"Never fail to disappoint"- Golf fans lament paid US Open featured groups coverage

The 2024 US Open is right around the corner and 156 of the world's best players will tee it off on June 13. The third Major of the year will be held at the Pinehurst Golf and Country Club's Course #2 in North Carolina.

The 2024 US Open will be available to watch on USA Network, NBC Sports, and Peacock while the Golf Channel will offer some coverage as well. The USA Network and NBC Sports will broadcast the full coverage while Peacock will be focusing on the featured groups, which include trios such as Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy.

Peacock is a paid subscription service that costs $5.99 per month. With all the featured groups being broadcast on Peacock for this year's US Open, fans who want to watch their favorite golfers in featured groups will have to buy the service.

A few golf fans online expressed their disappointment at having to pay to watch the featured groups for the US Open. One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Golf broadcasts never fail to disappoint. We get 4 majors a year and we’re going to put portions of the PGA Championship behind one paywall (ESPN+) and then portions of the US Open behind another paywall (Peacock). Way to grow the game!"

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Another fan wrote:

"rename the broadcast to the “US Closed presented by NBC/Peacock/Golf Channel/App/Website”"

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"Atrocity," one fan simply wrote.

"How to make our National Championship unbearable to watch! Can ANGC just buy the USGA? One independent golf club has figured out how to air a Major better than two ruling bodies and the PGA. How is that even possible?" said another disappointed fan.

However, a few fans defended Peacock, saying that it was equivalent to paying for cable.

"If you can afford cable you can afford the $6 for peacock. Plus peacock is actually a solid streaming platform. It’s the best value compared to Netflix/Hulu etc.," one fan commented.

"Do you not pay for cable? or whatever streaming service you're using? Everything is behind a paywall now. NFL games even cost. If you really want to watch pay the $6 and watch it. It's freaking $6," said another fan in frustration.

"Honestly “paywall” while literal is a bit hyperbolic. Pretty sure everyone with a $600 driver is pretty well outfitted with streaming services and 85” tv’s. We aren’t shooting hoops into milk crates here," another fan stated.

The streaming for the first two rounds of the 2024 US Open will begin at 6:30 am EST and end at 9 pm.