Tag: NBC/Golf Channel

Mark Rolfing Q&A: Veteran golf analyst praises SentryWorld, dishes on LIV Golf, rolling back the golf ball and the future of the PGA Tour

The longtime Golf Channel and NBC broadcaster will return to Wisconsin this summer as an analyst for the U.S. Senior Open.

When Mark Rolfing was recently at SentryWorld in Wisconsin, there was snow scattered throughout the majestic, 18-hole parkland golf course on the city’s north side.

The snow will be gone and the course will look considerably different when the longtime Golf Channel and NBC broadcaster returns this summer as an analyst for the U.S. Senior Open, which will be contested at SentryWorld from June 29 to July 2.

Rolfing thinks the course, which has undergone massive renovation the past two years to get ready for one of the USGA’s flagship events, will be a great test for the best senior golfers in the world and believes it will be the blueprint for future major championship golf venues.

Rolfing, who is an ambassador for Sentry Insurance, talked with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin about SentryWorld hosting the major championship, Wisconsin becoming a golf destination, LIV Golf, the proposed rollback of the golf ball to limit distance, the future of the PGA Tour and more.

Golf Channel to debut ‘BagCam’ during Friday’s Valspar Championship broadcast with Justin Thomas and Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay

BagCam, which is the latest effort to bring the viewer closer to the action, received a test-run in December.

Get ready for BagCam.

NBC Sports is slated to debut a camera from within a player’s golf bag during Friday’s second-round coverage of the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.

“BagCam” will sit within Justin Thomas’ golf bag during holes 17-18 on Golf Channel and Peacock, bringing viewers closer to the action than ever before.

BagCam has the ability to provide a 360-degree perspective as the audience joins Thomas and caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay for a variety of moments and interactions within the round, whether it’s on the tee, walking from shot-to-shot or a decision on what club to hit for an approach shot.

“We are always exploring ways to innovate within our golf coverage while not disrupting or interfering with what’s happening on the course,” said Tommy Roy, lead producer for NBC Sports’ golf coverage, in a statement.

BagCam, which weighs no more than a pound, received a test-run with Bones carrying it in Thomas’s bag at the PNC Championship in December. Mackay was a logical choice to be the guinea pig for the camera, which provides a viewpoint as if it were a drone sitting right above a player’s clubs. Mackay spent 25 years as Phil Mickelson’s caddie before transitioning to an on-course commentator role with NBC Sports/Golf Channel in 2017. He returned to caddying last year with Thomas, who won the PGA Championship in May.

BagCam is the latest effort to bring the viewer closer to the action and should be a welcome addition to the broadcast.

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