Television coverage of the PGA EuroPro Tour‘s Lancer Scott Championship, which took place at Machynys Peninsula between August 10-12, had to pulled from Sky Sports Golf’s TV schedule last week due to excessive swearing by players.
Nine instances of bad language were caught by microphones covering the event, which was due to be aired Sky Sports Golf. The EuroPro Tour’s production team was able to edit out five of the profanities, but a further four instances of swearing were unable to be cut out ahead of the planned airing of the coverage, leading to the highlights package of the final round being pulled from the schedule.
EuroPro Tour CEO Dan Godding subsequently issued a memo in which he warned players about their on-course behaviour and plans to impose bigger financial penalties on offenders in the future.
The memo read: “Sadly, tonight’s show has been pulled from air due to excessive amount of swearing. Our production team managed to remove 5 ‘f’ words before the show was sent to Sky and our international broadcasters but missed 4 ‘f’ words which were picked up by the compliance team at Sky. I have had to tell our sponsor that the show will not be going to air tonight as we were unable to edit and re download before 6pm. As you can imagine, this is exceptionally embarrassing for the club and the sponsor who have informed all their members and clients.”
The memo went on: “This problem seems to be growing and although it’s only a small few, it’s bemusing. When you reach the level of having an audience, you are at a level where your brand image and reputation matters. Not only does it matter to you, it matters to your sponsors and an international audience. By saying the ‘f’ word when you are being watched is unforgivable. You are no longer just a golfer, you are an entertainer and an ambassador for your sport and industry.
“It’s hard work making this tour viable and the last thing I need is our members saying the ‘f’ word or in fact the ‘C’ word on a few occasions, in our programming. If you are one of the players who like to swear on air, please watch your mouth. Next time we’ll be sending out the fines. Currently it is £50 for an audible obscenity, but if it continues, we will be significantly raising this for next season.”