Will eavesdropping on PGA, LPGA golfers bring more reality to golf TV?

Golf fans previously immersed in the FedEx Cup and Ryder Cup are now being fed more reality-based PGA Tour and LPGA events where golfers are mic'd up during their round. Golf Channel continues to test this format on TV with the assistance of a few willing participants.

Will this experiment in unrehearsed 'golfer to caddy chat' increase viewership?

In a nutshell, here are four choices for golf television viewing October 7-10.

In two out of the four events, professional golfers will have microphones attached so that fans can hear conversations with their caddies.

The McGladrey Classic

Dates: Oct. 7-10

Venue: Seaside Course, Sea Island Golf Club, St. Simons Island, Ga.

• Davis Love III Mic’d Up – Continuing a test with PGA TOUR players with microphones in 2010, Golf Channel will fit PGA TOUR professional Davis Love III with a microphone during Thursday’s opening round of coverage.  Viewers will have the opportunity to eavesdrop on conversations between Davis Love III and his caddy throughout the opening round of play. 

Navistar LPGA Classic presented by Monaco RV

                 Dates: Oct. 7-10

                 Venue: The Senator Course, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Ala

•        Amanda Blumenherst Mic’d Up – LPGA Tour professional Amanda Blumenherst will be fitted with a microphone during Thursday’s tournament coverage and also will be the network’s Spotlight Player.
         At the Turn and Walk and Talk Featured – Val Skinner and Stephanie Sparks will interview players as they are walking the fairways during all four days of coverage as part of the network’s Walk and Talk feature.  On the weekend, they will interview players between holes 9 and 10 in the At the Turn feature.
          Battle for No. 1 Continues: Rolex Rankings No. 1 Ai Miyazato and No. 3 Cristie Kerr headline a field that includes No. 6 Na Yeon Choi, No. 8 In-Kyung Kim and No. 10 Paula Creamer.  Creamer, the reigning U.S. Open champion, will make her first appearance in Prattville.

Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship

Dates: Oct. 7-10

Venue: TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, Potomac, Md.

 

 

• Season’s Final Major – An elite field headlines the Champions Tour’s final major of the year, including Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Fred Funk, Corey Pavin, Jay Haas, Mark Calcavecchia, Hale Irwin and Tom Watson.

•  Langer Going for Three Major Victories – Bernhard Langer will attempt to match Jack Nicklaus as the only Champions Tour professional to win three major championships in one season.
• Homecoming for Funk – The Maryland native and former University of Maryland golf coach returns to a familiar venue and will attempt to equal Langer’s achievement in 2010 by winning back-to-back Champions Tour majors.

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Dates: Oct. 7-10

Kingsbarns Golf Links, Kingsbarns, Scotland

Carnoustie Golf Links, Angus, Scotland

Old Course, St. Andrews Golf Club, St. Andrews, Scotland

World-Class Field: Nine members of the successful European Ryder Cup Team and captain Colin Montgomerie headlines the world-class field that also includes three-time major champion Ernie Els, two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, major champions Michael Campbell, Paul Lawrie and John Daly, who returns to the site of his 1995 Open Championship victory.

Sports and Entertainment Celebrities Featured – International celebrities will compete this week, including Samuel L Jackson, Hugh Grant, Kyle MacLachlan, Huey Lewis and Michael Flatley.  Sporting legends from the world of soccer, tennis, soccer and skiing are also scheduled to compete.

Unique Tournament Format – Contested on three of the world’s best known and respected courses – the Old Course at St. Andrews, the Championship Course at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns Golf Links – 168 teams consisting of one professional and one amateur will play the first three rounds on the three courses in rotation.  The top-60 professionals and ties, plus the 20 leading teams, will play the final round at the Old Course at St. Andrews on Sunday.

TaylorMade Golf Consumer Demo Experience for New Burner 2.0 Irons

"Unstoppable 8" Taylor Made Golf Demo Tour Offers Consumers a Unique Opportunity to try Burner 2.0 irons and other TaylorMade Products, Compete in Contests and Win Prizes!

 TaylorMade Golf Company captivated a global audience by unveiling the next-generation Burner 2.0 irons via worldwide webcast on September 9. A month later, TaylorMade Golf is presenting consumers in eight cities across the country with a unique opportunity to experience the performance of the Burner 2.0.



Called the "Unstoppable 8 Tour," each event is designed to offer golfers a venue where they can try for themselves the Burner 2.0 irons as well as other TaylorMade equipment.

"Unstoppable 8" refers to a set of Burner 2.0, eight clubs designed to promote tremendous distance.

"All you need to know about the Burner 2.0 irons is that they're long, really long," said Mike Ferris, vice president of the Burner product category.

"We want to players of all levels with the opportunity to experience it, so we devised the Unstoppable 8 Demo Tour, which is a new way for us to introduce golfers to our products and engaging them with our brand. Each of the eight Unstoppable 8 events is a major production unto itself, and we've devoted a lot of time, effort and resources to ensure that attending an Unstoppable 8 event will be fun, informative and memorable."

Attendees of Unstoppable 8 Demo Tour events will have the opportunity to:

• Try the new Burner 2.0 irons
• Participate in the Unstoppable 8 Demo Challenge
• Meet members of TaylorMade's R&D and Product Development teams – the people responsible for the creation of Burner 2.0
• Win "on-the-spot" prizes
• Enter a sweepstakes to win a set of Burner 2.0 irons and other prizes
• Pre-register at TaylorMadeGolf.com/Burner for a free gift when you attend

The Unstoppable 8 Tour is scheduled to visit eight key Sun Belt markets; the public is invited and admission is free. The date of the first event, October 9 in San Diego, is the day after the Burner 2.0 becomes available at retail nationwide. The complete list of Unstoppable 8 dates and locations:

• October 8 — San Diego, CA — Encinitas Ranch Golf Course
• October 23 — Houston, TX — Golf Advantage School at the Clubs of Kingwood
• November 6 — Palm Springs, CA — Marriott Shadowridge
• November 6 — Orlando, FL — The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club
• November 13 — Phoenix, AZ — TPC Scottsdale
• November 13 — Tampa Bay, FL — Legacy Golf Club
• November 20 — Miami, FL — Doral Resort
• December 5 — West Palm Beach, FL — PGA National Resort & Spa

TaylorMade Burner 2.0 irons say that they are ideal for any player who wants an easy-to-launch, distance-enhancing iron that also offers excellent feel and playability. With the Burner 2.0, TaylorMade has created eight individually engineered irons designed to be even better than their predecessor, the enormously popular first-generation Burner irons.


For more information on the Burner 2.0 irons or the Unstoppable 8 Tour, visit www.taylormadegolf.com/burner. Consumers who pre-register online for the event in their market will receive a free sleeve of Burner golf balls upon arrival to the event!


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