Category Archives: Golf Channel

Presidents Cup: September 22 – 26, 2026 at Medinah Coutry Club

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The Presidents Cup is the last chance this year for a USA team to win a team event since the USA lost both the Walker Cup and the Solheim Cup. It should be noted that the Curtis Cup (ladies version of Walker Cup) was won by the USA ladies in June 2026 with 13 matches for the USA and 7 matches for GB&I.

Recap of Walker Cup and Solheim Cup: The men of the Walker Cup swept the morning matches and fell apart in singles losing the cup by a point (GB&I 13½ – 12½ USA). The USA team at the Solheim Cup tied the matches 8 to 8 on day two with two incredible birdies by Jennifer Kupcho on the 17th and 18th hole; however the USA celebration on Saturday was ridiculous given they still had a full day of singles to play. Here is the video of the USA team on the bus. In my opinion they gave the Europe team the motivation to come out in singles and dominate the USA; and that is exactly what they did by securing the cup in the 8th Match (Lottie Woad over Auston Kim). Europe won 15 to 13 or won 7 of the 12 singles matches. And, Europe posted a video giving out beers on the bus singing….”they drink beer on Saturday, we drink beer on Sunday.” Anyway, on to the next team event.

The Presidents Cup – The Presidents Cup is not as prestigious or as big a deal as the Ryder Cup. I think it is because of its history. Although it has been around since 1994 that is nothing compared to the Ryder Cup 99 year history. Also, the Presidents Cup has been so lopsided with the USA winning 13 of the 15 competitions played.

2026 President Cup Teams – Will we see an exciting cup or another blowout? The last time it was exciting was in 2019 in Australia when the International team captained by Ernie Els almost beat the USA team captained by Tiger Woods. The USA came back in singles matches to win. Can you imagine the uproar if a team lead by Captain Woods lost!

Here are the members of each 2026 team:

USA Team – Captain Brandt Snedeker. Players that qualified on points are Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Russell,Henley, Collin Morikawa. Players that are Captain’s Picks are Chris Gotterup, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Jacob Bridgeman, and Jackson Koivun.

I’m really excited that Snedeker picked the young Jackson Koivun for the team. I have followed Koivun’s college career and he is a champion! He also has publicly stated how he “LOVES” match play. I also like Chris Gotterup on the team; frankly, he should have been picked for the Ryder Cup at Beth Page. I think it was a mistake to pick Thomas, Cantlay and Schauffele but hopefully they rise to the occasion.

International Team – Captain Geoff Ogilvy. Players that qualified on points are Ryan Fox, Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Tom Kim, and Adam Scott. Players that are Captain’s Picks are Corey Conners, Nico Echavarria, Sungjae Im, Ryo Hisatsune, Nick Taylor, and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

I don’t have a lot of strong opinions on the international team. I do like Ryan Fox (became a fan watching him win The Open) and there are two Canadian players I like – Conners and Taylor. Of course, it is always great to see Adam Scott on a team.

On paper the USA team should beat the International team and it is a home game for the USA. Let’s hope the fans at Medinah have more class then the fans at Beth Page Black. Or at least the PGA Tour which runs the Presidents Cup will kick out the “few and loud idiots” that give American crowds a bad reputation. One of the big advantages for the International Team is that Captain Geoff Ogilvy redesigned the course at Medinah that the competition will use. Talk about insight into the slope of greens, etc.

How to Watch

The coverage will be extensive since this is a PGA Tour event. Coverage will be on the Golf Channel, Streaming on Peacock, and the final singles matches on Sunday will be on NBC.

Solheim Cup 2026 (September 11 – September 13)

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The Walker Cup is in the books and GB&I won so now my focus is on the Solheim Cup. Team Europe is hosting at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands. The Opening Ceremony is Thursday September 10 (the 7th, 8th, and 9th are practice round days). The days of competition are Friday, Saturday and Sunday and are covered by the Golf Channel.

HOW TO WATCH – Live Coverage of the golf will air on Golf Channel as follows:

Opening Ceremony on Thursday will only be streamed on Golf Channel “Digital” (app is best option) at 11 am EST.

Day One: Friday, September 11, 1:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Foursome are the morning matches, Four Ball afternoon matches)

Day Two: Saturday, September 12, 1:30 am to 1:00 p.m. (Foursome are the morning matches, Four Ball afternoon matches)

Day Three: Sunday, September. 13, 1:30 a.m. to Noon (Singles – 12 Matches)

TEAM USA – Captain of the team is Angela Stanford. The golf channel provided a video as to why it might be a struggle for the USA to win this year. Basically some players having physical issues or just playing poorly. And it was noted that the USA has only one top ten player in the world on the team which is Nelly Korda. I was also surprised by the captains picks of Rose Zhang, Megan Khang and Lindy Duncan. Zhang has been having back issues, Khang has not been playing well missing the cut in her last eight events and Duncan is just an unknown. Duncan is 35 years old and one of the oldest “rookies” in Solheim Cup USA team history. Let’s hope she is good at match play.

One thing that surprised me was some of the hateful things on social media regarding TEAM USA because six of the ten players are of Asian heritage and comments have been focused on the “look” of the team; but these ladies are all AMERICANS!

TEAM EUROPE – Captain of the team is Anna Nordquist. It was also noted by golf channel analyst Paige Mackenzie that Team Europe only has two players in the top 10 world rankings (Lottie Woad #7 and Charley Hull #8). I think given it is a home game for Europe and given how good players like Woad and Hull are at match play; there is a slight advantage for Team Europe even if it looks like neither team is stacked this year.

Pillow Fight or Exciting Competition – I think the big question is will this Solheim Cup be “must see TV” for golf fans? There does not seem to be much excitement for the Solheim Cup this year. I’ll be watching and hoping the players on both teams rise to the occasion and make it worth our while to watch.

SIDE BAR : Ping Junior Solheim Cup

Also, the Junior Solheim Cup is conducted on the 7th and 8th with the top female amateur golfers ages 12 to 18. This is an important distinction because the top college players are not part of this event so you don’t have too many of the top players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. The USA has one top player – Asterisk Talley (#8 in WAGR and #1 in the AJGA rankings) and Europe has zero players in the top 20 WAGR. The youngest is Kelly Zhang (USA) at the age of 14. The youngest on Europe’s team is 15; Lana Guyot (Switzerland).

Of note, Morgan Pressel is the team captain for the USA and Anna Van Dam is the European Captain; Van Dam also happens to be from the Netherlands.

Team USA has dominated in the last three PING Jr. Solheim Cups so I expect the USA to win this year.

Note: I checked the scores this evening (9/7/2026) before posting this blog entry; the USA is up on day one with 9 1/2 points to Europe’s 2 1/2 points. And the USA only needs 12 points to retain the cup. Tomorrow are the single matches; I actually feel bad for the young golfers on Team Europe. Of course, the USA Team at the Walker Cup had a nice lead going into the afternoon single matches and GB&I won so miracles do happen.

U.S. Amateur – August 10 -13 at Merion Golf Club

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The U.S. Women’s Amateur was just completed on Sunday August 9 with Asterisk Talley winning 8&6. Now it is time for the most prestigious amateur men’s event – the U.S. Amateur.

Today, Monday August 10 the stroke play has already begun with 312 competitors playing two courses; Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia Country Club. The match play portion of the championship will be played at Merion Golf Club. Match play will begin on Wednesday with the round of 64. You can follow live scoring on the USGA website.

How To Watch: Peacock and Golf Channel will be broadcasting the following match play rounds:

Wednesday, August 12
Round of 64: Peacock/NBCSN, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Thursday, August 13
Round of 16: Peacock/NBCSN, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Friday, August 14
Quarterfinals: Peacock/NBCSN, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday, August 15
Semifinals: Peacock, 3 p.m.-4 p.m.
Semifinals: NBC, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, August 16
Championship Match (Afternoon 18), Peacock, 3 p.m.-4 p.m.
Championship Match (Afternoon 18): NBC, 4 p.m.-6 p.m. 

Players to Watch: There are so many amazing young golfers but let’s start with the reigning U.S. Open Champion, Mason Howell. Howell is ranked 49th in the WAGR (World Amateur Golf Rankings) and plays college golf for the University of Georgia. I don’t think he will win back-to-back.

