Morning Drive R.I.P.; Shane Bacon Joins "Golf Today"

As a contributor to Morning Drive over the years, seeing the news made officially near the end of this release announcing Shane Bacon’s hiring by Golf Channel was bittersweet. In its near-decade the show once was an important part of the daily lineup and a place where so many announcements, initiatives and other news was broken. But, as with so much related to the Golf Channel these days, the future is focused on showing tournaments, rebroadcasts of the same rounds and very little programming as Comcast shifts to a streaming focus.

As longtime viewers of the show will know, someone I respect tremendously and who brought enormous golf knowledge and insight, is not included in today’s news release:

GOLF TODAY – NEW DAILY GOLF CHANNEL PROGRAM – DEBUTS MONDAY, JAN. 4, 2021

Shane Bacon Joins GOLF Channel and NBC; Serves as Golf Today Co-Host Along With Damon Hack, Anna Whiteley and Jimmy Roberts

Golf Today to Lead Daily Conversation Across the Golf World, Drawing Upon GOLF Channel’s Roots and Representing Evolution of Morning Drive

STAMFORD, Conn. – December 15, 2020 – Golf Today – a new, live daily program that will lead and shape the daily conversation throughout the golf world – will debut Monday, January 4, 2021 on GOLF Channel, representing both a nod to GOLF Channel’s roots and the latest evolution of daily golf coverage on the network.

Shane Bacon will join GOLF Channel and NBC Sports beginning in 2021 and will serve as a co-host for Golf Today along with fellow hosts Damon Hack, Anna Whiteley and Jimmy Roberts. Bacon will also be a part of Golf Central Live From coverage and will provide play-by-play commentary and reports during GOLF Channel live tournament coverage.

“Golf Today represents a natural progression in our daily studio programming. At midday, we can lead the daily golf conversation with access to newsmakers in all time zones, Tour players on the range preparing for upcoming tournaments and live press conferences.” said Molly Solomon, executive producer, GOLF Channel. “We’re also thrilled to welcome Shane Bacon as a co-host of Golf Today. Shane has developed an avid fan base with his fresh and insightful approach across his work on golf broadcasts, social media and podcasts, and he’ll be a great fit with the Golf Today, Live From and tournament teams.”

“I’m excited to be joining the GOLF Channel and NBC family – it’s where golf happens, and I’m a golfer,” said Bacon. “The fact that I get to work with the top of the top in terms of analysts, play-by-play voices, and behind-the-scenes folks is a dream come true. I’ve known Damon for a long time and he’s the cream of the crop when it comes to golf journalism. Being a part of a new show will allow us to be creative and collaborative, lean on those ideas that we like, and build a great team together.”

Golf Today harkens back to GOLF Channel’s inaugural year of 1995, when the program of the same name served as the network’s original live tournament pre-game show. Golf Today also represents the evolution of Morning Drive, which winds down this week after kicking off weekdays on GOLF Channel for the better part of a decade. Golf Central will continue to air in its customary evening and pre- and post-event windows, with episodes re-airing on weekday mornings.

According to Golf Channel spokesperson, Morning Drive’s longest running fixture, Gary Williams, “will not be making the transition to Stamford and we wish him well in the future.”