Jun 18, 2022; Brookline, Massachusetts, USA; Jon Rahm reacts to his putt on the 16th green during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
GolfNBCPeacockBy Sean Keeley on

Golf fans have been eagerly anticipating the chance to watch their favorite players from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf tee it up at the 2022 U.S. Open. Their disappointment with the way NBC Sports has covered the event and the perceived overabundance of commercials and non-golf segments seems to have left many of them extremely disappointed.

The storylines at play through three rounds at The Country Club are certainly more than enough to keep viewers glued to the action. From the series of unknown golfers who briefly topped the leaderboard to a hole-in-one to some Phil Mickelson schadenfreude to some spicy moments involving one of the sport’s biggest names, there’s been no shortage of reasons to stick around.

However, the incessant commercials, play throughs, prerecorded segments, channel switcheroos, and confusing broadcasting options have turned the viewing experience into an annoyance for the many of the most passionate fans and followers of the sport.

Jimmy Roberts, who is part of NBC’s golf coverage team, responded to one viewer’s negative sentiments about the number of commercials.

While it’s true that NBC Sports offered more than 45 hours of live championship coverage between Thursday and Sunday, viewers have had to shuffle between Peacock, USA Network, and NBC, and often multiple times a day, in order to watch the action. While that kind of corporate synergy might make some executives happy and could very well be the new normal of sports broadcasting, it’s bugged the hell out of viewers all week long.

Hard to know what, if any, lessons NBC Sports takes away from all of this. It’ll likely depend much more on what kind of numbers they’re seeing across NBC, USA, and Peacock than on what kind of complaints they see on Twitter. As we’ve seen with Fox and Big Noon football games, fan outrage almost always comes secondary to the ratings numbers.

We’ll see how much U.S. Open golf NBC, USA, and Peacock decide to include in-between their commercials on Sunday.

Update: On Sunday, United States Golf Association (the body that organizes the U.S. Open) CEO Michael Whan commented on this:

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley