“Welcome, to the graveyard for old fired golf announcers.”
Roger Maltbie was introduced this way by Drew Stoltz and Gary McCord on their SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio program.
Golfweek reported last week Maltbie and Gary Koch will not be returning to NBC in 2023, after the network informed the long-serving broadcasters that it wanted to “refresh the team” for the future.
Maltbie was initially told that 2021 would be his last year on the air before Jim “Bones’ Mackay, his on-air reporter for the network, left to serve as Justin Thomas’ caddie. Maltbie was a reporter on the course for 2022, but he wasn’t renewed for 2023. Maltbie, 71 years old, is a five-time winner of the PGA Tour. He had been covering golf since 1992 for NBC Sports.
“Does it hurt to hear the words? Sure. ‘You are not in our plans.’ I spent 31 years with NBC. “You are not in our plans anymore and you are not part of our future.” Maltbie said, “We need to move young.” This is a nice way to say you’re older, which I can understand. You know there are hurt feelings, but there is also a lot gratitude. For 31 years, they were my best friends. They are great.
“There are hurt feelings, but there is also a lot gratitude.”
The news that Roger Maltbie is leaving NBC Sports has the golf world still reeling. Maltbie reacts to the news with Drew and McCord on McCord & Steltz. Hear the full interview on the SXM App.@thesleezyman pic.twitter.com/BPQd78kdMi
— SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) November 15, 2022
“I absolutely loved the guys that I worked with. He said that he will miss the opportunity to watch the best players in the world play their best. “I was assigned to lead the final group of players on Sunday. I still enjoy it to this day even though it is no longer possible for me to do it. It’s something I enjoy and will miss. “I will.”
McCord is the one who knows Maltbie’s and Koch’s feelings. He and Peter Kostis were both long-serving members of the CBS Golf team. They were terminated in October 2019. The network informed both that things were becoming “stale”.
Maltbie stated that although I would have loved to have continued, it was a funny thing how your career changes over the 31-year span. “When I started, hell, I knew every single player. I was one of them, and I was doing television. I was able to identify their wives and names of your children and compete with them. It was an instant familiarity. You go through a phase where they know who and what you did, then they meet new kids. Then, you go on. In the latter years, most of them don’t know that I play golf professionally. There is a time for everything.
Maltbie stated that he is considering calling some PGA Tour Champions events to the network. He noted how he will miss the thrill of live TV. What about LIV Golf?
Maltbie stated, “I suppose at this age, at the 71st, you never know what you might do, but that would shock my belief beyond belief.” “Greg Norman, me and I had a bit of a spat years ago, and I doubt that LIV would call me, let’s just say that.”
Maltbie would consider the 14-event and international travel schedule if he was contacted. He’d be open to working for someone who’s willing and able to pay him a salary.
“This LIV thing is kind of crazy. It’s full of hypocrisy,” Maltbie stated. “I don’t think anyone should be held responsible for accepting that amount of money or deciding to do so. It’s still their decision. It’s not my idea of what they would do if they were to play on the PGA Tour. It’s not something I follow, but it’s not what I dislike.”
“There are some people who feel a moral outrage at accepting money from the Saudi Investment Fund. Many of the biggest corporations in America do business with Saudi Arabia. Why is golfers suddenly the moral compass for the world? That’s something I don’t get. That’s why I don’t have a problem with these guys taking the money.
LIV Golf, which has Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund serving as its sole financier, has been long criticized for being a way for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to sportwash its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused in a wide range of human rights violations, including torture, forced disappearances, politically motivated killings, and inhumane treatment for prisoners. Saudi royals and the Saudi government were also accused of being involved in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, a Washington Post columnist and journalist from Saudi Arabia.
Maltbie’s future appearances are yet to be confirmed. Maybe he’ll do the LIV broadcast or Champions tour – who knows? Many will miss the voice of this longtime player.
