TV golf coverage

Local TV stations have greatly improved their coverage of international sporting events such as football, boxing and motor sports, to 'whet the healthy appetites' of the Jakarta viewing public.

When golf coverage was commendably added recently by ANteve every Thursday evening (10:30 - midnight) I was delighted, having little opportunity to see this noble game except in certain areas possessing a satellite dish.

While I congratulate ANteve, I would like to suggest a couple of things which may make future golf viewing a little more pleasant and certainly less frustrating.

I watched the Nestle Open final round a few weeks ago and was amazed that the station terminated the tournament at a very crucial stage, thus leaving me none the wiser as to the winner. This fact was established a week later, however, but consisted of re-hashed material painstakingly spun-out until the inevitable result.

The same situation occurred viewing the next tournament (Australian Masters,) but unfortunately the allotted time one week later consisted of only half an hour's play. The majority of the program actually consisted of presentations, publicity and various pop-music videos!

Imagine airing a football game and terminating it just before time, continuing the following week to gain a result!

I suggest that if such a series is to continue, the ANteve production team suitably edit the relevant tournaments and conclude with a result the same evening. If this isn't possible, maybe overtime could be used, thus presenting a different tournament weekly.

I would appreciate that golf coverage be given the same respect as other major sports with reference to a positive conclusion shown on the same program.

JOHN R. KERR

Jakarta