"Golf Channel’s ‘Morning Drive’ to Feature Palmer, Trump and More as Part of Premiere Week Guest Lineup"
/The headline says it all. I want to be excited about the new morning show but when Donald Trump is right behind Arnold Palmer on the priority guest list, you get the distinct feeling this could turn into a tortuous shillfest for Golf Channel's mostly dismal original programming slate. Though that wouldn't make it much different than what the Today Show has become.
Rickie Fowler, Shane Victorino, Commissioners Tim Finchem and Mike Whan and Golf Channel Personalities Among Varied Guest List
ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 31, 2010)—Golf Channel will launch its first, live morning show, Morning Drive, with an all-star line-up of scheduled guests during its first week, highlighted by “The King” Arnold Palmer appearing on Monday’s live premiere.
Set to debut Jan.3 and airing each weekday from 7-9 a.m. ET, sports and Hollywood celebrities, alike, will join co-hosts Erik Kuselias and Gary Williams to discuss the day’s golf headlines, as well as other top stories from the world of sports, finance and pop culture. Palmer will set the tone for the first show on Monday, with Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino and PGA TOUR professional Chris DiMarco scheduled to appear on Tuesday. Later in the week, PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan, PGA TOUR professionals Rickie Fowler and Mark O’Meara, Donald Trump and Minnesota Vikings place kicker Ryan Longwell are among the scheduled guests.
Golf Channel’s team of analysts and reporters also will contribute on a daily basis, both in-studio and on-location at various tournaments. During week one, Rich Lerner and Steve Sands will report from Hawaii at the site of the kickoff event for the 2011 PGA TOUR season, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Brandel Chamblee will join the show on Wednesday to preview the 2011 PGA TOUR season, and Tim Rosaforte and John Feinstein will be frequent contributors to the program on a weekly basis.
Following a news/talk show format, Morning Drive will originate from a new, dedicated studio at Golf Channel’s Orlando headquarters. Announced this week, joining Kuselias and Williams will be Holly Sonders, who will provide news and tournament updates as well as headlines of the day at and bottom of the hour. A graduate of Michigan State University and a four-year member of the MSU Women’s Golf Team, Sonders most recently was a news and sports reporter at KATV in Little Rock, Ark.
Audio from Morning Drive will be streamed live at www.GolfChannel.com/morning-drive each weekday, and a “Best of” highlights podcast hosted by Sonders will be available online each afternoon.
Morning Drive joins an exciting new slate of original programming premiering this January, including the new docu-reality series Pipe Dream, which follows a homeless man’s extraordinary journey to regain his life and golf glory; the third season of The Haney Project, which will feature Rush Limbaugh as he attempts to improve his golf game under the guidance of one of the world’s best golf instructors and Tiger Woods’ former swing coach Hank Haney; and a look behind the scenes at the Trump golf empire on the second season of Donald J. Trump’s Fabulous World of Golf. January also marks the start of the 2011 PGA TOUR season, with the year’s first three PGA TOUR events exclusively on Golf Channel.
Gosh and I forgot about the third season of the Haney Project. Is season two on DVD yet?