Other players that are top Amateurs are Preston Stout (#1 WAGR), Miles Russell (#3 WAGR), Luke Poulter (#4 WAGR) and the son of Ian Poulter. Ethan Fang (#9) and Luke Colton (#48) are Americans that also get a lot of press from the golf analysts.

I will also keep my eye on Stewart Hagestad who is 39, won the U.S. Mid-Am in 2016 and was the Low Amateur at the Masters with a T37 finish in 2017. He has also been on five Walker Cup teams including last years 2025 winning team.

The oldest player in the field is Mike McCoy (63). McCoy was the 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur Champion and that qualified him for the U.S. Amateur. He has had a very storied amateur career winning the 2022 British Senior Amateur Champion and the U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion in 2013, and two U.S. Four-Ball Championship in 2015 and 2019. Plus he has captained the Walk Cup. He has even more accomplishments that you can read in his bio from the Iowa Golf Association.

Finally the youngest players Landon Tudor and Bento Assis both 15 years old. Of course, there are a number of 16 year old golfers in the field (which speaks to the age of golfers with amazing games getting younger and younger).

SIDE NOTE: The youngest player in the U.S. Womens Amateur last week was Maggie Ma (14). She is from California and advanced to the quarterfinals where you played Asterisk Talley forcing the match to 19 holes where Talley took the win. That is very impressive considering Talley won the championship overall by 8&6..

So do you have a favorite golfer playing in the U.S. Amateur this week? I would like to see Miles Russell win since he was just the runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur. But it will be fun to watch all the golf and hopefully it will be an exciting Championship.

Women of the Golf Channel (2023 Edition)

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In 2012 I created a post titled Women of Golf Channel and it was my most popular post. The information became outdated so I did a Women of Golf Channel (2018 Edition). It’s time for another update.

In 2020, Golf Channel announced they were moving from Orlando, Florida to NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut which had a huge impact on their employees. A lot of familiar faces on the Golf Channel were gone including; Chantel McCabe (now with ESPN), Lisa Corwell (was very vocal about discrimination at Golf Channel and has a book coming out May 2023 called TroubleMaker), Bailey Mosier (TV personality and married to Brandel Chamblee so occasionally appears on Golf Channel), and Lauren Thompson (works for NBC sports NEXT – the technology division that includes GolfPass).

You would think that Golf Channel would list it’s TV personalities in the about section of their website but that would be to easy. If you want to find them go to NBC Sportsgroup Press Box for a list.

Here are the current women of the Golf Channel

Anna Jackson (formally Whiteley) – joined in 2019 as a co-host of Morning Drive (replacing Cara Banks-Robinson who was promoted to Golf Central. She came from England. Morning Drive was cancelled when Golf Channel moved to Connecticut but Anna remained and now co-hosts shows like Golf Central and Golf Today.

Cara Robinson – joined in 2015 as a co-host to Morning Drive (replacing Holly Saunders). In my opinion, she has become the “Kelly Tilghman” of Golf Channel and does the “Live from” broadcasts from all the important championships.

Paige Mackenzie – joined full-time in 2015 but has been doing on-air appearances since 2012. Her title on her bio page is “Analyst, LPGA Tour” but her role is much bigger with appearances on Golf Today as the analyst discussing PGA tour betting odds, analyst at PGA Tour Waste Management and LPGA tour events.

Morgan Pressel – joined in 2021 and officially took over Judy Rankin’s roll in the booth for LPGA tournaments when Rankin retired in 2022. Her first work was as an on-course analyst for LPGA events while she was still actively playing on the LPGA. Her first on-air TV work was at the 2015 USGA US Women’s Open.

Karen Stupples – joined in 2013 and is an on-air course reporter for the LPGA. She has occasionally been in the booth and I thought she may get to replace Judy Rankin but Pressel won the job. As a side note, she and her partner, Jerry Foltz (former LPGA on-course reporter) are a couple that became “social media” popular during the pandemic because of their amusing twitter feeds. Foltz has left the Golf Channel to join LIV as a golf analyst.

Kay Cockerill – joined in 1995 (since the start of Golf Channel). Her role now is mostly as an on-course reporter for LPGA events. She also does some women’s college events and NCAA golf championships that air on Golf Channel.

