What new programming would you like to see for the Golf Channel?

[wsmorrison]

I would like to see a series based upon competitions between a team of club champions (men, women, juniors) vying against each other...geographically based or architect based.  Include classic era clubs versus modern and have historians speak of classic era courses (Flynn, MacKenzie, Colt, Macdonald, Tillinghast, etc) and have living architects (Crenshaw, Doak, Fazio, etc) highlight aspects of their designs during the competitions...Discussing  architecture can be very intersting.  Possible idea is to hold the competition at Homestead (Flynn) and Greenbrier (Raynor) or other accessible locations. Maybe some segments filmed at members’ clubs showing interesting hole designs/championship moments, etc. Some public/resort clubs mixed in with privates so there can be some cross-marketing revenues.  

[Ken Moum]

2007 CMAA National Club Championship
Presented by Cadillac

http://www.nccgolf.org/

October 1-3, 2007 • Reunion Resort and Club, Orlando, FL


The Premier Amateur Golf Event

The 2007 CMAA National Club Championship will be the fifth year for this tournament, which enables club champions from across the U.S. and abroad to compete against one another in a first-rate event. The club championship is one of golf’s most venerable and prestigious annual tournaments; the CMAA National Club Championship is an extension of this celebrated event, providing a national platform for club

[Dan Kelly]

Should be damned cheap to produce. Might be interesting, too.

I'd certainly include municipal courses in the mix. I love the idea of "National Golf Links of America vs. Jans National."

The "club champions" part, though, strikes me as wrong-headed.

Do club champions make interesting TV personalities? Do their encounters with the golf course promise to be entertaining?

I doubt it.

We need CHARACTERS more than we need PLAYERS!

So: I'd rather see a mix of skills (and the lack thereof): a low-handicapper, a mid-handicapper, a high-handicapper, a couple of women and a couple of juniors. (OK, OK, three of each.)

Make sure we have some BAD players with good senses of humor, to provide some comic relief!

Would "American Idol" have been the smash success it is, without the sour notes? No way!

[Mike Benham]

Done in part already in NorCal, SoCal and NY with 3 person teams (1 Pro, 1 Top Am Male and Female).

Crammed into a 1 hour show, the 9 hole match is shot from ground level, which is average at best.  No time for architecture review as they also throw in tidbits from your local NorCal PGA Pro (which is the host organization), a piece from On The Tour and another time filler.

The golfers are usually the male and female club champions, using any other level of golfer would be unwatchable.

Expanding the show would not seem feasible to me, those who would want to here about the architecture, would not care about the competition, and likewise for those watching the competition, they would think the architecture piece of the program a waste of time.

[Richard Choi]

Wayne I like your idea, but as a GCA member, isn't is obvious what kind of programming Golf Channel really needs?

SHOWCASE GREAT GOLF COURSES!!!

Why can't they have a show where they spend 30 minutes on great golf courses around the world? How did it get started? What makes it great? Interviews with architects and players about it? Etc?

You easily have enough programming to last years and years.

Or how about some REAL travel programs geared toward real golf trips. What little golf travel shows that they have tend to focus on one resort and they spend majority of that on off-course services like spa and whatnot. Who are they catering to?

Why not take the model from Golf Digest and Golf Magazine? Pick a city, come up with an itinenary for a weekend. Show me the courses and where I should stay (and not just one, but one for every budget). Throw in some local sites and voila! you have a great 1 hour show.

[Richard Boult]

re: SHOWCASE GREAT GOLF COURSES!!!

I'd love to see the Golf Channel do something like "The Wandering Golfer", with more emphasis on golf and less on "Fine Living"!

[wsmorrison]

Richard and R.Boult,

I would readily embrace something like you've described.  I just don't think the Golf Channel has any intent to do something like that, so I proposed a sort of hybrid model.  I cannot stand the Big Break, but a modified version with golf architecture would be of interest to a wider audience.  I sent them the idea...I doubt I'll hear back from them.  Maybe I should just call up Brian Roberts (I don't know him but he used to play squash with my father-in-law) and meet him out on the golf course to discuss.  It couldn't hurt.

[Adam Clayman]

Wayne-
 Out in California on the local Cable they have such matches.

The added content you suggest would be great for us geeks, but in reality, the show does lack unless the viewer has some connection with either the player or the course. Grant it, it's an announcing, as well as a camera logistics, problem.

The Wandering golfer seems to be a more interesting and sucessful model. The GC might consider using it as a basis.

The idea I had years ago was a show about the G.C. construction currently going on in the world. That would highlight both the Archies and the GCA.

The sad reality is the GC appears to be anti-sophistication on all matters, save for the golf clubs and swing.

[Richard Boult]

Funny, I don't like Big Break either. However, a young guy from my town, who I just played with on Monday, is on BB VIII (starts Oct. 2nd).  This guy can putt!  I'll watch this season to see how he does (he can't and won't tell anyone how he did).  This season's winner gets a PGA exemption.  If you're so inclined, watch for Josh .  I bet you'll agree that he's the best golfer the show has had so far.

[Wayne_Kozun]

I would be happy with just a discussion show where a panel discusses GCA.  Get a group of folks like Brad Klein, Tom Doak, Lorne Rubenstein, etc. and turn them loose.  This would be SO much better than endless Golf Academy Live - if you want golf instruction then go to your local pro.

