Over the past decade, Sky has invested millions of pounds into the live coverage of golf.

Events have been bought to the paying customer from all corners of the world including the PGA and European Tours, along with the majors and World Golf Championships.

The one crown jewel that was missing was The Open Championship. Not from 2017 thanks to the R&A’s announcement ending a 60 year relationship between the BBC and The Open Championship. Is this the right step for one of the oldest championships in golf?

The worry of this decision from the world of golf is that there will be a more dramatic decline in the game of golf which already has decreasing participation numbers.

All of these questions surround the game still: Does it take too long? Is it too hard to play? Is it boring? Does it not appeal to the younger generation? Is it too expensive?

So take the BBC and the coverage of golf. It has become dated and boring. A shake up was needed but the BBC was not willing to invest, instead focusing on other programmes such as Match of the Day.

From using presenters like Hazel Irvine who practically fronts every sporting event on the BBC already to the commentators such as Peter Alliss, who has been away from playing the game competitively for 30 years, there is just no relevance to the modern game.

Constant mistakes with information, mispronunciations of names, references back to golf in the 60’s, criticism of the modern day equipment and golfing attire… all of these highlight that and point to the link with the usual questions associated with the game! The programme became very much like a beginners guide and lacked depth for the hard-core golf fan.

Yes, golf is a very traditional sport but with the likes of younger players such as Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, and with younger brands such as Nike, Adidas and Puma making headway in the world of golf and the massive influence that social media has on the modern world, the reputation of the sport has to change. This can only be done with the coverage of the events changing so that the public portrayal will change.

Sky has invested millions of pounds into creating a slick product that appeals to all demographics. They have created such a spectacle with events such as The Masters, The Ryder Cup and now hopefully The Open Championship.

The attention and detail they give to each event with the build-up creates such a buzz about the forth coming and with the first tee shot to last putt coverage they provide is second to none programme.

With the likes of fresh younger talent such as Sarah Stirk presenting and Nick Dougherty commentating they really do deliver for all with a mixture of experience, intelligence and glamour to the coverage. The humour with the likes of Wayne Riley on course give a fresh perspective to golf commentary and the special guests like Butch Harmon and Jack Nicklaus at The Masters give a real insight into not only the history and prestige of the events but a current and relevant view of the players and their experience, which gets you so enthralled you feel really part of the event.

If that doesn’t inspire you to go and pick up the 7 iron and go hit some balls at the range or play 18 holes, what will?!

15 Years ago there were 13 European Tour sanctioned events in the UK and Ireland including The Open Championship. In 2015 there will be 6 in the UK and Ireland with just one in England, The BMW Championship, which attracts one of the biggest attendances of the season.

This is down to a lack of sponsorship and an after effect of the financial crash. The fact that there are more events in South Africa or in Asia on The European Tour then in the UK says a lot for the state of golf on these shores and the lack of support and attention given to promote the game at the top to inspire the bottom.

If it wasn’t for the in-depth coverage of golf that Sky provides we would have no experience of live golf in this country. This is the right step for golf coverage in the UK and in particular The Open. Sky has shown with their constant support of golf broadcasting they deserve these rights from 2017!

When it comes to the participation, it has nothing to do with who covers the broadcasting of the sport, it starts within the grass roots. With this deal between Sky and The R&A there will be money available to tackle this.

How is this for final thought?

Golf is the second most played sport or game in the UK, behind only football (away from activities such as swimming, athletics, and cycling). However, schools will teach rugby, tennis, cricket and badminton ahead of golf.

Yes this may come down to onsite facilities and education budgets but secondary schools have no room for golf on a beginner or competitive level.

In North America it is incredibly common for a high school to have a golf team, and nearly every University  also have golf teams who compete at an incredibly high level on a regular basis.

They take huge pride in their local academic sporting teams, with television broadcasting coverage of major university sporting events in sports like basketball, American football and even coverage of NCAA Golf Championships.

In the UK it is very different. The biggest covered University sporting events are a boat race and a rugby match between the same two universities, Oxford and Cambridge. That’s it.

There is nothing because the level of competition is just not there and sports are not supported enough through the educational processes of schools and universities in the UK.