Golf fans are in for rare treat
Iconic course to be on TV for first time
Golfers will watch any tournament on television, even if it’s a replay when they already know the result. That’s what they’ve had to do since the PGA Tour and all pro golf shut down in early March.
But even that loses its luster after a while. How many times can you watch a full replay of the 1986 Masters or the 2000 U.S. Open or the 1991 Ryder Cup? (OK, I can watch the final nine holes of the 1986 Masters more times than “Shawshank Redemption.”)
Well, help is right around the corner.
Pro golf, live and in-person, returns to television in one week when a skins game featuring the teams of Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy versus Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff airs May 17 on NBC/WPXI and the Golf Channel. The event — called the TaylorMade Driving Relief, benefiting COVID-19 relief efforts — will be played at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., the first time the iconic Donald Ross-seaside course has ever been shown on television.
“All those old matches they used to play on Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, they played courses like Seminole, but they never played Seminole, so it’s never been on television,” said Bob Ford, Seminole’s head professional/general manager who retired after 42 years at Oakmont Country Club in 2016. “It’s one of the special golf courses in the world, one of Donald Ross’ great courses on the sea.”
Another unique aspect of the event: Players will walk and carry their own bags, as they do in college golf. No caddies or carts will be allowed.
Ford said he approached McIlroy with the idea of the players carrying their own bag — “We don’t do golf carts here,” he said — and the world’s No. 1 player was in complete agreement.
“He said it would be a much better look, wouldn’t it?” Ford said. “They are all on board with it.”
The broadcast will be a little different from a standard PGA Tour event. There will be six hand-held cameras on the course and another in a Piper Club plane for aerial views. Steve Sands and Jerry Foltz will walk with the players and be the announcers on the course. The “tower” commentators— Gary Koch, Paul Azinger and Mike Tirico— will not be at Seminole and will broadcast from different remote locations.
The event will be aired live from 2-6 p.m. on NBC/WPXI, Golf Channel, NBCSN and Sky Sports. It also will be streamed free on PGA Tour Live (NBC Sports Gold and Amazon Prime Video), GolfPass and GolfChannel.com.
In the event of bad weather, the backup plan is to play the match Saturday, air it live on the Golf Channel, then show the replay Sunday on NBC.
“It’s an incredible privilege to share Seminole with other people, people who may never get here to see the place,” Ford said. “It’s really a thrill for all of us.”
Tri-State updates
The Tri-State section of the PGA of America is planning to restart its tournaments June 3, but the field will be for club pros only. Some of the section’s early season pro-am events that include foursomes with three amateurs have either been canceled or rescheduled for later in the summer and fall.
Amateurs will be allowed to compete, however, in the Tri-State Open June 15-16 at Williams Country Club in Weirton, W.Va.
Tri-State PGA executive director Dave Wright said the tournaments will follow CDC guidelines for safety and social distancing — single carts and no caddies — although he made several purchases to make sure the integrity of the event is upheld and playing conditions are maintained at a pro level.
For starters, the section bought 36 “lifters” that will allow players to actually hole a putt — most courses now are required to prevent the ball from going all the way into the hole. The device is attached to a flagstick and allows a ball to fall to the bottom of a cup. Players can use their putter to lift the handles and retrieve their ball from the hole. The devices will be used for the section’s pro and junior tournaments.
Wright said the section also purchased 150 bunker rakes so each player can have his own during pro events. Each rake will be sanitized before and after each tournament to be reused. Bunker rakes have been removed from all courses to comply with CDC guidelines.
An additional 300 rakes were purchased for the junior tournaments, but those rakes will have the Tri-State logo and be given to each player as an entry gift to keep.
Driving range ‘slammed’
Ed Vietmeier knew he would be busy when it was announced driving ranges, in addition to golf courses, could re-open May 1. But he didn’t realize how busy.
Even though re-opening day was overcast, breezy and chilly, his Vietmeier Golf Center in Kennedy was packed with golfers and novices alike, all itching to get outside and hit golf balls. Or just do something recreationally.
“We were slammed,” said Vietmeier, a PGA pro.
Part of the crush that Friday was golfers wanting to warm up and get in some practice before heading to the golf course on the weekend, when sunny skies and warmer temperatures were much more welcoming. But even Saturday and Sunday, his matted hitting stalls and grass practice area were teeming with people.
“It was probably the best three-day stretch we’ve ever had,” Vietmeier said. “And the people were great. They were just glad to be able to get back out and do something.”