McEwan: Abandonment of golf is a stain on the BBC

Do not be fooled by the boyish looks, good or otherwise.  

I am old enough to remember a time when free-to-air TV in the UK comprised only four channels: BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV and Channel 4. It was a time of Grandstand and Gladiators, Brookside and Brum, Canned Carrot and The Crystal Maze. A simpler time.   

These days, there are more than 100 free-to-air television channels, showing everything from endless Friends repeats to Don’t Tell The Bride, a reality show in which couples are given money to pay for their wedding on the condition that the groom arranges everything with no input from the bride. I know. Wacky.

What’s sadly lacking from this literal ton of options is much in the way of live sport. For that, you need to subscribe to pay-to-view broadcasters such as Sky Sports, BT Sport, Viaplay and the like.

With live sports broadcasting becoming increasingly fractured, it stands to reason you could be shelling out almost £700 per year to “never miss a minute” as the marketeers like to say. An absolute nonsense, but a story for another day… 

Golf is rapidly disappearing altogether from council telly. Once the almost exclusive preserve of the BBC, you now require an eagle-eye and the patience of St Andrew to spot it in the TV guide.  

This, of course, is hardly news. The biggest events in the sport have gradually migrated from the BBC to Sky Sports.

In 2005, the Beeb broadcast 28 days of live golf from The Open, The Masters, Women’s Open and multiple European Tour events (the BMW PGA Championship and Scottish Open being two examples). This year, it is possible the only golf it will show will be highlights from The Open, Women’s Open and Ryder Cup. There will be no live coverage for free-to-air viewers.   

Sadly, that would appear to be a by-product of tortious political interference.  

Late last year, the UK Government began a review of the Listed Events Regime (LER). Enforced by the Broadcasting Act of 1996, the LER exists to ensure that the British public is able to watch certain events of “national importance” at no additional cost by prohibiting pay-per-view broadcasters – such as Sky, BT and so on – from acquiring exclusive rights to those events and giving public service broadcasters (including the BBC) the opportunity to bid for rights to those events. 

Those events, determined by the Secretary of State, are casually referred to as the ‘Crown Jewels’ and are split into two groups. Events in Group A are retained for live free-to-air broadcasting. Those in Group B may be broadcast on pay-per-view TV but only so long as highlights or delayed coverage is available free-to-air. 

At present, Group A includes events such as the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup Finals, the FA Cup Final, the Grand National and Wimbledon – but no golf. Group B does contain some golf… but only the Ryder Cup and The Open.  

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As a consequence, golf’s biggest events are under no particular obligation to work with free-to-air broadcasters in the UK and vice-versa. Hence why we have reached a point where, for the first time in over 60 years, it looks as though The Masters will go ahead next month without a single shot being available to free-to-air armchair viewers. The BBC’s current highlights-only deal with Augusta National Golf Club expired at the end of the 2022 tournament and, at the time of writing, no new terms have been agreed.  

It is understood the Beeb pays more than £1million per year for the privilege of showing highlights of the first men’s major of the year. Faced with an urgent need to cut costs, it’s perhaps little wonder that bosses are (reluctantly or otherwise) preparing to cut ties with an event they first showed in 1967.

Far less fathomable is the BBC’s reported decision to turn down multiple offers to broadcast highlights of the PGA Tour for free. According to a source quoted in a Telegraph report, the corporation spurned the opportunity because golf ‘does not suit the demographic’ it is trying to reach.  

And ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ does?  

The UK is in the throes of a continuing golf boom. Last year, participation rates were the second highest since records began; 5.6 million adults played at least one 9- or 18-hole round. That’s roughly 9% of the total population, not accounting for those who don’t play but have an interest in watching.  

The BBC has clearly decided that satisfying these people isn’t a priority for them, a hugely worrying development for golf fans in the UK who either can’t or won’t pay for a Sky Sports subscription. There is no doubting that Sky produces infinitely superior coverage. It invests and innovates on a scale that the Beeb just cannot compete with. However, all of that comes at a price and for some – notwithstanding the current cost-of-living challenges – it’s an expense they cannot justify.  

Those with a vested interest in the health of the game should be concerned. Even in the graveyard slot to which BBC bosses had consigned The Masters, it was better to have it on TV than not at all. As we’re frequently reminded, “if you can’t see, you can’t be” – right?   

My earliest memories of golf are of watching The Masters on the BBC. Getting to stay up late to watch Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Fred Couples, Ben Crenshaw and then Tiger Woods slip on a Green Jacket are as clear as crystal in my mind’s eye. We couldn’t attend golf tournaments because we lived too far away to go. Nowadays, the exorbitant cost of threatens to squeeze people out even further. That’s why TV coverage is so important. Without prompt intervention, future generations won’t have access to create their own memories and may well be lost to the game.  

That’s simply unacceptable. I feel sorry for the many great people at the BBC who do value golf and are committed to covering it. It’s not their fault we’re in this position. It’s the fault of their bosses, who evidently think re-runs of Flog It! equates to “giving people what they want”.

If the BBC or other free-to-air broadcasters won’t choose to show a fair and representative amount of golf, then they should be mandated to. The list of ‘Crown Jewels’ should be updated to be more reflective of the population, otherwise it’s not fit for purpose.  

Bottom line: we deserve better.  

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor