Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American

sports television The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen. ...

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

owned by the

NBC Sports Group NBC Sports Group is a division of NBCUniversal that is responsible for NBC Sports' media properties, encompassing the NBC television network's sports division as well as day-to-day operation of the company's sports-oriented cable networks and oth ...

division of

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...

, a subsidiary of

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

. Founded in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, it is currently based out of NBC Sports' headquarters in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. The channel focuses on coverage of the sport of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, including live coverage of tournaments, as well as factual and instructional programming. It is the cable television rightsholder of the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

, and

PGA European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

, and also holds rights to selected

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

tournaments and the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

golf championships. Since 2016, it has also participated in NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics, focusing on its

competitions. Via the Golf Channel unit, Comcast also owns other golf-related businesses, including the course reservation service

GolfNow GolfNow is an online booking service for tee times at golf courses. Originally established in 2001 by Cypress Golf Solutions in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, it was acquired by Comcast via its Golf Channel unit in March 2008. Since Comcast's purchase ...

, online golf instruction provider Revolution Golf, and the

World Long Drive Championship The World Long Drive Championship is an annual long drive competition in the sport of golf. It was first held in 1974, and since 2000 has comprised Open, Masters (over-45s) and Women's events. From 1995 to 2013, the events were sanctioned by the ...

. Some of these associated properties operate from the network's former home of

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. As of September 2018, Golf Channel is available to approximately 70.3 million pay television households (76.2% of households with cable) in the United States.

History

The idea of a 24-hour golf network came from media entrepreneur Joseph E. Gibbs of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, who first thought of such a concept in 1991. Gibbs felt there was enough interest in golf among the public to support such a network, and commissioned a

Gallup Poll Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its bu ...

to see if his instincts were correct. With the support of the polling behind him, Gibbs and legendary golfer Arnold Palmer then secured $80 million in financing from several cable television providers (including

Adelphia Communications Corporation Adelphia Communications Corporation was an American cable television company with headquarters in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1952 by brothers Gus and John Rigas after the pair purchased a cable television franchise for US$300. C ...

Cablevision Industries Spectrum is a trade name of Charter Communications, used to market consumer and commercial cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. The brand was first introduced in 2014; prior to that, these serv ...

Continental Cablevision MediaOne Group, Inc. (Comcast MO Group, Inc.) was created by US WEST Inc, one of the original Baby Bells Regional Bell Operating Companies, acquisition of Boston-based Continental Cable and combined with its previously acquired Atlanta-based Wom ...

, Newhouse, and the

Times Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

) to launch the network, which was among the first subscription networks developed to cover one singular sport. Announced in February 1993, the launch date was targeted for May 1994; and it was launched on January 17, 1995, with a ceremonial flip of the switch by co-founder

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

. The first live tournament the channel televised was the

Dubai Desert Classic The Dubai Desert Classic is a European Tour golf tournament held on Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 1999 and 2000 it was held at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, all other editions have been held at Emirates Go ...

, held January 19–22. Originally a premium channel with limited subscribers, it retooled in September 1995 to be part of basic-tier pay TV to reach more viewers and ratings rapidly increased. In 1996,

Fox Cable Networks Fox Networks Group (FNG) is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company that oversees international television assets that were acquired from 21st Century Fox. It produces and distributes more than 300 entertainment, film, sports and factual chan ...

acquired a minority stake in the channel for $50 million. From 1999 to 2001, Golf Channel would hold part of the

's cable rights for early-round coverage. To boost their availability, Golf Channel reached an agreement with

Fox Sports Networks Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

(FSN) to air

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

s of the coverage. In 2002, Golf Channel lost its rights to the main PGA Tour, but gained rights to the developmental

Buy.com Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...

Acquisition by Comcast

In 2001, Fox sold its 30.9% stake in Golf Channel, as well as its stake in

Outdoor Life Network OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language Category A specialty channel. OLN primarily broadcasts factual-based and adventure-related reality programming aimed at male audiences. OLN is wholly owned by Rogers Sports & ...

, to minority owner

, as part of a larger transaction by Fox to acquire Comcast's stake in

Speedvision Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...

. In December 2003, Comcast acquired the remaining 8.6% stake of Golf Channel it did not already own from the

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

, giving it full ownership. In January 2007, Golf Channel became the exclusive cable broadcaster of the PGA Tour as part of a new 15-year contract, replacing

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

. The contract included early-round coverage of all official money events, and 13 events per-season carried exclusively by the network. By then, Golf Channel had carriage in 75 million homes. Concurrently, Comcast also launched Versus/Golf HD, a

1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...

high definition channel featuring programming from Golf Channel and sister network Versus. Golf Channel programming was broadcast during the daytime hours, and Versus programming was broadcast during the evening and primetime hours. This arrangement ended in December 2008, when both networks launched their own 24-hour high-definition simulcasts. In March 2008, Comcast acquired the online golf reservation platform

. It was re-located to Golf Channel's headquarters in Orlando.

Merger with NBC Sports

In January 2011, Comcast acquired a 51% majority stake in

NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

. As a result of the re-alignment of Comcast's existing properties into NBC Universal, Golf Channel and sister sports network Versus were subsumed by a restructured

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

division. On-air synergies between NBC's existing production unit began to take effect in February 2011 at the WGC Match Play Championship, when NBC's golf telecasts took on the Golf Channel branding as "

Golf Channel on NBC Golf telecasts have aired on NBC since 1954, with some of its earliest telecasts having included the 1954 U.S. Open, and the first televised coverage of the Ryder Cup in 1959. Presently, NBC televises around 8 PGA Tour events per-season, alte ...

", in a similar manner to ESPN's co-branding of sports output on ABC. NBC Sports personalities could now appear on Golf Channel, and former NBC Sports senior vice president Mike McCarley took over as the network's new head. The network also adopted an amended logo featuring the

NBC peacock The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ar ...

. In December 2013, Golf Channel unveiled a new logo, implemented in May 2014 to coincide with the 2014 Players Championship. The new logo replaces the "swinging G" emblem that had been used since the network's launch with a

wordmark __notoc__ A wordmark, word mark, or logotype, is usually a distinct text-only typographic treatment of the name of a company, institution, or product name used for purposes of identification and branding. Examples can be found in the graphic iden ...

alongside the NBC peacock. The new logo was meant to provide a unified brand across Golf Channel's associated properties and services. In 2014, Golf Channel acquired rights to the

NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. The teams that win their respective Division I conference championships are given automatic spots in th ...

. In 2015, it also began to broadcast the

NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships The NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, played in the month of May, is the annual competition in women's collegiate golf for individuals and teams from universities in Division I. Golf was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA cha ...

. In 2017, Golf Channel extended its rights to the tournaments through 2029. On June 8, 2015, it was announced that NBC Sports had acquired rights to

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

beginning in 2017 under a 12-year deal; after former broadcaster

opted out of the final year of rights, NBC began coverage in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

instead. Early round coverage is aired by Golf Channel, which marked the first time ever that Golf Channel had ever broadcast one of the four

Men's major golf championships The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the major championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Historically, the national open and amateur championships of Great Britain a ...

. On May 3, 2016, NBC announced that Golf Channel would air the bulk of the men's and women's golf tournaments for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, covering up to 300 hours of the tourney, with 130 of those hours live. In 2016, Golf Channel acquired the World Long Drivers Association, organizer of the World Long Drive Championships; coverage of its events were subsequently added to the network. In 2017, Golf Channel acquired Revolution Golf, an online provider of golf instructional materials. Before the final round of the 2018

Sony Open in Hawaii The Sony Open in Hawaii is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, and is part of the tour's FedEx Cup Series. It has been contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, since the event's modern-day inception as the Hawaiian O ...

tournament, Golf Channel production staged a walkout. In February 2019, Golf Channel announced a new subscription service known as GolfPass. The service will feature a variety of content, including a streaming library of archive content, instructional content, as well as special offers (such as credit for free round of golf per-year, and a premium tier offering additional discounts).

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in tha ...

will also be involved in the service, hosting new instructional content for GolfPass, as well as an autobiographical web series. In February 2020, it was reported that Golf Channel would consolidate its television operations with the remainder of NBC Sports at its facilities in

, in a move expected to occur over the next 12 to 18 months. The GolfNow and GolfPass services will continue to primarily operate from Orlando. With the move to Stamford, Golf Channel also ended its long-time morning show ''Morning Drive'', replacing it with the new midday show ''Golf Today'' from Stamford beginning January 4, 2021. In 2021, amid the renewal of NBC Sports' rights to the circuit, and the upcoming shutdown of long-time sister network

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...

(the former Versus), NBCUniversal began to put a greater emphasis on Golf Channel's rights to the PGA Tour. That November, it was announced that early-round coverage of the Open Championship, U.S. Open (which moved to Golf Channel after NBC re-acquired the rights to USGA tournaments in 2020), and their women's counterparts, would move to

in 2022. At the 2022 Players Championship, Golf Channel adopted a special logo used on-air during PGA Tour telecasts and studio programming, which is co-branded with elements of the PGA Tour logo.

Programming

Event coverage

Golf Channel is the pay television rightsholder of the

, broadcasting live coverage of early rounds, and early window coverage of weekend rounds prior to network television coverage. Some events (particularly, early-season events such as the former

Fall Series The PGA Tour Fall Series was name of the events on the PGA Tour that covered the end of the calendar year from 2007 to 2012 after the Tour Championship. Beginning in 2013, these events became part of the PGA Tour season, which from that point bega ...

, and alternate events held against majors) are broadcast in their entirety by the network. Golf Channel airs primetime encores of each round during PGA Tour events, including network television broadcasts from NBC or CBS where applicable. Golf Channel also broadcasts coverage of

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

and

Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...

events. Outside of events organized by the PGA Tour, Golf Channel also carries coverage of the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

, and

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

. Golf Channel was the cable broadcaster of two of the men's majors, including the U.S. Open and other

championships (since June 2020) and the

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

(since 2016, including their

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

and senior men's events). In November 2021, it was announced that early round coverage of the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, the U.S. Women's Open, and the Women's British Open, would move to

beginning in 2022. Since 2016, it participates in NBCUniversal's coverage of the Summer Olympics by covering its golf competitions. It has also carried coverage of the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

and

Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force beh ...

alongside NBC, and the NCAA Division I Men's and

Women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

golf championships Since its integration with NBC Sports, Golf Channel has been infrequently used as an overflow channel for non-golf programming, including two games of the

2018 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on April 11, 2018, after the 2017–18 regular season and concluded on June 7, 2018, with the Washington Capitals winning their fir ...

(due to programming conflicts with

and

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

), and as part of NBC's " Championship Sunday" effort to televise all matches on the final matchday of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

soccer season.

News and analysis

*''

Golf Central ''Golf Central'' is Golf Channel's news program. It was launched in 1995, in the same year as the network it airs on. A nightly half-hour show, ''Golf Central'' features news and highlights from the major golf tours and events of the world, in add ...

'' *''Golf Today''

Factual and reality

*''

Feherty David William Feherty (born 13 August 1958) is a former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster. As a touring professional he won five European Tour events, competed at the Open Championship twice ( 1989 and 1994), and played on Europe ...

'' *''Golf's Greatest Rounds'' *'' Shotmakers''

Instructional

*''Golf Channel Academy'' *''PGA Tour Champions Learning Center'' *''Playing Lessons'' *''School Of Golf'' *''The Golf Fix''

Notable personalities

The Golf Channel uses a number of people for tournament, news and instructional programming.

Current personalities

Hosts and reporters

Tom Abbott Tom Abbott (born 7 December 1981 in London, England) is a broadcaster and sports commentator, best known for his work with The Golf Channel and NBC. He serves as a presenter and commentator for coverage of the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and European To ...

*Matt Adams *Shane Bacon *Cara Banks *Grant Boone *Steve Burkowski *Vince Cellini * Kira K. Dixon *

Terry Gannon Terrance Patrick Gannon (born November 1, 1963, in Joliet, Illinois) is a sportscaster for NBC Sports and the Golf Channel, currently announcing golf, gymnastics, and figure skating. Gannon played basketball for North Carolina State University ...

*Damon Hack *Martin Hall * Dan Hicks *Rex Hoggard *Hailey Hunter *Anna Jackson *Ryan Lavner *Rich Lerner *Todd Lewis * Eamon Lynch *Blair O'Neal *

Bob Papa Robert L. Papa (born September 19, 1964) is an American sportscaster who is currently the radio play-by-play voice for the New York Giants of the National Football League. Papa also is the lead broadcaster for PGA Tour Champions events on Golf ...

