Brandel Chamblee is one of the most polarizing figures in the world of golf. Whether you love or hate Chamblee, the vast majority of golf fans feel some kind of way about him, which is exactly what his job description entails.
For the most part, the Tour pros that Chamblee covers and opines on week in and week out are golf fans as well, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that they too have feelings about Chamblee.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity for Golf.com’s 2018 Player Poll, Chamblee actually came out looking pretty good. Of the 59 Tour pros polled, a surprising majority had a favorable impression of the analyst.
DO YOU RESPECT BRANDEL CHAMBLEE’S OPINIONS?
YES: 64%
NO: 27%
DON’T KNOW/NO COMMENT: 9%
We got Tour pros to loosen up and share their real thoughts on President Trump, Tiger, Brandel Chamblee, cheating and more of golf's hottest topics! https://t.co/nwcq2KTj61 pic.twitter.com/TzBkVmD6dW
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) September 14, 2018
Of course, when the pros get to speak out anonymously, the detractors don’t have to hold back for fear of retribution, either from the analyst or their sponsors.
“Say what you want, but the guy does his homework.”
“I played with him and he wasn’t that good.”
“The Tiger bashing gets old and ruins a bit of his credibility.”
“Every panel of talking heads needs a jackass.”
“He can’t possibly believe all of the stuff he’s saying.”
“I’ve blocked him on social media because I don’t even want to know what comes out of his mouth.”
“He missed his calling. Should have been a doctor — he might have cured a few diseases.”
As for some of golf’s biggest names, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have both put their name on their opinions in 2018.
“He and I don’t see eye to eye on anything,” Mickelson said in July. “I just like people who build up the game. I view this as we’re all in the game of golf together. We all want to grow the game. We all want to make it better. And I feel like he’s made his commentating career on denigrating others. And I don’t care for that. I like people who help build the sport up and promote it for what it is, rather than tearing down and ridiculing others.”
Woods, asked prior to the Players Championship earlier this year, was asked if he feels Chamblee makes the game more interesting for people who watch on television.
Woods responded by saying, “For people who don’t play the game? Yes.”
For Chamblee’s part, he’s long said that he’s not out there to make friends, he’s out there to make a living as an analyst.
“I would tell (the pros) I had their job for 20 to 25 years; they’ve never had my job,” Chamblee said last month. “I understand their job, I don’t think they quite understand the role of my job is not to be their best friend. At all. My job is to analyze their golf swing. I’m not a cheerleader. I’m an analyst.”