Kira Dixon – joined Golf Channel PGA tour coverage in 2021. Prior to her role interviewing players on-air, she was on the digital platform Golf Pass as a lifestyle reporter. She also did digital work for the USGA.

Amy Rogers – She fills-in for Anna Jackson on Golf Central and also is seen on LPGA coverage doing interviews. Amy is listed as a “contributor” on her Golf Channel profile. She is also listed as a contribution on the LPGA Network.

Henni Koyack – Not sure if she is an NBC employee but in 2023 she joined the Golf Channel Podcast “Beyond the Fairway.” Occasionally she appears on PGA Tour coverage on NBC/Golf Channel doing player interviews or special content segments. She also worked for the PGA Tour GolfTV and is most recognized for her exclusive interviews with Tiger Woods. She is from England and a former LET golfer.

Blair O’Neal – I don’t know if she is an employee of Golf Channel but she is the co-host of School of Golf so most people associate her with the Golf Channel. In 2010, she won the Big Break which was a wildly popular Golf Channel show.

As a side note, some people think that Dottie Pepper and Amanda Balionis-Renner work for the Golf Channel but they do not. Both women work for CBS Sports. They get to work The Masters and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM so if I had my choice of jobs of all the women highlighted in this post, I’d want Pepper or Renner’s job.

Watch College Golf

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If you love to watch golf but don’t watch college golf, you are missing out. If you like watching stroke play – it’s got it. If you like watching match play – it’s got it. If you like team sports – yup, college golf is all about “the team.”

The other reasons I love college golf:

  1. Future Stars of Professional golf: It’s fun to see the up and coming golfers and then follow their careers in the top amateur events and then see who makes it on the professional tours.
  2. Relating to the College Golfers: Yes, their games are well beyond my skill set but they are still learning and I find I can relate to the ups and downs they have in their rounds. And they let you know how they are feeling because they are so expressive with their emotions.
  3. Big Moments: It never seems to fail that there is a big moment or a moment that you can tell changes a golfer’s life. One example, Haley Moore, playing for University of Arizona made the winning putt for the 2018 NCAA Women’s National Championship. That moment changed her life not only because of the winning putt but also because of the focused on her compelling “backstory” which was the focus of many articles, etc. She made it to the LPGA tour because of her talent but I doubt she would have PXG as a sponsor or be well known by LPGA fans if not for the moment created by that final putt at the NCAA championship and the focus on her personal story.

The college golf event that gets all the attention is NCAA Championship in the spring but thanks to Golf Channel’s commitment to college golf, you can watch the Maridoe Invitational (Men’s golf) today thru Wednesday (September 13 – September 15) on Golf Channel (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST). Maridoe is a course in Texas – side note: my favorite PGA Tour Player Jordan Speith is a member.

You can also read interesting articles at College Central on the Golf Channel Website. Also, Golf Week has a good college golf section. And I like to follow Julie Williams of GolfWeek on Twitter. I think one of the best college golf geeks is on Golf Channel, Steve Burkowski and he’s also on Twitter.

In 2021, Pepperdine won the NCAA for the men and Ole Miss won for the women. Both were a surprise. For me, especially Ole Miss because Stanford has an amazing women’s team. In fact, in 2022, I would be shocked if Stanford doesn’t win because they now have Rose Zhang as a freshman (#1 Amateur in the world rankings) and Rachel Heck is a sophmore (and as a freshman won the 2021 Individual NCAA women’s champion and is the #2 Amateur in the world rankings).

At a minimum you should watch the NCAA in the spring on Golf Channel. They televise both the men and women’s championships!

Golf Today No Substitute for Morning Drive

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If you are an avid viewer of the Golf Channel you know that in 2021 big changes came with NBC moving the golf focused channel from Orlando, Florida to Stamford, Connecticut. One big change for avid viewers of Golf Channel was the end of Morning Drive. I loved the golf morning show. The question was, “Would NBC create a new morning show?” The Answer months later is clearly no.

