Win Callaway Golf Clubs in GolfChannel.com Sweepstakes

By Golf Channel

CELEBRATING ITS RECENT RE-LAUNCH, GolfChannel.com has launched an online sweepstakes titled “New Site. New Set.” that will award Callaway Golf equipment to daily and weekly winners. Fans can enter-to-win at www.GolfChannel.com/WinClubs.

A daily winner will be awarded a Callaway driver, hybrid, 3-wood, or wedge. Each week, one winner will be randomly selected to receive a new set of Callaway RAZR X irons (four weekly winners in total). The New Site. New Set. promotion runs through Sept. 11. Fans are eligible to enter the contest once per day.

“More sports fans have been turning to GolfChannel.com every day for breaking news and information,” said Tom Stathakes, Golf Channel senior vice president of programming, production and operations.

“The New Site. New Set. promotion provides another way for us to connect with our existing users, as well as creates a new opportunity to attract new fans to experience everything the site has to offer.”

In June, Golf Channel unveiled a complete redesign of GolfChannel.com. The redesign features enhanced editorial content and video for expanded coverage of the game; integrates the leading online tee-time booking service GolfNow.com; provides easy access to instruction and equipment; and offers a more robust user community experience—all working to help golfers play better, and play more often.

‘Feherty’ Premiere Sets Golf Channel Record

FEHERTY, HOSTED BY GOLF commentator and wiseacre David Feherty, debuted on Monday as the most-watched series premiere in the history of Golf Channel. The opening episode featured an interview with Hall of Famer Lee Trevino. I caught a bit of the replay last night. Trevino and Feherty are funny squared. Can you imagine having a cold one with those two characters?

The 12-part interview series continues on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET with actor Don Cheadle. Episodes with NBA Hall of Famer and hoops analyst Charles Barkley and golf legend Tom Watson are also coming soon.

Feherty’s self-deprecating humor is legendary, but the Northern Ireland native who is now a naturalized U.S. citizen could golf his ball. Feherty won five times on the European Tour and had three top tens in majors. His best finish in a major was a tie for fourth at the 1994 British Open. He also played on Europe’s Ryder Cup team in 1991.

Until he discovered his golf ability, Feherty wanted to be an opera singer. “I was always interested in music from a very early age,” he told Golf Channel. “But when I turned pro at age 17, I haven’t sung a note since. Now, I only sing to punish my children.”

Feherty retired from the tour in 1997 when CBS offered him a job as golf commentator. “I always enjoyed talking more than playing,” he said.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo: Courtesy of Golf Channel)

Matt Kuchar Displays Strong Grip on Vardon Trophy

THE VARDON TROPHY LOOKS like it’s a heavy rascal. But Matt Kuchar, shown above in a recent appearance on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” show, has a strong grip on the trophy and that ever-present Cheshire cat smile on his face. The Vardon Trophy is awarded to the PGA Tour player with the lowest adjusted scoring average, which happened to be Kuchar in 2010 with a mark of 69.43.

Harry Vardon, for whom the trophy was named, is famous on several counts. Vardon won the British Open a record six times and was twice victorious in the U.S. Open. Harry is also credited with the overlapping grip that’s favored by so many amateur and professional golfers. I thought of the famous Vardon grip as I took a close look at the trophy in the photo: two hands gripping a club and anchored to a slab of mahogany (or some other hardwood).

It’s early in the 2011 season, but Kuchar’s Vardon Trophy defense is off to a good start. He has three top 10s in his first three events, with a scoring average of 67.62. He is ranked 11th in FedEx Cup points and 13th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

And Kuchar is locked in a first-place tie with Phil Mickelson in the aw-shucks grin category.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Courtesy of Golf Channel)

Golf Channel’s PGA TOUR Kickoff Sweepstakes

Editor’s note: If you’re going to be watching golf anyway, maybe you can win one of the following prizes from your friends at Golf Channel. Like a Hyundai Equus. Or an iPad. There are worst ways to spend your time.

