With major champion Steve Elkington on the DL after toe surgery, Internet instruction sensation Mike Maves discovers more secrets along the Intercostal Waterway
When you think of Florida golf in the Jacksonville area, the first image that likely comes to mind is the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass and its iconic island green on the 17th hole. Or it’s finely manicured resort courses that cater to a well-heeled clientele.
But in this week’s episode of the hit show “The Rural Golfer”, RFD-TV viewers discover there is another side to golf in northeast Florida.
The Rural Golfer airs on RFD-TV at 9:30 p.m. (ET) Friday, with encore shows airing at 12:30 p.m. Sunday (ET) and the following Friday at 6 a.m. (ET).
This week’s episode finds major champion and show host Steve Elkington on the disabled list after surgery to remove an ingrown toenail. So stepping up for his solo host debut is Internet instruction sensation Mike Maves, who travels 2,500 miles from his Canadian home in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario to discover a new world of golf that is off the beaten Florida path.
“It’s interesting to see such a golf-centric area, not just high-end golf. I think it’s interesting that we have the whole spectrum of golf covered in one little area,” Maves said. “I think finding these little places that people wouldn’t gravitate to is a lot of fun.”
Maves discovers how much fun when he happens upon the epitome of off-the-beaten-path Florida golf: Palm Valley Golf Club in Ponte Vedra Beach. About the only things Palm Valley and the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass have in common are golf holes, grass, water and a Ponte Vedra Beach address.
The nine-hole course is the creation and offspring of Jack and Sue Hord, who built the pro shop, driving range and putting green from the ground up on the 30-acre grounds of an old horse farm – Palm Valley Stables – in 1989. The nine holes – seven par-3s and two short par-4s that Jack Hord designed himself – came in 1990.
“I wanted to create a place where families can afford to play together. We’re not your typical golf facility,” said Hord, a PGA Class A professional for more than 30 years. “I wanted to create a course for people who don’t have access to those fancier clubs and give a chance for people to play golf and enjoy the game.”
As Maves discovered while sitting under an oak tree overlooking the driving range, this is exactly what Palm Valley is: no-frills, fun golf at its essence, complete with its scruffy fairways and brown-splotched greens. The only carts are pull-carts and Jack Hord has made the facility not only a First Tee staple in northeast Florida, but a part of his being.
“I do everything. I work the pro shop. I teach. I maintain the golf course. I mow. I do whatever has to be done,” he said. “I’ve been offered a lot of money for this place, but this place is a labor of love for me. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it at any price.”
This is music to the ears of Palm Valley regular Luke Sweeney, who Maves encounters on the driving range. After offering a couple of swing tips to Sweeney, Maves accepts his invitation to play a quick nine.
From there, Maves gets his own lesson on life on Florida’s First Coast. After the round, Sweeney takes Maves along the Intercostal Waterway for an impromptu crabbing session. A native of the area, Sweeney learned crabbing from his grandfather and learned that hitting a golf ball consistently isn’t nearly as difficult as making a living pulling crabs out of the Intercostal Waterway.
“It’s a grind, but you’re on the water every day,” Sweeney said. “You get to see things other people never get to see. The things I look at are the things that people that work indoors look at only on their calendars.”
Maves understood immediately, just as he understood Sweeney’s comparison of Palm Valley to the Stadium Course as “the Stadium Course is once in a lifetime. This is twice a week.”
“I learned a lot from Luke,” Maves said. “You have to enjoy where you are in life. You can aspire to all kinds of things, but sometimes, you have to sit back and say, ‘Where I am now is right. It’s right for me.’ ”
That is the essence of going off the beaten path in Florida golf and “The Rural Golfer”: that the beaten path can often be beaten.”
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:
Brian Robin, Brener Zwikel & Associates
brianr@bzapr.com (818) 462-5610
