Steve Elling's Short Game

MARANA, Ariz. -- Another month, another head-shaking Golf Channel gaffe.

Network analyst Nick Faldo on Sunday denigrated his former equipment manufacturer, Nike, during the live telecast of the Accenture Match Play Championship final between Tiger Woods and Stewart Cink, two Nike endorsers.

During the morning session of the 36-hole final, Golf Channel play-by-play analyst Kelly Tilghman noted on the air that it was an all-Nike final. That, in itself, sounded like a free plug, since Tilghman last December emceed a Nike outing for Woods in South Florida.

But Faldo, who also works for CBS Sports, went a step farther on the conflict-of-interest front. A few weeks after signing a new endorsement deal with TaylorMade, he launched into a lengthy discourse about the superiority of the TaylorMade golf ball, and noted how only certain players with high skill levels should bother using the Nike ball, lest it fall out of the sky. Faldo once endorsed the Nike line.

Faldo, a six-time major champion, later issued what amounted to an on-air apology for his lack of good judgment. The network did likewise, issuing a statement that wasn't attributed to any particular party, calling the Faldo comments inappropriate.

"Nick Faldo is one of the best in the business because of his experience and insight, and viewers enjoy that," the network statement read. "But his opinions do not always reflect those of the Golf Channel. In this particular instance -- although he referenced published research -- using the Golf Channel in this context was not appropriate. Nick realized this and set the record straight with our viewers in a timely manner."

A Nike spokesperson said the company was surprised that Faldo would take such a stance, but otherwise took the high road.

"We were disappointed in Nick Faldo’s comments, especially given the fact that he referenced golf product that was totally unrelated to what was happening during the competition itself," Nike spokesperson Beth Gast said Sunday night. "These comments were all the more inappropriate having come just days after he signed with TaylorMade-adidas. He has apologized on air and we consider this isolated incident as closed."

At the PGA Tour's season opener in January, Tilghman made an ill-advised attempt at humor in a remark about lynching Woods, during live banter with Faldo. She was suspended for two weeks and the incident generaled national headlines and sustained outcry among minority-rights advocates.

Faldo: Open mouth, insert spiked foot

Faldo is entertaining, and I think he contributes a lot to Golf Channel's broadcast. But at the same time I sometimes get the feeling he's only one slip of the tongue away from an on-air disaster, that somehow one of those frequent references to "a hit below the belt" will be instead blurted out as "a kick in the nuts", for example. He'd be following in the footsteps of plenty of other sportscasters, in golf alone (I wonder if Gary McCord will ever be permitted to do another Masters, it must be over ten years now). Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Tilghman. You want scripted? Her script seems to be the statistics sheet lying in front of her. Right up until the ball is struck she is busy rattling off a player's collegiate record, or how he has the same swing coach as blah blah blah blah blah. You can even sense Faldo's frustration as she keeps trotting out those tired old numbers. One could almost assume, from her reliance on the stats sheet, that she has no other knowledge of the game whatsoever. You never hear her talk in any detail about the next player's lie, or what club she thinks he'll need, or what ball flight is required to reach the green safely. Look for her to be replaced at the end of this season. And Nick ought to get a few pointers from David Feherty, who is also a loose cannon, but so far at least, has avoided sinking his own ship.

SteveElling

Faldo: Open mouth, insert spiked foot

Faldo: Open mouth, insert spiked foot

Faldo: Open mouth, insert spiked foot