By Golf Channel

Golf Channel is giving viewers the opportunity to win one of three 2011 Hyundai Equus and other valuable prizes by tuning in to the tournament telecasts of the first three PGA TOUR events: the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Bob Hope Classic.

Golf Channel’s PGA TOUR Kickoff Sweepstakes runs through Jan. 24. Golf fans can win prizes by watching for a unique entry code each day during the network’s live tournament coverage and entering online at PGA TOUR Kickoff Sweepstakes or also via text messaging. Viewers can see the unique codes during the Hyundai Tournament of Champions from Jan. 6-9, Sony Open in Hawaii from Jan. 13-16, and Bob Hope Classic from Jan. 19-23.

All entrants are eligible to win daily prizes during the sweepstakes, including an iPad, a Golf Channel prize pack and a $100 Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card. At the conclusion of each of the first three PGA TOUR events, one lucky winner will be the recipient of a 2011 Hyundai Equus. Entrants each day are eligible for the daily prize and that week’s grand prize car drawing.

Complete information, including sweepstakes rules, tournament airtimes and interactive features, is available at PGA TOUR Kickoff Sweepstakes.

‘Morning Drive’ Debuts on Golf Channel

“MORNING DRIVE,” A WEEKDAY SHOW covering the world of golf, teed off early this morning on Golf Channel. The show will air Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and is hosted by Erik Kuselias and Gary Williams. Kuselias came from ESPN; Williams was a sports show host on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Holly Sonders (above) was also recently added to the on-air team. Sonders’ broadcast experience includes stints as a news and sports reporter in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Columbus, Ohio. She was a four-year member of the Michigan State University Women’s Golf Team and helped the Lady Spartans win a Big Ten Championship.

The lineup for today’s premiere:

Today’s Topics
- 2011 Season Begins
- Aloha Champions
- NFL Playoff Set
- First Day of Stock Trading
- Obama in Hawaii

Business Report
- First Day of Stock Trading
- IRS Postpones Tax Filings for 50 Million
- Proctor & Gamble Postpones Tiger Advertising Campaign

Interview Schedule
7:45 a.m. - Tim Rosaforte
8:15 a.m. - Next Instructor Search Winner, Martin Hall
8:30 a.m. - Arnold Palmer

I didn’t see the first show, but there were a number of positive tweets. SI’s Gary VanSickle was not impressed, although he admitted that it might be a “rash judgment.”

“Morning Drive” on Web
“Morning Drive” on Twitter

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo courtesy of Golf Channel)

Will Allowing Cell Phones Increase Tour Attendance?

INEVITABLE. THAT SEEMS TO be the word when it comes to cell phones being allowed at PGA Tour events, perhaps as soon as the 2011 season. Cell phones were welcomed at the Wyndham Championship in August as part of a test run. From what I’ve read, the experiment was successful. No cell phone mishaps were reported.

Golf Channel has reported that there will be two more trials, one at this week’s Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California. The other test venue will be the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in early 2011.

The reasoning, according to Golf Channel:

... the PGA Tour has been discussing the cell phone policy for several months and feels that, in today’s world, fans can become disconnected for long periods of time while on the golf course. Their hope is that allowing people to carry a cell phone while at a tournament will help grow attendance.

Cell phones, of course, must be silenced or set on vibrate. And a new policy allowing cell phones at PGA Tour events wouldn’t apply to the majors, which are governed by other bodies.

But would new cell phone guidelines add fans at tour events?

I’m not so sure about that. It will certainly remove an annoyance for current spectators and a potential obstacle to others who might wander out for an event. But a sudden uptick in attendance seems doubtful.

There are bound to be occasional cell phone incidents, and tour pros—especially those with rabbit ears—will likely claim to hear them go off, vibrate, etc. They’ll have to live with it because cell phones are here to stay. Keeping them off the golf course just isn’t realistic.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: KB35/Flickr)