Jimmy Roberts Jimmy Roberts (born 1957) is a sportscaster for NBC Sports. Roberts joined NBC in May 2000 after serving as a sports reporter for almost 12 years at ESPN and ABC Sports where he won 11 Sports Emmy Awards. Early life and career Roberts grew up in ...

*Amy Rogers *

Steve Sands Steven Sands is an American golf television personality. He is best known as the lead interviewer for NBC's golf coverage. He also works with NBC's cable outlet, Golf Channel, as a studio host and play-by-play announcer. He was given the nickna ...

*George Savaricas *

Kathryn Tappen Kathryn Tappen (born April 9, 1981) is an American sportscaster. Tappen works on NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Notre Dame Football, '' Football Night in America'', Golf, as well as the Summer and Winter Olympic Games among others. Early li ...

Mike Tirico Mike Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's '' Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play an ...

Whit Watson Whit Watson (born 1971 in Winter Park, FL) is an American sportscaster. He currently works for Golf Channel, hired in August 2010. At Golf Channel, Watson is primarily assigned to Golf Central as a studio anchor, but also reports from the field a ...

Analysts

Paul Azinger Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer and TV golf He won twelve times on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1993 PGA Championship. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official ...

Notah Begay III Notah Ryan Begay III (born September 14, 1972) is a Native American professional golfer. He is one of the only Native American golfers to have played in the PGA Tour. Since 2013, Begay has served as an analyst with the Golf Channel and NBC Spor ...

Phil Blackmar } Philip Arnold Blackmar (born September 22, 1957) is an American professional golfer. He played on the PGA Tour from 1985 to 2000 and on the Champions Tour from 2007 to 2012. He was the tallest player on the PGA Tour during his time on tour, stand ...

Amanda Blumenherst Amanda Blumenherst (born November 4, 1986) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She was a three-time National Player of the Year at Duke University and won the U.S. Women's Amateur title in 2008. In 2013, ...

Billy Ray Brown William (Billy) Ray Brown (born April 5, 1963) is a former American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1980s and 1990s, and a current on course reporter for Golf Channel and commentator for CBS Sports. Brown was born, raised, ...

Curt Byrum Curt Allen Byrum (born December 28, 1958) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is the older brother of PGA Tour golfer Tom Byrum. Byrum was born and raised in Onida, South Dakota. He learn ...

Brandel Chamblee } Brandel Eugene Chamblee (born July 2, 1962) is a former American professional golfer, commentator and writer. Chamblee was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Speech Communication and was a f ...

Gary Christian Gary John Christian (born 7 August 1971) is an English professional golfer who has played on the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour. Christian was born in Carshalton, England. As a junior, he played golf at Addington Palace Golf Club, England. He pl ...

Kay Cockerill Kay Cockerill (born October 16, 1964 in San Jose, California) is an American golfer. Amateur and college career She won the U.S. Women's Amateurs in 1986 and 1987. As a non-scholarship player at UCLA she had six individual wins from 1983 to 198 ...

* John Cook *

Jim Gallagher Jr. James Thomas Gallagher Jr. (born March 24, 1961) is an American professional golfer and sportscaster. Early life Gallagher was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His father, a career club pro, started him in golf at age six. His sister, Jackie, ...

Trevor Immelman Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tournament. Early years Immelman was bor ...

Tripp Isenhour John Henry "Tripp" Isenhour III (born April 6, 1968) is an American professional golfer. Isenhour was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. He played college golf at Georgia Tech and turned professional in 1990. Isenhour played on the Nationwide T ...

Peter Jacobsen Peter Erling Jacobsen (born March 4, 1954) is an American professional golfer and commentator on Golf Channel and NBC. He has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champions ...

Gary Koch Gary D. Koch (born November 21, 1952) is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer, who formerly played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour. Early years Koch was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in ...

Billy Kratzert William August Kratzert III (born June 29, 1952) is an American professional golfer and sportscaster, who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Early life Kratzert was born in Quantico, Virginia when his father was in the serv ...

Justin Leonard Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has twelve career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship. Early years Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leonard graduated ...

* Jim "Bones" Mackay *

Paige Mackenzie Paige Mackenzie (born February 8, 1983) is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. Early years Born and raised in Yakima, Washington, Mackenzie is a 2001 graduate of Eisenhower High School, where she was selected as a first- ...

Roger Maltbie Roger Lin Maltbie (born June 30, 1951) is an American professional golfer and on-course analyst for NBC Sports. Career Maltbie was born in Modesto, California and grew up in San Jose. He attended James Lick High School where he was a teammate of ...

