SANFORD, N.C. – Anderson Creek director of golf Jon Hockaday ushers in a new era in Sandhills talk radio with the April 6 debut of Sandhills Golf Talk on WFJA Radio 105.5 FM in Sanford.
The two-hour show will be hosted by Hockaday and fellow golf industry veterans Joe Gay and Doug Thompson. It will air from 7-9 p.m. every Thursday evening for 20 weeks, beginning the week of The Masters and running through the PGA Championship.
The show is the brain child of Hockaday, who has served as the high school sports play-by-play announcer on WFJA for the past 14 years and has covered several U.S. Opens.
"When you the think of the Sandhills of North Carolina, you think of golf," Hockaday said. "We thought there was a void and this is something that would be very successful and people would be interested in."
The show will feature local and national golf news, celebrity guests, a five-minute weekly segment from the Carolinas Golf Association, and a weekly PGA Tour pick-the-winner contest. But, Hockaday stresses, the main focus will be listener call-ins.
"We are encouraging an interactive format with the listeners," Hockaday said, "and I think folks will enjoy hearing from our guests. We’ve already lined up Rees Jones, Scotty Cameron, Scott Hoch, Tim Clark, Peggy Kirk Bell, Jack Nance and Pat McGowan. We’ll have some great guests over the 20 weeks."
WFJA, based in Sanford, is an oldies station that also broadcasts high school and college football, high school and college basketball, and NASCAR. Its signal range encompasses Lee County, Moore County, Chatham County, Harnett County and parts of Cumberland County. Station president Richard Feindel anticipates big results from this new venture.
"We’ll present it in a way that it will be a very exciting program. In fact, I think it’s probably going to be the most exciting two hours in the way of golfing on the radio," said Feindel. "We’re excited about adding this show to our programming for the Sandhills of North Carolina, which is certainly the golf capital of the world."
Joining Hockaday behind the microphone will be Gay, who is general manager and director of golf at Tobacco Road Golf Club in Sanford, and Thompson, who is director of golf operations at the Country Club of Whispering Pines.
Both men have strong golfing pedigrees. Gay was an Academic All-American at N.C. State, while Thompson spent many years as the head golf professional at Hyland Hills in Southern Pines before moving to Atlanta. He recently returned to work at Whispering Pines.
"There are probably not two people any better known in the local golf market than Joe and Doug. They have both been around the area for a long time," Hockaday said. "I think their knowledge of the golf business and golf industry will have a very positive impact on the show."
Listeners should enjoy the pick-a-winner contest for the PGA Tour. They will have a chance to review the first round of each tournament on Thursday and discuss the favorites on the radio show before submitting their picks, which are due each Friday morning at 7 a.m. by e-mail to sandhillsgolftalk@yahoo.com. One winner will be chosen each week and receive four rounds of golf at an area course.
The show hopes to attract not only local listeners, but the tens of thousands of avid golfers who travel to the Sandhills every year for golf vacations.
"We think we will also be able to promote golf in the Sandhills, and the courses in the area can use the show as a vehicle to promote themselves," said Hockaday. "I came up with this idea three or four years ago. We’ve talked about it and this year we finally decided the time was right to pull the trigger."
The call-in numbers for listeners are (919) 774-GOLF locally, and toll free at (866) GOLF-110.
Contact:
Jon Hockaday
(910) 814-2115