Dunedin professional Andrew Whiley says Sky losing the broadcast rights to the PGA Tour could not have come at a worse time for the golf watcher in New Zealand.
Next year, three New Zealanders - Steve Alker, Danny Lee and Tim Wilkinson - would have their PGA Tour cards and be playing in most tournaments on the tour.
But with Sky losing coverage, it would not be as easy to see the New Zealand golfers.
Whiley acknowledged golf was a sport where many of the most passionate fans were older, had the time to watch and could move online to watch tournaments.
Golf companies could commercially back the move to online, as they would now have a clear target market.
He said Sky had said it would continue to show some golf programmes but they could already be accessed online.
It is believed the PGA Tour did not offer the rights to Sky because it wanted to use New Zealand as a test market in the use of online coverage directly to an audience.
