“I look forward to returning to the course sometime around late summer/early fall.” This was part of Billy Horschel’s statement on X on May 6, 2025. Horschel had announced that he would be having right hip surgery in a week in Colorado as a preventive measure, in a bid not to cause any issues down the line. Surgery would mean that the PGA Tour pro would be away from the golf course. Just the course, not the sport. Billy has been closely following the ongoing US Open action. While watching the telecast, Horschel had one observation that he felt could improve the overall quality of the broadcast and give fans a bit more concrete understanding regarding the finer details. He took to X to share his thoughts on the same.

“There’ve been a lot of really cool features that have been added to golf broadcasts over the years. One I would like to see added on a regular basis is when showing a shot from behind the player and they show the shot tracer and ball speed… is add the spin rate.” Horschel stated.

The spin imparted on the ball is a crucial aspect across various areas. Firstly, it determines how the ball slices through the air on a lofted shot, especially a powerful one like a drive. It also determines how a ball lands on the green. A decent amount of spin could make sure that the ball does not roll too much away from where it lands. However, a lack of spin could mean that the ball bounces far away from its landing spot. This knowledge is what makes the information about spin rate exciting, according to Horschel.

“Fans would have gotten a better perspective on why a certain drive with 176 mph flew as far as someone with 182 mph. Or why 2 players who hit the same iron on a par 3 with similar heights and landed it in similar spots…one ball stopped within a couple yards of its pitch mark vs. one that traveled 10-12 yards. It would also help the announcers and analysts better emphasize their point on players’ shots,” Horschel further added.

He also tagged the X pages of NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and Golf Channel in a bid to hasten the process of implementing his idea, not just at the US Open but possibly at other majors and PGA Tour events that are telecasted. This will be a huge thing for the likes of Jim Nantz and Amanda Balionis to consider, as CBS Sports is involved in the majority of the PGA Tour. However, they are not a part of the US Open broadcast, which is done instead by NBC.

Horschel’s request is, however, not just limited to the US Open, so Nantz and his team at CBS will have a lot to consider.

The broadcast team for the 2025 US Open

NBC, which is covering the US Open across the four days, has a stellar team calling the shots, literally! Dependable Mike Tirico is leading the team as the broadcasting host. Tirico’s first job with NBC Sports Group came in July 2016 when he was part of the live coverage of another major, The Open from Royal Troon in Scotland. He also covered the 2016 Rio Olympics. There are some amazing play-by-play and analyst pairings for the third major of the season.

Dan Hicks and PGA Tour pro Kevin Kisner, Terry Gannon and Brad Faxon, Tirico himself and Noah Begay III, and Steve Sands and Gary Koch make up the play-by-play and analyst pairs for the US Open. These are the people who will likely need to implement Horschel’s request and add more details and stats to what is happening on the course.

What do you think of Billy Horschel’s request to the broadcast team? Do you think fans are interested in statistics like spin rate, or is it just too much information to comprehend?