• Scottsdale, AZ • Desert Mountain Golf Club
In 1988 I got the call: consultant/spotter for ABC Sports at a one-off made-for-TV event called the Desert Scramble, staged to put Desert Mountain Golf Club on the map. I was new to Scottsdale (arrived in ’85) and had no clue how big the golf boom was about to get — I just knew I suddenly had an inside-the-ropes credential and a front-row seat.
The scene was pure late-80s broadcast: production trucks humming, plywood towers going up, IFBs crackling, and me feeding names, yardages, and lies to the booth from greenside. After the event I was shoulder-to-shoulder with the players — Ian Woosnam and Greg Norman won — and it hit me: this was the beginning of a lot more TV golf in my future.
What a Spotter Actually Does
- Eyes for the booth: confirm hitting order in fairways and greens, sometimes keeping stats: fairways hit, greens in regulation, number of putts, etc.
- Translate chaos: turn three conversations and a marshal’s hand-wave into a five-second fact the announcer can use.
- Keep the rhythm: never step on the call, never miss the moment.
Highlight: First time hearing my notes land on air in real time. Hooked for life.
The Tape Box
I shot stills during the event and cut a short video ages ago calling myself the “Boomerblogger. I’ll post it here for the archivists:
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
That one gig opened the door to more — and more stories. This one sits near the top of the list for a simple reason: firsts stick. Consider it chapter one of Confessions of a TV Golf Spotter — more to come.