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THERE ar people — quite reasonable people, in fact — who think that viewing golf on television is as exciting as observation paint dry. To all of those naysayers, I say this: Try listening to it on the radio.

XM tuner has many great channels; my programmed buttons include alternative rock’s Lucy and the accidentally clever XM Kids. But no planet radio channel can equate to XM 146, the network’s station devoted to the PGA Tour. It’s so foreign, it’s in reality brilliant.

The late British Open featured any number of remarkable story lines, the best of which was the surprising (although ill-starred) showing of the 53-year-old Greg Norman, the for the most part retired Australian golfer/winemaker/Chris Evert husband world Health Organization unexpectedly lED the tournament after three rounds. As it turned out, I was in my elevator car for some of Sunday’s final round. So rather than watch on TiVo later Norman hack around and lose the tourney, I punched up the PGA Tour Network on my satellite radio.

“He’s got the ball headed right-hand at the cup, and — oh, no! — it boodle just inches short.”

“His drive is expiration way right.”

“The wind is absolutely ululation now.”

For modern sports fans obsessed with ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and YouTube highlight videos, XM’s PGA Tour Network, which includes former modestly successful players Mark Carnevale, Dennis Paulson and Larry Rinker, is a fireside chat throwback: a fashion to rent the story unfold in your vision, not through instant replay.

Dodger fans take their AM radios to games to listen to Vin Scully while they watch the action. It’s much the same with XM’s golf channel: Sometimes, listening is believing.

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John Horn