[Dan Kelly]

... if you want golf instruction then go to your local pro.

Not that I ever watch it (I don't; ever), but I'm guessing that watching Golf Academy Live is considerably cheaper than going to one's local pro for lessons -- and at least as entertaining, to a mass audience, as a bunch of architecture-heads sitting on their butts. Even with cheerleaders, that show is not going to draw, IMO.

The architecture show that COULD work, IMO, is a reborn "Wonderful World of Golf." (I suppose Shell has to go, in our new world. How about "Prius's Wonderful World of Golf"?)

Take top professionals (or maybe some celebrity amateurs) to TOP courses around the world. Not the latest Nicklaus designs, but those Golfweekdigest top-100 type courses that most of us mass-audience types will never see, or that we will see once in our lives if we save up our pennies.

When possible, have an architectural expert tag along to provide commentary on the course. Any of you architects care to host it?

Here's one Communist who'd watch.

[Adam Clayman]

Enter Trump

[Jim Colton]

I submitted a great idea for a new show on the Golf Channel a couple weeks ago and just got the form reject letter in the mail today.  I guess not everything is up to snuff with Fore Inventors Only.

[David Stamm]

Anything that deals with the courses, past and present.

[RJ_Daley]

A guy like Geoff Shackelford should host a version of wandering golfer, with a playing pro, guru teacher, or amatuer that has come sort of widespread noteriety.  They should visit courses and discuss what makes them so good, have the pro, teacher or top am hit some shots to show various aspects of the design and how to attack them.  Discuss the architects background and trademark styles.  

Then have a part of that show visit various construction sites in progress with an interview with the archie, and make characters out of the shapers and construction crew guys.  When it comes to most of these operators, they won't have to invent any quirky characters!  It would be sort of like the 'ice truckers' show or the Bearing sea crab fisherman...

Make follow-up visits on high profile projects as the construction procedes, including during grow-ins.  

The running comments of the super at Chambers Bay during their grow in on their website was a nice format example to have as a show segment.

If this doesn't garner widespread golf fan viewership, then I guess it is down to wet cart girl contests.

[David Stamm]

A guy like Geoff Shackelford should host a version of wandering golfer, with a playing pro, guru teacher, or amatuer that has come sort of widespread noteriety.  They should visit courses and discuss what makes them so good, have the pro, teacher or top am hit some shots to show various aspects of the design and how to attack them.  Discuss the architects background and trademark styles.  

Then have a part of that show visit various construction sites in progress with an interview with the archie, and make characters out of the shapers and construction crew guys.  When it comes to most of these operators, they won't have to invent any quirky characters!  It would be sort of like the 'ice truckers' show or the Bearing sea crab fisherman...

Make follow-up visits on high profile projects as the construction procedes, including during grow-ins.  

The running comments of the super at Chambers Bay during their grow in on their website was a nice format example to have as a show segment.

If this doesn't garner widespread golf fan viewership, then I guess it is down to wet cart girl contests.

A captial idea RJ. I love it. The question is, would Geoff do it?

[Jesse Jones]

I've always thought the people from the Wandering Golfer would produce two shows using their current sites.
One would consist of the usual flavor then golf.
A second show would have a couple of courses that were not profiled in the WG series plus -Professional and Architechtural comment.
The ROI is there.
You would not need a travelling host.
Your production team is already in town.
It's a lay-up.

 

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I'd like to see a golf tournament with the top 50 golf instructors actually playing golf. Who would win- Harmon, Haney, Ledbetter, Flick?

[RJ_Daley]

Steve, I'd like to see that too, and see how they determine their handicaps, if any...

[Doug Ralston]

I would rather have golfcourse.com back than any of that other stuff! Best course website ever by a long shot. And the people who destroyed it should BE shot!

Sorry, a little off-topic, but ...........

Doug

[John Engelbrecht]

I am definately in need of more infomercials...not  

[Jim Thompson]

I'd like to see a road trip style program as well.  However, I have a twist, I'd like to see the prgram hosted by an ex cop from Wisconsin and a crazy golf course builder / superintendent from Michigan.  Can you imagine the entertainment those two could provide???

[John Keenan]

TGC had an on the road show a few years back called something like Dean of the Road with a golf pro from San Diego. I believe his name was Dean Rymen or close to it.

He would pull up at a course and give lessons to the locals as well as add some humor.  Not a great show but interesting concept.

Playing lessons with the Pro lends itself to a GCA aspect if they questioned the pro as to how the design dictated shot selection and club choice.

[wsmorrison]

"Golf Design with Tom Paul" would be a hit.  The man knows everyone, visits the country's best courses.  Even though he hardly plays he does tell the best stories.  He'll play the tortoise against a lot of hares and do pretty darn well demonstrating the ground game with his low draw long irons.  He could do a point-counterpoint segment with Pat Mucci.  That would be hysterical.  A Q&A with architects, superintendents, construction guys, etc.  

Dibs on the idea.  

Best of all, he wouldn't need to get paid.  At least the producers would get their money's worth    A carton of cigs, a radar detector and some red wine in his trailer and he's ready to hit the road.

[JMorgan]

He could do a point-counterpoint segment with Pat Mucci.  That would be hysterical.  

An editor's nightmare if there ever was one.