Major champion Steve Elkington and his Rural Golfer team bring “The Big Show” to small-town America
Blueberries, birdies and budding love. This is what lies ahead for RFD-TV viewers watching the second episode of the network’s new hit The Rural Golfer, which pulls into Alma, Ga this week on its quest to bring viewers the passion and fascinating stories that exist across America.
The Rural Golfer airs on RFD-TV at 9:30 p.m. (ET), with encore shows airing at 12:30 p.m. Sunday (ET) and the following Friday at 6 a.m. (ET).
Champions Tour mainstay and 1995 PGA Championship winner Steve Elkington descends on Alma (population: 3,466). There, he discovers how the passion and compassion of one man can save a town.
That man is Ted Murray, a Florida businessman, who went looking for a weekend retreat in Georgia and wound up putting down roots in this small town in southeastern Georgia known as “Georgia’s Blueberry Capital.” More than one-third of the spring blueberries grown in the United States come from Alma.
That explains how Blueberry Plantation, the golf course and inn that Murray bought and renovated, got its name. The course was built in the 1990s by the people of Alma, but by the time Murray discovered it, it was in need of work.
“Once I got into it, I decided I was going to make it the best course in the South,” Murray said, describing how he brought in the same sand used in the bunkers at a more famous course up the road a bit – Augusta National.
But Murray didn’t stop there with buying and fixing up the course. He fell head-over-heels in love with Alma enough to move his nuts-and-bolts company, Industrial Forge, to the city. And it was a testament to Murray that 95 percent of his employees moved with him.
“He has basically kept Alma alive, not only with Blueberry Plantation, but by bringing his company here,” Executive Producer Judith Coleman said. “There are so many small towns dying off in this economy and Alma probably wouldn’t exist without Industrial Forge and Ted Murray.”
In between carding a fair amount of birdies during a round at Blueberry Plantation with Murray, Elkington also met Mark Jordan, a former college golf star who warmed up for a crack at taking on Elkington and his cohorts on the Champions Tour by setting the course record at Blueberry Plantation (a 64).
Murray’s love of Alma isn’t the only spark Elkington discovered on his visit. He introduces viewers to Craig “Too-Tall” Barnes and Ashley Medders-Barnes. A two-time Georgia 2-A state champion and Alma resident, Medders-Barnes went on to play golf at Arkansas, where she was the roommate of LPGA star and two-time major champion Stacy Lewis.
She returned to her hometown and in between dabbling on the LPGA, worked on her game at Blueberry Plantation with the diminutive (5-foot-4) Barnes, who was the course’s teaching pro. From there, a romance blossomed amid the blueberries and birdies and the two were recently married.
As Elkington discovered, and as viewers of The Rural Golfer will discover this week, Alma’s golfing roots are forged with a lot of love.
About Rural Media Group, Inc.: Rural Media Group, Inc. (RMG) is the world’s leading provider of multimedia content dedicated to the rural and western lifestyle. RMG is the parent company of RFD-TV, FamilyNet, RURAL TV, RURAL RADIO on SiriusXM channel 80, RFD-TV The Magazine and RFD-TV The Theatre. RFD-TV, the flagship network for RMG, launched in December 2000. RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television network dedicated to serving the needs and interests of rural America with programming focused on agriculture, equine, rural lifestyle, traditional country music and entertainment. Daily productions include Market Day Report and the Rural Evening News. RMG networks are distributed into more than 63-million homes worldwide by DBS, telco and cable systems including DISH Network, DIRECTV®, Comcast, Verizon FiOS TV, AT&T U-Verse, Mediacom, Charter, Brighthouse, Suddenlink, Time Warner, Cox and more than 600 independent rural cable systems. RFD-TV The Magazine is the print programming guide for the networks, which has attracted over 200,000 paid subscribers. RFD-TV The Theatre is a 2000 capacity soft seat venue in Branson, MO where entertainment programming is produced. RMG corporate headquarters are based in Omaha, NE and production operations are in Nashville, TN. For more information, visit www.rfdtv.com and join us on Facebook: RFD-TV Twitter: @OfficialRFDTV and Instagram: http://instagram.com/rfdtv
About Rural Golfer: Just about every person who has picked up a golf club has been afflicted with the desire to find the secret to the game. Some find it in practice, some in playing, and some in hardcore instruction. It is said to be found “in the dirt.” The Rural Golfer with Steve Elkington is a journey to find that elusive secret. A quest as seen through the eyes of Steve Elkington and his Rural Golfer team. The Rural Golfer follows Steve Elkington and the team on a quest to find the holy grail of golf, “the secret in the dirt,” that takes them on a journey of undiscovered territory. Rural Golfer will highlight the flavor of golf in major cities surrounding Champions Tour venues and along the way will delve into the hidden gems along the way that define golf in America.
For more information about The Rural Golfer with Steve Elkington, please visit www.ruralgolfer.com and join us on Facebook: Rural Golfer and on Twitter: @RuralGolfer.
Contact:
Kelsey Johnson, Marketing/PR Coordinator
kelsey@rfdtv.com or (402) 614-2563