Back when NBC announced the cancellation of Morning Drive they stated a new show “Golf Today” would be launching. My first reaction to the new show, Golf Today, was that it was flat because most of the show is two golf analysts discussing golf. Yes, the new golf show had similar topics as the morning show — recaps of golf tournaments, guest appearances discussing various industry topics, and periodically a golf playing tip. However, I would say that Golf Today is closer to Golf Central in style, format, and programming. This is not a bad thing but I find that I listen to Golf Today versus watching Morning Drive.

For me, NBC dropped the ball canceling Morning Drive. I would argue that Morning Drive was much more like “The Today Show” or “Good Morning America” with it’s lightness and entertainment. And that is what is missing with Golf Today. I enjoyed Morning Drive for the banter of four hosts such as Lauren Thompson, Paige Mackenzie, Robert Damron, and Gary Williams. I found the programming fun to watch – with the mix of serious golf topics, guests (often times, tour pros), tips on playing golf (whether it be showing a swing tip from last weeks’ tournament or Martin Hall from School of Golf or Nick Clearwater of GolfTech Coaches Series), reviews of places to play golf by Matt Ginella, and sometimes silly games. It had a lightness that was perfect for a morning show.

The current programming in the morning for the Golf Channel consists of reruns of Golf Central or a replay of a golf tournament; unless there is a European golf event that they can show live. It really is a shame that the leadership at NBC Sports lacks the skill to take the Golf Channel morning programming beyond basics. Instead of getting rid of Morning Drive they could have taken golf morning entertainment to the next level.

Bottom line, I rarely watch the Golf Channel in the morning now.

Women of the Golf Channel (2018 Edition)

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CLICK TO SEE 2023 UPDATE

I find it interesting that my post Women of the Golf Channel is always a top visited page (even though it was written back in 2012). A lot has changed with the on-air talent so I thought I’d write an update.

From my post on March 8 2012:

Only two of the six women I highlighted in my previous post are still with Golf Channel. They are Kelly Tilghman and Lauren Thompson.

(1) Kelly Tilghman has a bio on the Golf Channel site but to be honest I watch a lot of Golf Channel and golf tournament coverage and I don’t see her that much except for “Life From” during major championships.

(2) Lauren Thompson is a co-host on Morning Drive. Back in 2012 she seemed to be a fill-in on-air talent for Holly Sonders (who left Morning Drive and went to FOX in 2014). Now Thompson is a key member of the morning team. You can read her full bio on the Golf Channel Website.

More Great Women on Golf Channel:

If you go to the bio page for TV personalities for Golf Channel you will see 11 women listed which is wonderful. I would break the list into two groups: On-air TV show personalities (e.g., Morning Drive, Golf Channel, etc.) and golf tournament coverage talent that do the on-air analysis for the tour coverage on Golf Channel.

As I did in my 2012 post, I am going to list just a few of the 11 women. At the end of the post is a list of links for the bios of all the women on Golf Channel’s website.

chantel-mccabe-golfchannel(1) Chantel McCabe is my new favorite on-air personality and seems to be the “go to person” for golf channel. By that I mean, McCabe is on Golf Central, Morning Driving, does interviews at PGA and LPGA tournaments, and does digital work for their website. It makes sense to me that the leadership at the golf channel would tap her for so many jobs because she is great on air. I like her style, her voice, she asks good questions, and she has a good sense of humor.

She is a seasoned reporter with experience working for FOX sports prior to joining the Golf Channel and was a reporter for a local television station in Springfield MA. She also scores points with me because she is a New England Patriots fan.

paigemackenzie_320x400(2) Paige Mackenzie is a co-host on Morning Drive. She joined Morning Drive while she was still on the LPGA Tour. The reasons I really like her is because she is very down to earth and relatable! For example, she chooses on-air outfits that any woman might wear. What I mean by that is sometimes (not always) other women, like Bailey Mosier, are so into fashion that their outfits seem over-the-top for a golf morning show.

I also enjoy Mackenzie’s tips when she does the “Watch and Learn” segments on Morning Drive. In these segments she reviews a player’s swing or a specific shot of a player from yesterday’s golf tournaments and explains what we can learn from it.

karenstupples_320x400(3) Karen Stupples is an on-course reporter and analyst for LPGA tour coverage. Stupples played on the LPGA and LET (Ladies European Tour) for 15 years and is the 2004 Women’s British Open Champion. She had an albatross (a 2 on a par 5) which you can watch in this Golf Channel video flashback.

