Golf Channel's experiment of putting Johnny Miller and Nick Faldo, "two of the most opinionated talking heads in the sport, in the same booth" for coverage of the PGA Tour's Hyundai Tournament of Champions last week "left many wondering what the hubbub was all about," according to Jonathan Wall of YAHOO SPORTS. With the "exception of a couple moments in the telecast, there were very few sparks between the analysts." The pair "looked incredibly forced, as co-anchors Terry Gannon and Dan Hicks tried multiple times to engage the duo in some verbal banter." Every time "it appeared we might see something -- anything! -- Miller or Faldo would kill the rally and defer to the other." As the tournament went on, "you almost forgot at times that both were in the booth at the same time." That may have "something to do with the Golf Channel only keeping Miller on the set for half the coverage." Wall: "If the network really wants to see if the two can co-exist, it would make sense to get rid of the co-anchor and let Miller and Faldo go it alone. That would at least give us the chance to see if they have enough chemistry to make this work in the future" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/10). GOLFWEEK.com's Martin Kaufmann wrote if Miller and Faldo "were a sit-com pairing, they would have been canceled after the second week -- if they had made it out of pre-production." As much as Hicks and Gannon "tried to engage the pair, there was no spark between Miller and Faldo." They seemed to "get along fine, but they didn’t have a rapport." There were "no memorable exchanges, no great laugh lines, and few, if any, noteworthy insights." Kaufmann: "In short, Miller and Faldo had worse chemistry than Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries. ... It occurred to me that it would be interesting to try an experiment: leave the two men alone in the booth for an hour, with no anchor, and let them just talk golf as play unfolds. That’s no knock on Hicks or Gannon, both of whom do good work. But if you’re going to arrange a shotgun marriage between Miller and Faldo, then turn ’em loose. Let them, and hopefully the viewers, have some fun" (GOLFWEEK.com, 1/9).
THE BEST IS YET TO COME? GOLF.com's weekly roundtable panel discussed the Miller/Faldo pairing and Golf.com Senior Producer Ryan Reiterman said, "It has great potential if Golf Channel stops making it about Miller vs. Faldo and just lets the two Hall of Famers talk about golf." SI Senior Editor Mark Godich said, "I like it. I especially like it when Dan Hicks is in the booth with them. He will bring out the best in both of them." SI Golf Group Managing Editor Jim Herre: "The pairing has potential, but they haven't knocked my socks off so far." SI Senior Writer Gary Van Sickle: "Faldo needs someone to push him. He was at his best when he and [Paul] Azinger were competing in the booth." Golf.com Deputy Editor David Dusek: "When they are not at their best, Faldo and Miller bring a lot of the same stuff. I'll be curious to see how their on-air relationship develops" (GOLF.com, 1/8). GOLF WORLD MONDAY's E. Michael Johnson wrote Miller and Faldo "offered not much more than solid commentary and analysis with few fireworks." Johnson: "Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, especially at a relatively laid-back event such as the T of C. Just like a sports team that throws free-agent superstars together, it's going to take some time for the chemistry of this twosome to develop (especially with Miller taking an hour-plus break in the middle of the telecast). The call here is that come the Players this pair might qualify as must-see TV" (GOLF WORLD MONDAY, 1/10 issue).
