Golf Channel Reality Shows to Feature Hilton Head |
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| Written by Brandon Underwood Online Editor | |
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Is it me or is The Golf Channel becoming the CMT (Country Music Television) of golf television? Well now that's not necessarily true because after all, there really is no direct competition in terms of 24-hour cable networks dedicated to golf programming. While CMT limits the number of country music videos it shows in favor of reality programming like "Trick My Truck" or "Wife Swap", Golf Channel is featuring more and more reality shows every month and fewer music videos. Soon Tiger Woods footage will be just as scarce as a Faith Hill/Tim McGraw duet. Well I wouldn't go that far, Golf Channel did have "Tiger Week" or was it "Tiger Month." The newest beneficiary of all of this reality-based programming is Hilton Head. The island is set to be showcased on two brand new Golf Channel shows this fall. The first will be a weekly program; School of Golf: Hilton Head Island. School of Golf: Hilton Head Island will follow the exploits of Tiger's swing coach Hank Haney and the students at his International Golf Academy and will premiere in prime time Sept. 2. Now, I realize golf on television has come a long way, I've even watched the new Golf Channel show Highway 18 and I think it's somewhat entertaining. But a show about kids learning how to golf, I don't know about that. It sounds like one giant infomercial for Haney's academy. Golf with Style is the second show that will feature HHI. While Golf with Style isn't based in Hilton Head, the island will be featured on an upcoming episode. Film crews were recently in the area and shot a week's worth of footage. According to The Island Packet newspaper based out of Bluffton, SC., both TV ventures are part of a $350,000 sponsorship deal purchased by the Hilton Head Marketing Partnership Alliance, a public-private arm of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. The sponsorship also includes a 30-second commercial about the island on the network and a section on the Golf Channel's Web site. The shows are already part or will add to The Golf Channel's growing list of reality shows that includes Big Break, Highway 18 and The Natalie Gulbis Show. The Palmetto State is already featured on another Golf Channel reality program, Road Trip: Myrtle Beach. |
