside stuff that works its way into your comments that sets you apart. A good play-by-play announcer has a calm command of the entire broadcast and seasons what is said by playing off who and what they know. I’m not sure that can happen for Kelly Tilghman. What do you think? If you haven’t seen a telecast yet, tune in to the remaining stops on the West Coast Swing. Check her out (no wolf whistles, please). E-mail me your responses. MARKET OR PERISH: It used to be “if you build it, they will come.” Today, competition for green fees is ferocious, which is good news for golfers. Check around, there are terrific deals to be had. Randy Shannon, general manager of CrossCreek in Temecula, is good at enticing golfers to play his course. Last month he offered a $60 golf shirt for anyone who played on a Sunday. Do the math; with regular midday fees at $85, that’s a great deal. Plus, there will be more people walking around with CrossCreek shirts, which is great for marketing. PUTTING HIDDEN VALLEY BACK ON THE MAP: Gratitude Golf Management took over operation of Hidden Valley Golf Club in Norco. Jay Miller, who owns Gratitude and Cresta Verde down the street, plans on “widening five nasty-narrow fairways while restoring the reputation and quality this course had when it opened in 1999.” Miller is also involved in the Get-A-Grip Foundation and junior golf. A lot of people in golf talk about doing something for kids and giving back to the game, but Miller is really doing it. Check it out at www.getagripfoundation.com. SG Eric Tracy is also known as The Mulligan Man. He can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
Digg This Article
