Golf fans aren’t particularly happy about one part of LIV Golf’s coverage after the weekend event in Singapore.
Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka took the title at Sentosa, finishing two shots ahead of Australian duo Cameron Smith and Mark Leishman.
The 34-year-old appears to be peaking at precisely the right time ahead of the PGA Championship at Valhalla, which gets underway on May 16.
Overall, it’s been a hectic couple of weeks for the breakaway tour. The Singapore event was the second quickfire tournament after the success at The Grange in Adelaide at the end of April.
However, despite the recent publicity, one part of LIV’s coverage has come under fan scrutiny.
Golf fans raise concern over LIV’s coverage on the greens
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LIV want to be innovative. Those at the top of the Saudi-backed venture want the breakaway league to trailblaze in a way golf hasn’t seen before.
Therefore, cutting-edge TV coverage has to be at the forefront of Greg Norman’s thinking. Afterall, the majority of the attention will view LIV events from the comfort of their homes. The product projected on YouTube and various streaming services must be of the highest order.
However, one piece of LIV’s coverage has been criticised.
The ‘LIV Line’ projects which line players should be looking to start their ball on when putting. The idea is that the ball will follow the line and then subsequently into the hole.
However, as the X clip of Jon Rahm’s putt below displays, the technology might need a little bit more work. The two-time major champion started his effort well off line before eventually holing his putt, somewhat making a mockery of the technology.
Another account, EliteGolfer69, added: “I’ve been over the Liv line for a while now, if they don’t kill it they need to at least make it more low profile.”
Nick Novinsky claimed Rahm’s effort was the first time he’s seen the LIV Line get it “brutally” wrong. “Damn, that was the first time it’s been brutally off,” he wrote.
Another issue was raised by Hard3Iron, who suggested the line makes it hard to see the ball when it comes to shorter putts. The account said: “Yes, especially when the putt is a short putt…it gets in the way of seeing the ball. Show the line and get rid of it before the player putts…PLEASE!”
Finally, AndrewKirbyGolf offered a straightforward summary. “I’m not sold on it,” he wrote.
There’s certainly some work to do when it comes to the LIV line
LIV might need to take this one back to the drawing board. Unfortunately, putts can be aimed in several different ways, depending on the pace.
In the example above, Rahm’s put may have been slightly closer to the projected line had he played the effort with more pace. But, due to the severity of the slope, the Spaniard was eager to trundle the ball to the hole.
LIV’s invention, therefore, doesn’t take into account what the player is actually trying to do. Using Rahm as an example, the technology is naturally assuming the 2023 Masters champion is trying to hole his put. Any regular fan could see that making a two-putt was his aim; the fact it ended up in the hole was a bonus.
It’s got potential, but, for now, there are some areas of the putting technology that need work.
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