U.S. Open Complaints Grow After Paywall Frustrations: ‘Atrocious’ Sound & Graphics Issues Anger Golf World

Fans were left angry at broadcasters of the U.S. Open as coverage breakdown plagued the moving day. Only yesterday, the netizens slammed the broadcasters, NBC, and Peacock for inadequate coverage of the national major. On Saturday, the golf course audio got disconnected because of AV truck issues. On top of that, many pointed out that there were no graphics and leaderboards for some time.

The problem seemed to have occurred sporadically a few times. But fans were mostly disappointed when a few lead groups at the U.S. Open lost the audio. For some time, it was only the commentators’ voices that were heard. However, fans prefer to hear the on-course chat between a player and his caddie, as it offers some crucial insights behind a particular shot.

The PGA Tour has been plagued by broadcasting troubles throughout the season. Since Sentry, netizens have repeatedly flagged the barrage of commercials that interrupt the viewing experience. Even today, many complained that some shots from Rory McIlroy‘s second hole were skipped while the broadcasters were running commercials.

Moreover, the coverage was put behind the paywall yesterday. While the second round started on the USA Network in the morning, viewers were asked to watch a portion of the afternoon wave on Peacock. 

Some of the players on top of the leaderboard had at least four holes left to play. Fans were miffed that NBC was forcing them to take a Peacock subscription to watch the most thrilling part of the round. And, now that some of them have paid, they absolutely lost it when the streaming didn’t guarantee a seamless viewing experience.

The U.S. Open thrill is ruined by poor coverage, fans lament

USGA patterned with NBC after Fox pulled out of their original contract in 2020. The deal with NBC is set at $38 million annually. At that time Mike Davis, the USGA CEO hoped, “Partnering with NBCUniversal, including Golf Channel, gives us an unparalleled opportunity to connect and engage with the core golf audience more directly and routinely, and as a nonprofit, to continue to have a significant and lasting impact on the game.” Voices on the Internet suggest that purpose has been defeated.

The No Laying Up podcast blasted NBC for failing to live up to the promises and posted a tweet on X (formerly known as Twitter). “NBC promised us that they were dedicating all of their possible resources in their biggest events. This is their biggest event and they’ve managed to lose audio with the lead groups, and currently have no graphics/leaderboards. Unbelievable.” 

Even PGA Tour pro, Michael S. Kim was confused for a moment. The 30-year-old tweeted, “Is it me or is the golf course audio super disconnected? I’d rather hear the sounds of the course than the announcers but maybe it’s just my YouTube TV having issues?” After getting confirmation, Kim tweeted that it was only an AV truck issue. 

Yesterday, many on the Internet vented their anger at Peacock for low-quality streaming. Some noted that the stream continued to pause every ten to fifteen seconds.  The audio issue today just compounded the problem for fans. One of them wrote, “Jesus this @NBCSports coverage is getting worse somehow, how many made putts are we gonna miss and just see the player picking it outta the cup #usopen.” A second person concurred, “Anyone watching the US Open Give NBC credit for the worst coverage EVER!”

Apparently, even Sky Sports wasn’t immune to the trouble. One disgruntled fan commented from the other side of the pond, “The UK coverage on Sky Sports is atrocious too. Never been this bad on Sky Sports before. They must be using NBC feed.”

The race for the U.S. Open has heated up. Bryson DeChambeau once again is carrying the LIV Golf banner, sticking to his spot at the top of the leaderboard. Whereas, Ludvig Aberg, Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau, and others are within reachable distance of the top spot. But the broadcasting troubles have spoiled the fun for fans.