![Ken Brown gets back to basics in his pleasingly lo-fi segment on the BBC's coverage of the Open - Ken Brown and his broomstick are keeping the spirit of golf alive](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/golf/2023/07/24/TELEMMGLPICT000343717628_16901862354000_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqywFt80tUnoDwkX1erFXhtoSutkRhgMm6GzmNJsp5cy4.jpeg?imwidth=680)
![Ken Brown gets back to basics in his pleasingly lo-fi segment on the BBC's coverage of the Open - Ken Brown and his broomstick are keeping the spirit of golf alive](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/golf/2023/07/24/TELEMMGLPICT000343717628_16901862354000_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqywFt80tUnoDwkX1erFXhtoSutkRhgMm6GzmNJsp5cy4.jpeg?imwidth=680)
If we are to have a two-tiered system of televised sport then the breakdown of the Open golf live on Sky Sports, plus a couple of hours highlights each night on the BBC is probably as good as we can hope for. On a weekend when England fans were drowning in despair at the Test match, the golf coverage was some sort of lifeboat as what should have been a thrilling sporting weekend was sunk by the Manchester weather.
Sky’s golf coverage is in-depth, innovative and self-assured. With a veritable battery of pundits, commentators and analysts, no viewer is going to welcome every single voice but I’ve enjoyed Nick Dougherty this year, reliable and personable, as well as the knowledgeable Andrew Coltart. Sir Nick Faldo, so ruthless as a player, seems to have mellowed into a relaxed, shrewd and, in his own way, agreeable television presence.
Dame Laura Davies is still of the “he’ll be wanting to hit that golf shot well” punditry school. The wacky antics of Australian joker-in-the-pack Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley are an acquired taste – like, for instance, strychnine. But still. Overall, it’s a decent spread.
Perhaps less well known to some occasional viewers, Henni Koyack has done a sterling job on the interviews and Jamie Weir also had an impressive week. Weir was involved in a nice bit of impromptu business while doing a segment with the claret jug trophy.
Weir, reading out the names: “all the greats: Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Trevino, Ballesteros, Faldo. . .”
Cameron Smith, walking past: “Smith.”
Upsetting given events elsewhere to see a smiling Australian, of course, and about the only cheering moment this weekend for cricket fans came about when Ricky Ponting and Mark Butcher popped over from Old Trafford for a hit on the Sky range. Always satisfying when characters from another franchise drop in for a cameo; and Butcher managed to win that mini Ashes contest for England, at least.
Aside from the talent, Sky Golf’s defining characteristic is a love of a gizmo: the hologram player swing doo-dah, the aerial footage of the course turned into manipulable on-screen graphics, and no doubt a scratch-and-sniff feature on 94K HD coverage any day now.
The TV directors certainly seem to have an appetite for the arty, particularly with the liberal use of ultra slow-motion replay at every opportunity. One Telegraph reader, Terry Lloyd, has summed this up in unimprovable style, writing: “I think it’s pointless and I would rather watch live golf, which is what I pay for. If they think slow-motion is so wonderful, why not replay the programme overnight at half-speed?”
Also operating at a different speed is the BBC highlights coverage, which feels like a throwback, relative to Sky’s busy, technological affair. The important shots, the odd interview, a bit of montage and historical context: done.
Since the much-missed Peter Alliss departed to the great 19th hole in the sky, the soul of the BBC coverage has been carried by Ken Brown, that gentle and wise keeper of the flame.
Ken was the future once. He unquestionably moved golf coverage forward on British TV with his informative, naturalistic segments about tactics and technique. The Ken on the Course interludes are still a feature of the BBC programmes, but have a lo-fi, charmingly homemade feel to them. Thursday’s found Ken drawing a sad face in a sand trap with a broomstick.
Friday’s saw him attempting to plot a route up the 13th in a high wind, with the pleasingly analogue method of getting out his yardage book and scribbling on it with a biro. Gusts of wind kept turning the pages in question over, but Ken was undeterred. What a pro; and his ability to get really excited about rolling a golf ball across some grass remains second to none. It all feels a world away from bright young things whizzing around with giant iPads and shouting about fourth-dimensional AI golf shots.
It remains a shame that the BBC doesn’t have the live rights on the telly anymore, but the bifurcation of dynamic, flashy live coverage and easygoing evening summary, both of which work well on their own terms, saved the weekend from being a complete washout. At least the Aussie didn’t win.
BBC’s old-fashioned approach to golf epitomised by Ken Brown
Lo-fi pundit provides relief from giant iPads and AI with his informative, naturalistic segments which have a charmingly homemade feel