Meet Mark Dusbabek, the Gene Steratore of the PGA Tour

USA Today

10-02-2025

Meet Mark Dusbabek, the Gene Steratore of the PGA Tour
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Mark Dusbabek had finished a long day of working as a rules official at the old World Golf Championship Match-Play in Arizona and when he got back to his room, he kicked up his feet on his bed and turned on the replay of the telecast. Not long after, he sat up in disgust when he heard one of the TV commentators describe a ruling improperly. The mistake stuck in his craw so much so that the next morning he went to discuss it with Mark Russell, who at the time was his boss and headed up rules and competition for the Tour.
'Why don't we have one of our people in the TV truck?' he suggested. Russell replied, 'Who'd want to do that?'
Dusbabek raised his hand and that's how he eventually ended up becoming professional golf's version of Gene Steratore, who began serving as a rules analyst for CBS's NFL coverage in 2018. For 22 of the 28 weeks this season that the Tour's telecast will involve a rules official, Dusbabek's job will be to watch a series of monitors in a tiny trailer in the TV compound and communicate with producers and talent for CBS and NBC, joining the telecast when warranted to speak about weather delays, pace of play and rulings.
Dusbabek, 60, was an NFL linebacker for three years until his career was cut short by a knee injury. He played linebacker at the University of Minnesota, was drafted in the fourth round by the Houston Oilers and later played with the Minnesota Vikings. After a short stint in finance and several jobs in golf, including with the Southern California Golf Association and Met Golf Association, he joined the Tour in 2006.
After selling Russell on being the Tour's liaison to the broadcast crew, he started out doing video review and TV in the video tower on 18 at three events per year (during a Presidents Cup year), shifted to watching the telecast from the Rules office, where he dealt with a 10-15 second delay, and eventually using a DVR.
'So it was live and at least we could rewind it and play around with the one feed we were watching,' he said.
But that was just scratching the surface of his vision. When Dusbabek first met with Terry Gregson, a longtime NHL referee who officiated in eight Stanley Cups, he learned that hockey had been using video review since 1996. 'And I was like, oh my goodness, we're that far behind,' he said.
The technology capabilities have expanded ever since the Tour started using Hawk-Eye technology, which is used in other sports including tennis. In 2023, he handled the video review and TV role simultaneously. But at the suggestion of NBC's Mike Tirico, he took trips to the NBA and NFL's 'war rooms' and Steratore and others shared some best practices.
'When I saw the NBA have one guy working the controls while the other official did the TV side, it was a light that went off,' said Dusbabek, who added longtime rules official Orlando Pope handled the video replay role last year. 'We had to get to that point. We had to take baby steps.'
The video review and TV rules roles developed in earnest three years ago with the support from CBS's executive producer of the PGA Tour, Sellers Shy, who took notice of the value Steratore had added during NFL broadcasts.
'Within our golf sphere, we knew that players and announcers many times needed a little rules kickstart,' Shy said. 'Mark has effortlessly filled that void, facilitated the decision making, and frankly, exceeded all of our high expectations.'
Dusbabek said he works with a media coach in an effort to get better with his delivery on TV. As a measure of his acceptance as a full-fledged member of the CBS golf team, Shy said it was only natural to introduce him on camera within the opening of the network's first event at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago alongside commentators Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo. 'He is as respected as anyone else on our compound,' Shy said. 'The Rules of Golf can be quite complicated but Dus has a way of cutting through the numerous pages and overall uncertainty. His style is convincing yet not overly harsh or complicated. He is so good at reaching the peak of trust with the viewer.'
Dusbabek does more than just weigh in on split-second rules decisions; Shy called him the epitome of a utility man.
'He is the Jim Cantore of our telecast, giving us up-to-the-minute weather reports. He is our pace-of-play companion when we need to know what time the final group is finishing,' said Shy, who noted his experience on the gridiron may prove beneficial too. 'As a former NFL linebacker, he may even explain why the Chiefs will win their third Super Bowl in a row by the end of this week's telecast.'