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Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Host Road Trip: Myrtle Beach GOLF CHANNEL Reality Show
01/24/2008
Thirty-Minute Golf Reality Show to Feature Charlie Rymer, Mark Bryan, Josh Kelley and Perry Swenson During Ultimate Myrtle Beach Golf Experience
January 24, 2008, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and GOLF CHANNEL are bringing the ultimate Myrtle Beach golf experience to 110 million homes worldwide with the February 5th debut of Road Trip: Myrtle Beach, the first reality show to be based in the state of South Carolina. Each original episode will air Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. and will be rebroadcast during the week.
Filmed entirely along the Grand Strand, a 60-mile stretch of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean that extends from Southport, N.C. to Georgetown, S.C., the Myrtle Beach area is the first golf destination to play host to a non-competitive reality program. Road Trip: Myrtle Beach will provide a backstage glimpse at why the Grand Strand area is known as the “Golf Capital of the World” with more “Top 100” golf courses than any other destination and three million rounds recorded on area golf courses each year.
The 12-episode series follows former PGA TOUR professional and current ESPN commentator Charlie Rymer, Hootie & the Blowfish band member Mark Bryan, musician Josh Kelley and Duramed FUTURES Tour player Perry Swensen as they enjoy an extended Myrtle Beach golf vacation. Each episode takes place at a different Grand Strand golf course and features light-hearted banter between cast members, course information and videos, game management tips and golf instruction by Rymer, the foursome’s activities after golf at area restaurants and night spots and live, original music, including the show’s theme song that was written and recorded by Bryan and Kelley. The show’s fifth recurring member, a 1962 red convertible Cadillac, is easily recognizable as it transports the foursome along the Grand Strand.
“Having Road Trip: Myrtle Beach filmed right here in Myrtle Beach is a tremendous opportunity to showcase the area as the ideal golf destination,” said Bill Golden, vice president and director of marketing at Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “We want to continue to grow the Myrtle Beach golf market and to accomplish this goal, we must reach out to golfers around the world and show what a golf vacation is like here by presenting the destination through the eyes of an entertaining cast in a fun and insightful way. Road Trip: Myrtle Beach is the perfect vehicle to get Myrtle Beach in front of 92 percent of the world’s golfers and the chance to present the quality of the golf, accommodations, restaurants and after-golf entertainment along the Grand Strand.”
GOLF CHANNEL will broadcast the first four episodes of Road Trip: Myrtle Beach in the United States and more than 50 countries around the world starting in February with the remaining eight shows to be broadcast in the third and fourth quarter of 2008.
“We are excited to debut Road Trip: Myrtle Beach in February,” said Jay Kossoff, GOLF CHANNEL’s managing director of original productions and executive producer. “This is a unique show that features golf, music and a very talented cast. We believe that our viewers will enjoy the humorous dialogue between the cast members and the course highlights from Myrtle Beach, the perfect destination for the show.”
Rymer has been treating golf fans to his quick wit and “down home” humor as a sports commentator for ESPN since 1998. Relying on his experiences on the PGA TOUR, Rymer uses his views on life and golf to entertain audiences all over the world. Bryan is a founding member, songwriter and the lead guitar player for the multi-platinum band, Hootie & the Blowfish. Hootie & the Blowfish has garnered enormous success over the last 10 years, earning two Grammy Awards, an MTV Music Award, Billboard Music Award and a People’s Choice Award. A native of Augusta, Georgia, Kelley was writing songs on the side as a student at the University of Mississippi when some of his work made its way to a Hollywood Records representative. Kelley signed with the label and has released two albums, with a third to debut in February 2008. A native of Charlotte, N.C., Swenson is one of the up-and-coming American female golfers on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. The 24-year-old graduated from the University of Texas where she finished second at the 2004 and 2005 Big 12 Championship.
Road Trip: Myrtle Beach, developed and executive produced by GOLF CHANNEL, is produced by Mickey Holden of the Holden Production Group. Holden has 25 years of experience providing original programming to network television. Some of his recent projects include CBS’ “Jack at Augusta,” The Food Network’s “Food Camp,” “Bragging Rights” on The Tennis Channel, “The Wandering Golfer” on Fine Living and “Tiger at 3” on CBS.
About GOLF CHANNEL
GOLF CHANNEL (GolfChannel.com), co-founded by Arnold Palmer and a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMSK), is available in more than 110 million homes worldwide through cable, satellite and wireless companies. It features a programming schedule that includes more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, as well as news, instruction and original productions, such as the popular Big Break. GOLF CHANNEL became the exclusive cable home of the PGA TOUR in 2007, and televises part or all of every PGA TOUR event. In addition, the network is exclusive television home of the Nationwide Tour, European Tour and Canadian Tour, and the exclusive cable home of the Champions Tour. Also featured is a generous mix of other competition from the LPGA Tour, USGA, PGA of America, Asian Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour of Southern Africa.
About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association of 77 championship golf courses, 97 golf package providers and five golf schools in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization has been and continues to be the driving force behind the growth of the Myrtle Beach area golf market. The originator of the “Stay and Play Package,” Golf Holiday provides non-biased information about the area accommodations and golf courses to assist golfers in making the most informed decisions when planning for their next vacation. Golf Holiday also hosts seven events and tournaments annually to help grow the game of golf and attract golfers to the Grand Strand during slower times of year. In addition to hosting the Hootie and the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament each spring, Golf Holiday also manages the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world's largest on-site golf tournament, the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the Spring and Fall Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. For more information, call Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday at 1-800-833-8798 or visit GolfHoliday.com.
