Covering a golf tournament.. help!

[Jay Sherman]

OK, so my paper's got me covering a golf tournament in a few hours. Technically I'll be the golf beat writer this season, and have already spoken to all of the coaches (three schools participating in our coverage area) for the season preview.

But my question is, how do I cover a tournament like this where I have to report on three local teams as well as whoever ends up winning the thing? Do I wander around aimlessly? Do I follow one of the teams? Do they give me a golf cart? Do I wait at a certain hole for all three teams to pass through?

I'm sure I could go and figure it out as I'm going, but I'd like to have some idea of what to expect before showing up. Any, and I mean any, advice is appreciated.

???

 

[trifectarich]

Do any of the teams have a standout player who's head and shoulders above anyone else in the tournament? If so, you might follow that player for a couple of holes, but unless you've got a Tiger Woods in a field of 20 handicappers, you probably won't get much out of that. But since it appears you're not an experienced golf writer, I'd probably park myself at the ninth and 18th holes. If there's any kind of scoring that might help you find out who's leading, you can watch a lot of players go through and then finish. Then you can get players and coaches for quotes and other details on their rounds.

 

[Rhody31]

You can do it a couple ways. Some reporters in my area like to show up about an hour before the tourney ends, then get all the information and do interviews.
Find out what time everyone tees off. If its a shotgun, you're pretty screwed. If its tee times, then try to watch the top players for a few holes, just to fight boredom.
Basically what you're doing is gathering all your info at the end. Try to get hole-by-hole scores and ask the player about anything that stands out to you. Golf is great because you have more than enough time to talk to a ton of people.
I have a tournament to cover today. It started at 7:30 and tee times run through 9 p.m. with players alternating from the 1st tee to the 10th tee, then at noon they send out the afternoon tee times. I'm leaving in 20 minutes. I'll shoot some of our local stars of the morning group, come back in and figure out how I need to play the rest of the afternoon.

Golf is easy. Just don't get bored with it. And yes, if you ask, you can get a cart. If the clubhouse people give you ****, tell them if they don't give you one, then you'll need someone to ride out with you so you can follow the players.

 

[PeteyPirate]

1-under-par is a birdie

 

[amoney]

If its a one-day tournament, I would spent 4 holes with each team so you can find out what kind of stories there and see how the players are doing on that day. Then you have 6 holes to figure out which group/school/player you want to focus on and follow a bit more for the bulk of your story.

 

[TwoGloves]

You don't really need to go out onto the course to cover a golf tournament since you might be following one group while somebody in another is red hot. You really have to rely on the top players to tell you about their rounds, what club they might have hit into a green and how long the putt was they made for a pivotal birdie or eagle. If it's high school, you could also ask the coaches who the top players are and then go out and watch them for a while. With high schoolers, I tend to stick close to the scoreboard because that's where everybody gathers after their rounds. (Actually, amateur tournaments as well.) Also, having some background on which teams/players have done well over the years is good. When I cover a top amateur event, I usually go out in a cart and follow the leaders. Just remember to keep your cart out of the way and don't interfere with play. It's a piece of cake. Players are usually pretty good at remember key parts of their rounds.

 

[Batman]

I'll assume this is high school, which is pretty informal.
Introduce yourself to the club pro and ask for a cart, he should give you one. If you've talked to the coaches, you should have an idea who their best players are. Try to find them somewhere on the back nine and follow them through their last four or five holes.
If you want to follow some of the other golfers, ride around on the front nine. Most of them will be pretty chatty while they're playing, and you can pick up some good stuff. Talk to the coaches again, too, to get an idea of who played well or exceeded expectations.
Basically, just ask them how their round went. Most can tell you straight off where they ran into trouble or the birdies that got them out of it. Just remember, you can't be everywhere at once.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Approach the players that finished near the top of the leaderboard and ask them if they'd mind filling out a scorecard. Usually, they are happy to do it. I find that it's helpful to take a look at their hole-by-hole at the end. Obviously, you should ask them about their round and get their commentary on some of the highlights, but this is a great way to have it all in front of you when you head back to the office.

 

[Ace]

Sit on the veranda, sip sweet tea and wait for the golfers to come to you.