Arron Oberholser Arron Matthew Oberholser (born February 2, 1975) is an American professional golfer and an analyst and commentator for the Golf Channel. Career Oberholser attended San Jose State University. In 1996, as a junior, he won six college golf title ...

Craig Perks Craig William Perks (born 6 January 1967) is a professional golfer from New Zealand who won the 2002 Players Championship. Early life and amateur career Born and raised in Palmerston North, New Zealand, Perks played college golf in the United ...

Morgan Pressel Morgan Pressel (born May 23, 1988) is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who played on the LPGA Tour. In 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was the 2005 American Juni ...

Mark Rolfing Mark Rolfing is a television golf commentator and a resort marketing director. Rolfing played professional golf in 1973 and 1974, after playing college golf at DePauw University in Indiana. At DePauw, he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Howev ...

Karen Stupples Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...

Lanny Wadkins Jerry Lanston "Lanny" Wadkins Jr. (born December 5, 1949) is an American professional golfer. He ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for 86 weeks from the ranking's debut in 1986 to 1988. Early years Born in Richmond, Virg ...

* Mark Wilson *John Wood

Notable former personalities

* Brian Anderson *

Billy Andrade William Thomas Andrade (born January 25, 1964) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he was a four-time winner. Early life Andrade was born in Bri ...

(2010–2012) *Lara Baldesarra (2012–2013) *

Adam Barr Adam Barr is a television screenwriter and producer best known for his comedy credits including the hit NBC series ''Will & Grace''. In the early nineties he teamed up with best friend Peter Ocko, with whom he wrote 12 episodes of ''Parker Lewis ...

* Michael Breed *

Ryan Burr Ryan Burr (born March 17, 1978, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a sports television journalist. Burr worked for the NBC Sports Group from 2012 to 2021, with his duties mainly consisting of hosting all programs on Golf Channel and college basketball ...

(2012-2020) * Donna Caponi-Byrnes *Lisa Cornwell (2014-2020) * Robert Damron *

Beth Daniel Beth Daniel (born October 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fa ...

(2007–2010) * Charles Davis *

Steve Duemig Steve Duemig (November 26, 1954 – 16 May 2019) was an American sports media personality and had a daily local sports talk show on AM 620 WDAE in Tampa since 1996 which has been the #1 rated sports talk show in the area, and worked for AM 910 WF ...

David Feherty David William Feherty (born 13 August 1958) is a former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster. As a touring professional he won five European Tour events, competed at the Open Championship twice ( 1989 and 1994), and played on Europe ...

(2011-2022) *

Jerry Foltz Jerry Foltz (born August 14, 1962) is an American former professional golfer and current commentator for the LIV Golf Invitational Series. He was formerly a long time commentator for the Golf Channel. Amateur career Foltz was born in Las Vegas, ...

(1999–2022) *

Matt Gogel } Matthew John Gogel (born February 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour and the Nike Tour. Gogel was born in Denver, Colorado and gre ...

(2007-2021) * Jim Gray *Brian Hammonds (1995–2015) *

Kraig Kann Kraig Kann (born on May 3, 1966 in LaGrange, Illinois) is a former on-air personality on Golf Channel, former chief communications officer of the LPGA, and current Managing Director of Kann Advisory Group and Host on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.Golf C ...

(1995–2011) *

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United State ...

*Peter Kessler (1995–2002) *

Erik Kuselias Erik Kuselias is an Emmy Award, Emmy award winning television and radio personality and host who currently works for CBS Sports, where he hosts “Sportsline” (the network’s show on sports wagering) and CBS Sports HQ. A Mensa International ...

(2011–2012) * Ann Liguori *

Nancy Lopez Nancy Marie Lopez (born January 6, 1957) is an American former professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championships. Amateur career Lopez won the New Mexico Women's ...

* Mark Lye *

Andrew Magee Andrew Donald Magee (born May 22, 1962) is an American professional golfer who played for more than 20 years on the PGA Tour. Magee was born in Paris, France, where his father, a Texas oil man, was working at the time. He grew up in Dallas, Texa ...

John Mahaffey John Drayton Mahaffey Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events. Mahaffey was born in Kerrville, Texas. He attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He turn ...

(2004-2019) *Chantel McCabe * Win McMurry *

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ra ...

