Didja Ever #2?

Did you ever notice the microphones during professional golf on TV?

I have watched a fair bit of golf coverage over the years. I don't obsess over it, but if it is being broadcast and if Tiger Woods is involved, I might watch for a while.

So, Friday night we were watching coverage of the U.S. Open before playing poker and they showed a wider than normal shot of a golfer getting ready to make his first shot on a hole.

The tee box is a flat area from which the golfer makes his first shot, and is marked with colored wooden boxes (about 4" x 4") on the let and the right of the flat area. The color determines who should hit their ball from that area based on gender and skill level.

On this hole, the camera showed the driver and the boxes on either side of how he was lining up his shot. Just to the left of the lefthand tee box there sat (mounted) a microphone (the kind with a fuzzy cover you sometimes see a sound man holding over a person to be out of the picture) and THAT is why the golfer's shots sound so crisp and loud when they strike the ball.

A few minutes later I noticed Tiger making an approach shot (he was on his second shot, about to make one that would take him to the green) and ther behind his caddy was a guy holding a similar microphone.

I had never noticed this before. Was I blind or was the production a little sloppy Friday night? Steven or Jeff?