The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Golf series aims to unveil ‘secrets’ of St Andrews
Film director Jason Connery returns to the Home of Golf to shoot pilot programme for ‘hip lifestyle’ travel show entitled The Golf Explorers
Film star turned director and presenter Jason Connery hopes a new television series pilot he is co-presenting will make “golfing widows” realise there’s more to St Andrews than just golf.
Mr Connery, who filmed the golf movie Tommy’s Honour in and around the town several years ago, has returned to St Andrews as part of the US-led team making The Golf Explorers.
Jim Kreutzer, the US-based producer of Tommy’s Honour, and Maryilene Blondell, co-CEOs of Wind Chill Media Group, have partnered with David Spitzer of Upper Diamond (Los Angeles) and Terry Maday at Maday Productions (Chicago) to create what they have described as a “hip lifestyle programme”.
Speaking to The Courier as the team filmed at the Balgove Larder in St Andrews, Mr Connery, who used to visit the Home of Golf with his film star dad, Sir Sean, said: “The game of golf is quite polarising – you’ve got people who love it and people who hate it.
“There aren’t many people who don’t know how they feel about it. But what I think is nice about this programme is that it’s not all golf-centric – it’s about St Andrews as a whole.
“The epicentre of St Andrews is probably the Old Course, the R&A and all that. Everything might start from there. But there’s so much more to the town and that’s what we are digging into. We are explorers. What’s lovely is that if you are married to someone who is a golfer and you never go on their trips, you might say: ‘I’ll go with you’ – which may not be a good thing! – but now they can learn about these other places.”
The Golf Explorers is an unscripted, lifestyle-driven travel series with golf as the main ingredient. Viewers will follow three hosts as they explore the world’s greatest golf courses and the surrounding town, uncovering historical gems you won’t find in a travel guide and meeting unforgettable characters who are woven into the fabric of each championship course.
Each show will feature three hosts, whose journey through each iconic golf town will be enhanced by the people they meet along the way, delivering an interactive and immersive experience.
The St Andrews episode will be hosted by Jason Connery, Di Dougherty of Sky Sports and St Andrews golf historian Roger McStravick.
Co-director David Spitzer, who is hoping the pilot programme will lead to the commissioning of an international series by a major TV network, said: “If you think about an audience that likes to travel and cares about where they go, it’s often connected to an activity that’s deeply meaningful for them.
“For couples where one of them is a golfer, it’s a challenge to find a vacation that works for both of them. This should be the answer.
“We’ve done it with the sassy competition in mind you often find in healthy couples, where they are competing for the next ‘best moment’ – whether choosing that place for a steak or a great pub for that conversation with locals.
“Jason and Di are both very curious and engaging people so they have that great ability to be able to go and talk to locals. We’ve gone out and met local people, as well as places we knew about. But we’ve also been following up tips from people we’ve met in the street.”
The team filmed at the Kingarrock Hickory Golf Course near Cupar yesterday.