On Monday morning - Sky Sports announced that they're extending their Ryder Cup coverage for another four years.
It means we'll get to enjoy seeing Team Europe and Team USA battle it out in Rome in 2023 and Farmingdale, New York in 2025.
While many Irish golfing fanatics will be gunning for tickets to the 2027 edition at Adare Manor in Co. Limerick, the majority will spend the next two watching from home.
That means we'll have to get used to Sky Sports coverage of the event and if last year's competition is anything to go by, it caused a lot of frustration.
The home of golf! ⛳️
Sky Sports will show the DP World Tour until 2024 as well as the next two editions of the Ryder Cup 🏌— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 24, 2022
For that reason - here are five things Sky can improve upon for the next Ryder Cup.
1. Providing A Red Button Option
From an Irish perspective, this would be very helpful. If you take last year's edition, many complained about not seeing Shane Lowry enough. There's always a golf pairing or two that will get more shine, but it's frustrating when you tune in primarily to see your countrymen and only get to see a few shots. A red button to follow a particular golfer or pairing would help eliminate this.
2. Ryder Cup 'Redzone'
We've seen it in the NFL. They're able to broadcast several games simultaneously while showing us the most important parts of each match. In ways, the Ryder Cup's coverage on Sky Sports is a delayed 'Redzone' of sorts but it doesn't have the live feel. If two important putts were happening at the same time, it might be no harm to see them side by side instead of minutes after each other.
23 September 2021; Shane Lowry of Team Europe, left, reacts after team-mate Rory McIlroy plays a shot during a practice round prior to the Ryder Cup 2021 Matches at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, USA. Photo by Tom Russo/Sportsfile
3. Sorting Audio Issues
This was a pet peeve for a lot of people tuning into the broadcast last year. For whatever reason - the audio was oftentimes delayed, muted, or inaudible for parts of the competition. We understand Sky primarily took NBC's coverage of the tournament at Whistling Straits but it didn't give them much of a pass. With a few tweaks, we're sure this could be amended going forward.
4. More Mic'd Up Action
The average sporting fan has embraced the 'Mic'd Up' genre of television quite well. Usually, we see things after the fact on YouTube or social media but the Ryder Cup is built for that sort of technology. It's fascinating to get a glimpse of what the captains are saying, what the players are feeling and how they react after good and bad shots. There was an element of this last year but more is welcome.
5. Fewer Ads, Please
Arguably the biggest issue people had tuning into the Ryder Cup last year was the number of advertisements. When you're paying to watch a service and it might be the only time of the year you do so - showing 10 minutes of ads per hour isn't going to bring in much of a long-term customer base. We understand commercial television is a business, but it spoils the atmosphere watching at home.
See Also: Watch: Lowry and Harrington Take Part In Slagging Filled 'Chipping Challenge'
