Even without Tiger, golf can thrive on TV – Yahoo! News

NEW YORK – Television viewership will fall without Tiger Woods, but the networks that air the sport and the PGA Tour itself can handle the setback.

That’s the word from several media analysts and the president of CBS Sports, which now is facing the possibility of covering the Masters Tournament just weeks from now with golf’s biggest star conspicuously absent.

“We’re all looking forward to him coming back, but until then we’re doing perfectly fine,” said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports.

When Woods made his globally televised apology last Friday for serial infidelity, he said that “I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don’t know when that day will be.”

The statement leaves Woods with no deadline — so what will happen to the audience if he stays away from the course?

The first of four major tournaments on the PGA Tour, the Masters, which has long aired on CBS for the concluding rounds, ends April 11 this year. The U.S. Open follows in June on NBC. The British Open will be seen on ABC in July, and the PGA on CBS in August. Broadcast network coverage will be supplemented by coverage on cable networks.

Tournaments in which Woods isn’t playing generally suffer a drop in viewership and a loss of advertising revenue, notes Larry Novenstern, executive vice president of Optimedia.

For the 15 or so tournaments where Woods might have been expected to play this year, Novenstern estimated the resulting advertising loss to networks would total between $10 million and $20 million. In comparison to other economic hardships challenging broadcasters right now, he says, “This is just a speed bump.”

CBS’ McManus agrees.

“Golf does better economically when Tiger is a major force on the PGA tour,” he says, “but golf is still a valuable product for us.”

There’s no question Woods delivers a ratings kick for any tournament he plays in, ranging from 20 percent to as much as 50 percent.

“But a certain percent of Tiger’s audience is not the traditional golf audience and, in effect, is not what many advertisers are looking for,” says Neal Pilson, president of Pilson Communications, a media consulting firm, and a former president of CBS Sports. “If Tiger’s in an event, you expect a 50 percent increase in ratings. You don’t necessarily negotiate a 50 percent increase in the advertising rate.”

Many of the advertisers are so-called “endemics” — brands like Callaway, Titleist and Nike that target products and messages specifically toward golf devotees.

“There’s a strong, economically secure core audience for golf, and there is no indication that they have left,” Pilson says. “The more casual audience that follows Tiger probably won’t be back until he comes back again.”

The Nielsen Co. has estimated that an average of 4.6 million viewers tuned in to tournaments played by Tiger in 2007-08. When Woods had knee surgery after winning the 2008 U.S. Open and missed the rest of the season, ratings sunk as much as 50 percent.

But consider this. Network ratings for the first three tournaments in 2009, all of which Woods also missed because of his knee ailment, when compared to this year’s first three tournaments — also without Woods — show an audience growth of 29 percent.

“We think that’s pretty promising for golf,” says Stephen Master, vice president of Nielsen Sports. “Golf had pretty strong support before Tiger. Maybe people are getting used to the fact that, for a while, at least, Tiger won’t be around.”

Technorati Tags: Golf Better

Today, golf tips and lessons on the Web are extremely popular, as just about everybody is putting their two cents in how to improve your golf game. Quite simply, there are literally thousands of different tips that you can find on the Internet; some of them are helpful and some of them are. Here are some important tips and information to help you to sort through the clutter and find the best tips that will really improve your game.

Be very wary when searching for golf tips and lessons on the web. Remember, these tips can only be very general, because they are dealing with just about every type of golf swing imaginable. The owners of the sites don’t know who will be visiting, and therefore can’t offer customized instruction for you. While some of their tips might be useful for some golfers depending on their specific swings, some of it might actually hurt another golfer.

In fact, finding golf tips on the Web might not necessarily be a good idea for you, as there are literally thousands tips that you can search for four. Therefore, it is very easily to get information overloaded after doing a search on the Web, because you might have 10 or 15 different tips right to your head.

Remember, don’t simply blindly believe everybody you hear; when a tip is written for thousands of golfers, it probably won’t great for you unless you have just the right type of swing.

Probably the best way to get golf tips and lessons is to go to your local country club, where you can take lessons from your pro. This is definitely the quickest and easiest way to see improvement in your golf game, because you will be taking lessons from a proven golfer who knows how to help other people improve their games.

Also, you might consider purchasing a swing trainer, because these incredible machines can teach you the best swing simply by using them on a regular basis. With these devices, you get the feel of the right golf swing, and the more you use it, the more natural it will become. Remember, many PGA pros utilize these swings for their games, and they would certainly benefit you as well.

However, finding golf tips and lessons on the Web is not futile; in fact, the Web can be very helpful in helping you to find the best golf gloves, shoes, and other primitive or your golf game. Yes, your swing is the most important thing, but these other equipment factors can certainly play a huge role in improving your golf game.

For these, simply read reviews on different websites that have gone over the different golf clubs, and find the top clubs that will improve your game as quickly as possible. These are great sources of golf advice to help get you a lower handicap through better equipment.

Once you find the one that the majority of sites like best, just head down to your local country club and test them out. if you like them and hit the ball well, you’ve found yourself a winner. Hopefully these tips and information will help you to benefit from golf tips and lessons on the web, and start to golf better as quickly as possible.

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In this video golf lesson BPS golf instructor Steve Bishop gives some tips and instruction on what balance is, how it effects your golf swing and how to master it.

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