Gary McCord says CBS Golf broadcasts are ‘getting blasted,’ reflects on what they’re lacking

Longtime CBS on-course reporters Gary McCord and Peter Kostis didn’t have their contracts renewed for 2020, and in the months since both have expressed their displeasure with the decision, while reflecting on their time between the ropes.

McCord first joined CBS in 1986 and, along with Kostis, was an integral part of broadcasts up until his contract expired. Now, he sees the broadcast through a different lens (from his couch at home), and the criticism the network’s coverage has weathered recently has not been lost on him.

“I’m now the witness,” McCord said on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar with hosts Drew Stoltz and Colt Knost. “I’m not part of it. You can kind of react to it from a position I have never had before for a long, long time. It just so happens that my former network is not doing as well as they would like with the golf broadcast at this point. I have never seen anything quite as negative as I’ve seen coming out of everywhere about what’s going on, so I have a lot of empathy. Those are my friends. I don’t want to see them fail, but they are getting blasted. It’s not a good time.”

Golf Digest reported on a few of the broadcast’s hiccups during last month’s Genesis Invitational, and a few days later Kostis joined the No Laying Up podcast to discuss what he believes led to his break up with CBS, plus the PGA Tour’s influence on the broadcast.

In McCord and Kostis’ wake, CBS added Davis Love III, Trevor Immelman and Frank Nobilo to its broadcast team, among others. When asked if he had any specific critiques while watching the broadcasts now, McCord said he has paid attention to the flow, or how the announcers play off one another.

“Let’s take sitcoms,” McCord said. “If you are going to produce a sitcom, I’m gonna go in, and I’m going to find four people that are totally different, and I’m going to put them in a bar, in a room, anywhere. You can start with I Love Lucy and you can go to Cheers and Modern Family and now Schitt’s Creek, and every one is different. You don’t put the same people in a room and go talk. It’s going to come out the same every time. It’s going to be dull and boring. This is entertainment.

“If you go, ‘Wow, that was a great shot, and let’s go to Gary.’ ‘Oh, that was a wonderful shot, and how about that one? That was fantastic.’ Are you kidding me? You can’t have that,” McCord said. “You gotta have this ridicule. Some guys gotta jack it up and another guy has to break and you got to get those people together and get your team together and do it. And that’s what we are lacking at this point in my humble opinion.”

You can watch this portion of the interview with McCord above, or watch the entire interview below, or listen to the podcast here. McCord talks hilarious David Feherty stories, why he decided to fast, scenes from the set of Tin Cup, the best shots he’s ever seen from Tiger Woods and more.

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