I always find her insights interesting and her personality comes through even though you only hear her voice during coverage. She is funny and I often enjoy the banter with the other on-air analysts.

Golf Channel Bios

This would be a long blog post if I reviewed every women so below is a convenient chart with each woman’s name linked to their official bio on the Golf Channel website.

On-air Personalities Golf Tournament Coverage
Cara Banks Kay Cockerill
Lisa Cornwell Judy Rankin
Paige Mackenzie Karen Stupples
Chantel Mccabe Social Media Host for Tournaments
Bailey Mosier Alexandra O’Laughlin
Kelly Tilghman
Lauren Thompson

 

Golf Channel Coverage of The PGA Merchandise Show: Three Cool Products

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The PGA Merchandise Show, tagged “The Major of Golf Business,” is not open to the general public. However, thanks to the favorite TV channel of all golfers, Golf Channel, viewers got to see a lot of products on Morning Drive broadcasting from the convention floor.

Watching the PGA Merchandise Show on Morning Drive, I saw three products that I thought were really cool.

Weatherman Umbrella

Even if you are not a golfer this is a great looking umbrella. It appears to be really well constructed and can withstand 55 mph winds. And the golf umbrella has a pocket in the top of the umbrella to keep your glove dry. The really cool factor is the technology – the umbrella has a tracker so if you leave it at the course (or somewhere else) you can find it!  The Morning Drive Segment is fun to watch or view the product video below.

 

Transrover

Transrover is not available yet and the owner/inventor is using Kickstarter to launch/fund the product and I hope he does well because the idea that you can have a golf bag that transforms into a pushcart is amazing. You can watch the Morning Drive segment or view the product video below.

 

Fat Tire Golf Scooter

According to the Fat Tire Golf Scooter website you can buy your own scooter for $2,399. That’s not an investment I am likely to make but I am hoping I play a golf course one day that has the scooter. It just looks fun!

 

So from the comfort of my own home I had fun watching the coverage of the PGA Merchandise show on Morning Drive. I may buy the Weatherman umbrella. I will watch with curiosity to see if the Transrover becomes available to all golfers for a reasonable price. And maybe one day I will see a Fat Tire Golf Scooter available to ride on a golf course near me.

Thanks Golf Channel!

2013 PGA Merchandise Show – Morning Drive and LPGA News

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The ability to follow the PGA Merchandise show from the comfort of your own home is amazing!  I am here in the cold Northeast (seven degrees this morning) and seeing updates on Twitter, Facebook, Ustream and more.

The Golf Channel Morning Drive show and the LPGA both started tweeting early in the morning that big announcements were coming.  Given I am a fan of both, I was curious to see what was “big” to each organization.

Morning Drive Announcement

The Morning Drive show is expanding to seven days a week.  Great!  They are adding to the cast.  Most of co-anchor additions make sense because they have been on the show or are members of the golf channel.  The one odd addition is Ahmad Rashad. He is an NBC broadcast “star” so I get that but what does he know about golf?  I guess we will find out soon.

The other big reveal was the new set of the show.  Below is a photo of the old set.

Morning Drive Set

TV Screen Shot of Holly Sonders on Morning Drive Set. Click image to Enlarge.

Now one thing I always liked about the current set is that it seemed “cozy” and had lots of golf memorabilia and “chotskies” on the set.  I also think the intimate feel of the set added to the relaxed style of the co-anchors.  It never felt like a “formal” news show like the evening recap show, Golf Central.

The Golf Channel provided a photo gallery of the new set.  If you click on the photo below it will take you to a cool time-lapse video of the construction of the new set.

Click on Photo to see a time-lapse video of the construction of the new set.

Click on Photo to see a time-lapse video of the construction of the new set.

The new set and staff is a clear indication of the success of the show.  I will keep an open mind but I hope what I loved most about the show does not get lost in the new high-gloss set.

LPGA Announcement

In a previous post, The LPGA’s Marketing Challenge, I noted some concerns about the tour’s perception in the American market.  Basically, the LPGA is a global tour but the American market needs a new star which I felt was Stacy Lewis.  I am happy to see that the tour is now promoting Stacy Lewis.  Stacy certainly made it easier for them by winning Player of the Year.  I am happy to see the management at the LPGA finally embracing Stacy Lewis as a tour star.

