Question: Why are golf hole liners white?
On putting greens, each hole has a hole liner, or "cup," inside it, usually plastic but sometimes metal. These hole liners are almost invariably white in color. Is there a reason why they are all white?
Answer: Yes, there is, and it has to do with television.
The greatest innovator in televised golf was Frank Chirkinian, who for decades was the producer of golf telecasts for the American network CBS. According to Golf Digest, at some point in the "early 1960s" Chirkinian started asking the grounds crew at golf courses from which CBS broadcast to paint their hole liners white.
The reason was to make the hole stand out on television - helping viewers more easily spot the hole on the green during the telecast.
And painting the hole liners white worked at that job. It also made the hole easier to see for golfers, too, and eventually all hole liners, or cups, where either manufactured white or painted white.