 

[PeteyPirate]

Sit on the veranda, sip sweet tea and wait for the golfers to come to you.

But first make sure they have a good transcriptionist in the interview tent. Have you gotten your swag yet?

 

[Stitch]

If you know the course at all, find out which holes are known for good shots and watch a few groups at least.

Any par 5s where a kid has a chance at an eagle?

Or holes where even the good golfers can get in trouble easily?

 

[JR]

Pay Hondo to cover it for you.

 

[Batman]

Don't mention in your story that Tiger Woods Jr. from Podunk High took a leak in the woods around the 14th hole.

 

[Big Buckin' agate_monkey]

Take a golf bag out to the first fairway and as a player is about to take a swing, crank up the radio and have a dance party.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Take a golf bag out to the first fairway and as a player is about to take a swing, crank up the radio and have a dance party.

Ooh, then we touched
Then we sang
About the lovin things!

 

[Angola!]

If its a one-day tournament, I would spent 4 holes with each team so you can find out what kind of stories there and see how the players are doing on that day. Then you have 6 holes to figure out which group/school/player you want to focus on and follow a bit more for the bulk of your story.

Yep, this is a good idea.

The one-day tournament is obviously harder, but once you figure it out which one of your teams is doing good you can follow them for the rest of the round and catch up with your crappy teams at the end of the round.

The team that wins from out of the area? I don't follow them at all, unless I'm going to lead with them (which would be very unlikely). You can get them to talk about your rounds at the end.

Oh, and the other thing I've noticed about golf is this: the parents, at least at the course, are pretty nice. You can easily ask them how their kid is doing, what the people in their group are shooting, etc.

If you ask a player how they are playing, that could cause problems. Some players, the relaxed ones, like to BS during their rounds, most would like to hit you with their club if you make the mistake of talking to them. I learned that lesson earlier in my career.

 

[slappy4428]

1-under-par is a birdie

2underpar is a cheat.

 

[Barsuk]

Depending on the format, you probably won't be able to follow one team. At most high school meets, the groups include one player from each team (or each of three or four teams for larger tournaments) with the No. 1 players together, the No. 2 players together, etc. I like to follow the No. 1 group around the course, because that gives you a solid chance of seeing the medalist (the player with the lowest score).

Do talk to parents, who usually keep score for their kid's group and might even keep stats like fairways and greens hit, etc. DO NOT talk to players during the round. That's a major taboo and could really **** someone off. If you know one of the kids and they initiate conversation, that's one thing, but striking up conversation about how the round's going is not a good idea.

When you interview the players after the round, ask them to recap the round by telling you where they made birdies and bogeys (or anything other than par) then ask for a brief description of those holes. They'll probably be able to tell you how far out they were for their approach, which club they hit, how long of a putt they made, etc.

Perhaps most important: Blend in to the background. Don't talk when players are hitting or preparing to hit shots. If you have a cart, stop driving when you see a player address the ball. Be aware your voice will carry extremely well on the golf course. Don't stand directly behind the hole (in the player's line of sight) when a player is putting.

Covering golf can be a lot of fun if you enjoy the game and feel comfortable doing it, or it can be a nightmare if you feel like a fish out of water on the course. Best of luck.

 

[TwoGloves]

Stick close to the scoreboard when scores are being posted. Rather than chasing down kids to fill out scorecards, you can ask to look at them right there and fill out your own. Much more efficient. And as Barsuk said, never initiate conversation first. If they talk to you, that's one thing. Then feel free to converse. In high school tournaments, the only time I go out on the course is to watch a playoff since 95 percent of those kids have no chance whatsoever to win.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

in a lot of tourneys i've covered (club tourneys, high school tourneys, etc.), they've got someone out there with a walkie-talkie/nextel calling in the main tent as well as others. "jack just eagled on 8!" if you can, stay out on the course with the cart and ideally with someone who can hear the updates. spend a day driving around, enjoying (i hope for your sake) beautiful weather, seeing as much as you can, keeping up on the details. stay in touch with the lead group, but don't hesitate to switch up if you hear someone else is ripping it up. and, oh yeah, if you're driving the cart, get a course map if you can.