(2011–2019) *Jennifer Mills (1995–2006) *

Frank Nobilo Frank Ivan Joseph Nobilo (born on 14 May 1960) is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Nobilo had a successful playing career, winning 14 pro tournaments around the world. He was at his peak during the mid-1990s when he also produced strong ...

(2004-2019) *

Peter Oosterhuis Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (born 3 May 1948) is an English professional golfer and golf broadcaster. Oosterhuis played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Mer ...

(1995–2014) * Phil Parkin (2006–2015) *

Dottie Pepper Dottie Pepper (born August 17, 1965) is an American professional golfer and television golf broadcaster. From 1988 to 1995 she competed as Dottie Mochrie, which was her married name before a divorce. She won two major championships and 17 LPGA T ...

(2005–2012) *

Judy Rankin Judy Rankin ( Torluemke; born February 18, 1945) is an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, she joined the LPGA Tour in 1962 at age 17 and won 26 tour events. Since 2010, Rankin has served a ...

(2010-2022) *

Ahmad Rashad Ahmad Rashad (born Robert Earl Moore; November 19, 1949) is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. He was the fourth overall selection of the 1972 NFL Draft, taken by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was known as Bobby Moor ...

(2013) * Tim Rosaforte (2007–2019) *

Charlie Rymer Charlie Rymer (born December 18, 1967) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Nike Tour. He is currently an analyst for the Golf Channel. Amateur career Rymer was born in Cleveland, Tennessee and grew up in Fort ...

*Kristina Shalhoup *

Val Skinner Val Skinner (born October 16, 1960) is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. Amateur career Skinner was born in Hamilton, Montana. She was the 1974 Nebraska Junior Girls champion and the 1976 Nebraska High School State ch ...

(2002–2013) *Holly Sonders (2011–2014) * Stephanie Sparks (2000–2013) *

Brian Tennyson Brian Tennyson (born July 10, 1962) is a retired American golfer. Tennyson was born in Evansville, Indiana. He played college golf at Ball State University. He was twice named as an NCAA All-American in 1982 and 1983; in 1984, the Golf Coaches As ...

* Lauren Thompson (2008–2020) * Kelly Tilghman * Ted Tryba *

Bob Valvano Bob Valvano (born January 29, 1957) is a former college basketball coach and an American sportscaster based in Louisville, Kentucky. Television and coaching During the college-basketball season, he is the lead game analyst for ESPNRadio, and oc ...

Scott Van Pelt Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...

(1995–2000) *Gary Williams (2011–2020)

Viewership

For the month of October 2013, Golf Channel averaged a daily viewership of 84,000.

International version

Canada

The Golf Channel is also available in Canada on most cable and satellite providers, as it is authorized for carriage as a foreign cable television service by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

. While it mostly airs the American feed, live events coverage is subject to blackouts due to TSN holding many of its broadcasting rights domestically.

Golf Channel UK

A British version of the channel called Golf Channel UK was operated by sporting goods retailer

JJB Sports JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...

, and was available on the

BSkyB Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

satellite service. It broadcast many of the programs seen on the U.S. channel, but was unable to attract a viable audience as it offered few live golf tournaments; the channel shut down on December 31, 2007. Since the acquisition of

Sky plc Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a division of Comcast, and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's l ...

by Comcast in late-2018, NBC Sports properties have begun to increase their collaboration with

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

for expanded coverage of relevant events; Golf Channel and Sky Sports Golf trialed on-air talent sharing and co-productions at the

2019 Players Championship The 2019 Players Championship was the 46th The Players Championship, Players Championship and was played March 14–17 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It was the 38th edition held at the Stadium Course and the first in March in 20 ...

Golf Channel Latin America

The Latin American version of the Golf Channel was launched in 2006 as a

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

joint venture, and was acquired from

by former DirecTV executives Jason Markham and Evan Grayer together with Inversiones Bahia in 2018. The channel broadcasts professional tournaments from the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamérica, European Tour and LPGA Tour with Spanish-speaking journalists, as well as Golf Central and other English-language shows. In 2019,

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

bought the channel.Discovery acquires Golf Channel Latin America
- Golf Digest, 18 December 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Golf Channel Golf in the United States Golf on NBC Golf on television English-language television stations in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1995 Companies based in Orlando, Florida Sports television networks in the United States