5 minute read
Editor’s Letter
Bingeworthy
Will golf’s biggest names be as open with the streaming giant as the stars of Formula 1?
By Kent Gray
IF YOU LOVE GOLF – a fair assumption given you are reading a magazine devoted to the subject – you’ll likely adore the game’s all in with Netfl ix.
Golf’s answer to “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” is not only poised to take viewers inside the ropes and locker rooms of the PGA Tour but also into the inner sanctum of the men’s majors, perhaps even into the glitzy private lives of some of the game’s biggest names. In short, we’re all about to play voyeurs to the inner workings of tour life - all the personalities, politics and pettiness - like never before.
Even the normally reserved R&A and even more closely-guarded Augusta National Golf Club have granted access to the streaming giant to “capture the intensity of training, travel, victory and defeat through the lens of a diverse group of players and their support teams.”
It’s hard to imagine an ‘access all areas’ pass being granted by Augusta but the game’s gatekeepers similarly know they’ve almost nothing to lose given the runaway success of the motor-racing doco-series.
While Netfl ix is protective of its viewing fi gures, movie and TV show dataanalysis site FlixPatrol reports Drive to Survive ranked No.1 for TV series globally after season’s 3s release last March. Even more astonishing, it attracted more viewers than the fi rst season, an
almost “unheard of” scenario according to industry insiders. In the United States alone, ESPN’s average audience grew from 547,000 viewers in 2018 to nearly a million for each race last season while The New York Times quoted the promoter of the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas saying he was preparing to welcome an additional 20,000 spectators on the back of the show’s popularity alone.
Golf will hope to cash in as the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Ian Poulter, Xander Schauff ele, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson go about their day jobs with ever-present cameras.
super max
New F1 champion Max Verstappen celebrates his unlikely Abu Dhabi GP triumph in Dec.
It desperately needs the reality TV assist too, notwithstanding the global surge in participation that has been a surprisingly spinoff of the COVID-19 pandemic. Playing numbers might be way up but viewing figures are worryingly down, particularly for the fall events in the U.S. And for any tournament not featuring needle shifter Tiger Woods.
Woods is one of the players conspicuous by their absence from the PGA-Netfl ix deal, along with Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. Perhaps they hold similar fears to freshly minted F1 world champion Max Verstappen who refused to appear on Drive to Survive as he believes the show creates false rivalries.
But even the most reluctant racers eventually couldn’t resist the ratings winner (read free advertising for sponsors). By season 2, Mercedes and Ferrari - the two most successful teams in F1 history - had reversed their decision not to feature. “It showed me a new angle to attract a new audience, diff erent to how I perceive F1,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. “This is why I decided to join and be part of Netfl ix in 2019.”
Perhaps we’ll get Brooks v Bryson in season 2 after all?
The secret to Drive to Survive’s success is that it isn’t a puff piece with PRsanitised answers and tiresome virtue signalling. It’s warts ‘n all personalities unleashed in the heat of the moment when tensions and egos are running high. The teams quickly learned to trust the producers and it translated in to utterly compelling television and a PR boon for F1. Heroes were created and villains unmasked, converting non-petrol heads into the new army of disciples described by since ousted McLaren Racing boss Zac Brown.
“People are going from ‘I’ve never watched a Formula 1 race in my life’ to ‘I’ll never miss a Formula 1 race again.’”
After the epic 2021 title race between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton that went down to the final controversial lap in Abu Dhabi, season 4 of Drive to Survive can’t come soon enough. Here’s hoping golf’s reality show proves just as binge-worthy; the PGA Tour, Augusta National Golf Club, The PGA of America, the USGA and the R&A are surely hoping for a similar ratings winner.
Over to you then Harry Higgs, Max Homa, Joel Dahmen and co. Those who love golf already know these cheeky characters but not as intimately as we soon will. Better still, a new generation of fans are poised to become converts thanks to the most welcome intrusion the royal and ancient game has ever witnessed.
open book
Reigning Open champion and Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic drawcard Collin Morikawa is one of those opening up to Netflix
editor-in-chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer managing partner & group editor Ian Fairservice
editor Kent Gray art director Clarkwin Cruz editorial assistant Londresa Flores instruction editors Luke Tidmarsh, Euan Bowden, Tom Ogilvie, Matthew Brookes, Lea Pouillard, Alex Riggs chief commercial officer Anthony Milne publisher David Burke general manager - production S. Sunil Kumar assistant production manager Binu Purandaran
the golf digest publications editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde
director, business development &
partnerships Greg Chatzinoff international editor Ju Kuang Tan
golf digest usa editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde general manager Chris Reynolds editorial director Max Adler executive editor Peter Morrice art director Chloe Galkin managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington (News) chief playing editor Tiger Woods playing editors Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Tom Watson
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