Joe Buck explains 'trap' he fell into when calling golf on TV

Joe Buck, a name synonymous with broadcasting major sporting events like the Super Bowl and the World Series, admitted that even for him, an experienced commentator, the world of golf presented unexpected challenges. From 2015 to 2020, Buck and his Fox Sports team covered the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. This experience, as it turned out, became a valuable lesson for him.

In a recent episode of the Subpar podcast, Buck spoke candidly about his journey as a golf commentator. He noted that one of the initial difficulties was mastering the specific terminology used in golf. For instance, instead of the common "tee box," it was required to say "teeing ground," and "pin" was replaced with "hole location."

However, according to Buck, the main "trap" he fell into was far more fundamental. He confessed that in his attempt to showcase his expertise, he began to excessively delve into player statistics, their current standing in the Official World Golf Ranking, and recent performances. "I found that I was trying to prove how much I knew about the players and their recent history and where they are in the Official World Golf Ranking — all the other stuff —and what was missing was, OK, we just saw Spieth putting for par, and he missed it, shot, shot, and now we are back to Spieth. Like putting the narrative together and what we are watching and trying to build that versus trying to prove what I knew," Buck shared.

Buck emphasized that he fell into the very trap he always warned young broadcasters against: being overly attached to his notes and research at the expense of live commentary of what was happening on the course. "I fell into every trap that I tell young broadcasters not to fall into of being married to your notes and your research instead of just watching what was going on and commenting on that," he stated.

The commentator acknowledged that it was a "steep learning curve." "And I’m not saying The source author learned it, but by the end I was like, Man, I missed the mark here for a couple of years now. I gotta get back to what I do, which is seeing, reacting and trying to build why someone is red hot, what kind of run they are on and where someone’s tournament fell apart. That’s what’s interesting to the viewer," Buck added.

His Subpar co-host, Colt Knost, who also has experience commentating for CBS, echoed Buck's sentiments. He recalled veteran Frank Nobilo advising him to "watch the screen" and "react" rather than focusing on notes. Buck fully agreed with this approach.

"All that stuff [in your notes] is stuff that’s happened," Buck explained. "What’s going on on the screen has never happened before, and if you are missing that because you are digging through your notes for something you wrote a week prior, you are missing the boat. If a big wind comes in and throws every note out of the booth, you should still be able to do the game or tournament. And I fell into the trap I warned guys against all the time."

Buck urged commentators, especially beginners, to remember that the main goal is to convey the emotions and dynamics of the game to the viewer, not just to demonstrate their erudition. The focus should be on what is happening here and now on the golf courses, rather than on archival data that might be interesting but not always relevant in the moment.

You can listen to the complete interview with Buck here, or watch it on YouTube here.