The LPGA also deserves credit for figuring out a way to capitalize on the statement they have been emphasizing all year that they are a “global tour.”  I was thrilled with the announcement of the “International Crown” by the LPGA.  It is a new match play tournament that will debut in 2014.  The tournament will be 8 countries vying for the crown. I also like the promotional video.

And to my point earlier about promoting Stacy Lewis, there is a nice video of Stacy talking about the new tournament.

I like the International Crown for two reasons.  First, the LPGA did not just follow the PGA tour and create a “Presidents Cup” for the ladies.  The Presidents Cup is the USA against the rest of the world (minus Europe).  Second, it ties nicely to the fact that golf will be part of the Olympics in 2016 and what do we all love to do during the Olympics? Cheer for our country.  The fact fans love to cheer for their country should make the International Crown a big hit among golf fans; and hopefully, bring new fans to the LPGA.

2013 Golf fun includes the Golf Channel’s Fantasy Golf Challenge

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Last year I participated in a fantasy golf league for the very first time.  I chose the Golf Channel Fantasy Golf Challenge because I am a huge fan of the golf channel (especially the Morning Drive show).  Each week, Winn McMurry, would join the morning show to give her picks.  In the early stages I wrote posts each week about my players but found that to be a bit repetitive and I had other topics I wanted to share with my readers.

In all honesty, I had set goals for 2012 for myself and failed miserably.  I was very optimistic and didn’t realize how hard it would be to win just one week (which I thought was an achievable “stretch” goal).  My best week was when I ranked 1,551  (I finished the year ranked in the mid-5,000 range).  On a bright note, I did beat my friend who was playing but not by much (and she missed a few weeks) so this year I really have to be on my toes.

The one thing that I did not like about the league was that the leader-board only showed the ranks for the top 100 and did not show the total number of players.  So you could compare yourself to the top 100, the people in your own league, and the Golf Channel experts but that was it.  Therefore, knowing my final rank was mid-5,000 really did not mean anything since I had no basis for it expect that I clearly was not in the top 100.  But I would have liked to know where I was against all players. I actually wrote the golf channel fantasy team an email at the end of the season and suggested they add the total number of players.  Now, they may have been planning it all along but the new player profile includes your overall rank against everyone.

Screen shot Fantasty Profile

Click to see a large image of the screen shot of the fantasy profile layout.

This makes it a bit more fun for those of us that may never be in the top 100.  If the number (48,638) in the screen shot is indicative of the number of players last year, then being in the 5,000 range was pretty good for a beginner.  Of course, lots of room for improvement.

The Golf Channel has also added the LPGA majors to the fantasy golf game and that makes me very happy.  I think it promotes the women’s game and hopefully will expand the fan base for the LPGA.

The other new twist is a Mulligan!  You get to drop your lowest score each segment (three segments this year and I’m guessing the segments will be Spring, Summer, Fall).  I’m not sure of the date breaks for the three segments because of the shortened PGA tour schedule.  In 2013 the PGA will play only 40 tournaments between January and September. Then the 2013/2014 season begins in October which is the tour’s new wrap-around season.

Also, in the spirit of social sharing, the Golf Channel has added Twitter, Facebook and other social sharing tools to the site.  I’m not sure it will be meaningful to tweet about my picks but I setup a Pinterest board to follow my fantasy picks.  A Pinterest board will allow me to add images and write recaps. I participated in the CME Titleholders LPGA Pinterest contest last year and I had the winning board.

I have set goals for the 2013 fantasy golf season.  Obviously I want to win because that is the reason we all play games.  I will also be very happy to better my 2012 end of season position and I have set two more goals. First, to win one week (same stretch goal as last year) and second, be in the top 1,000 at the end of the year.

Finally, I never understood the guys at work that did the fantasy football or baseball teams but now I get it.  Fantasy games draw you into the action. I have always loved watching golf but the fantasy game makes watching the tournaments even more fun.  The result of playing the fantasy game that I did not expect is that I discovered new golfers to watch.  Players that may or may not be the next “break out star” but I am now interested in watching them play.