Photo by Kyle Coburn/NAPGT :: Text by Matt Byrne/NAPGT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
FITCHBURG, MA, (June 27, 2007) – The North American Pro Golf Tour is proud to announce Golfing Around New England, a weekly showcase of the area’s best and most interesting golf destinations hosted by Randy Tantlinger and featuring NAPGT President Brian Hebb, starting July 14 on the Fox Sports Network.
The half hour show will feature most of the courses on the NAPGT schedule, highlighting a handful of signature holes at each venue, while providing coverage of the events, players and drama of local professional golf.
As one of the only programs to feature hosts who play the course, Hebb and Tantlinger will pair up with guests throughout the season to bring to life the best New England golf has to offer.
The first show in the series will air Saturday, July 14 at 10:30 a.m. on Fox Sports Network, and will run for fourteen weeks.
“Our attitude is golf is fun, and we try to take people on a half hour vacation every Saturday morning. And people love it,” Tantlinger said.
Tantlinger’s original show, Golfing Around, was successful in the Western New York to Virginia area, but left New England virtually untapped.
“We’re filling a void,” Hebb said. The fun-driven slant on serious golf courses attracts every type of golfer, from kids to adults. “New England definitely needed a golf show,” Tantlinger said, “Fox loved it, everyone loves it.”
Golfing Around New England will introduce approximately 4.5 million regional viewers to some of the best area courses as well as the best North American Pro Tour players, who are generally New Englanders themselves. An additional estimated 5 million viewers will access the show’s segments online.
“Brian played a great straight man to my comedian,” said Tantlinger. Always the jokester, Tantlinger can be seen emerging out of a pond in search of a stray ball, or horsing around regularly on the tee and greens.
“From chasing alligators in New Hampshire, to playing with Geoff Sisk …” Tantlinger said, “Expect anything and everything.”
Sisk, six time winner of the Massachusetts Open Championship, lent his time and good humor to the pair at LeBaron Country Club where the NAPGT Championship will be played this September.
NAPGT player interviews, leaderboard results and playing action will be featured, giving viewers a unique look at phenomenal local courses played by the best area players amidst the drama of the tour’s three-day tournament format.
“Primarily, [the show is] to promote the golf courses the tour plays at. So it’s really win-win for everybody,” Tantlinger said.
The tour has secured a contract to produce the show for the 2007 season, with an optional extension for the 2008-2010 seasons.
