Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf

Considering the reach of the Presidents Cup reminded me of the made-for-TV golf matches cum travel show Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. This show was a tightly edited match between two professional golfers. The show first ran from 1962 through 1970 and then later from 1994 to 2002.

My memories of the show are of host Jack Whitaker droaning on about how wonderfully marvelous the players as well as the course were. It was sappy, to say the least, but hearing the players joke around and seeing them play in the relaxed atmosphere was exciting to me as a young golf fan.

I was wondering whether Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf lived up to its name as a truly worldly show. What I found surprised me. The initial run of the show seemed to be more far reaching in terms of playing locations than the more recent run of the show. Between 1962 and 1970 the show visited destinations such as Tokyo, New Zealand, Singapore, India, the Philippines, Thailand, and many places in North America and Western Europe. The later run from 1994 to 2002 was noticeably less adventurous. Most of the destinations were in the Americas or Carribbean. Only a smattering are in Western Europe.

Golf is clearly more far reaching than ever, but is the curtailed travel schedule of the recent Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf episodes evidence that the Presidents Cup would not go over well with a U.S. audience if played in some of the most far reaching locals?

(Information from Wikipedia.com.)(The Golf Channel is the current home to Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, however their website for the show is semi-defunct and outdated.)

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Chris

Attorney & Amateur Golfer

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