Show host Steve Elkington and longtime golfing buddy and fellow Champions Tour pro Rocco Mediate show how to hit draws, fades and tasty, easy-to-make Italian food
One of the most popular elements of RFD-TV’s “The Rural Golfer” is show host Steve Elkington’s ability to incorporate accessible lessons into virtually every situation he finds himself in. Another is his ability to incorporate camaraderie in every situation.
Enter longtime golfing buddy and fellow Champions Tour player Rocco Mediate, who joins Elkington in Minnesota on this week’s episode of “The Rural Golfer”, the hit show which can be seen 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 Elkington and his palatial motor home “The Big Show” parked at the TPC Twin Cities in the northern Minneapolis suburb of Blaine, where Elkington was playing in the Champions Tour 3M Championship. With a little time on his hands early in the week, Elkington brings his good buddy Mediate out for a friendly round of golf at nearby Braemar Golf Club in Edina.
Voted the No. 1 public course in Minnesota and one of the top 75 public courses in the nation by Golf Digest, Braemar played host to the 1969 Minnesota Classic (one of four PGA TOUR events held at public courses that year) and the 1979 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. Despite the fact it is only 20 minutes from downtown Minneapolis, Braemar offers a forest-like feeling of seclusion amid its 27 holes.
“There’s a 19th hole here,” Mediate announces, with a quizzical tone to his voice.
Indeed there is. Braemar’s 19th hole begins its third nine, which makes it easier to accommodate the 900 junior golfers that call Braemar home – many of whom begin as young at age 6.
Despite the fact Minnesota’s arctic-like winters keep golfers on a five-month schedule, the state is No. 1 in the nation in per-capita golfers and the quality of summer/fall golf is what brought Pennsylvania native Mediate to move there.
“It’s a really cool part of the country,” he said. “When you’re out here in the late summer and fall, there is nothing like it anywhere.”
Once again, Elkington proves there’s nothing predictable about his travels. After he and Mediate show golfers how to hit draws (Mediate’s preferred shot) and fades (Elkington’s shot of choice) on a few of Braemar’s trickier lies, they repose to The Big Show for a home-cooked Italian meal.
A home-cooked Italian meal. In a motor home. Parked in the Twin Cities suburbs.
Elkington arranged for a chef to cook a four-course Italian meal using farm-fresh ingredients.
“We only ate one pasta thing and I’m telling you it was one of the best meals I ever ate in my life,” he said.
The episode intersperses each course with Elkington and Mediate hitting various shots around the Braemar course; Elkington hitting his trademark fade, Mediate, his trademark draw, with lesson time accompanying each shot.
“Great players can move it both ways, but they have a shot. You can’t mess with that, but you have to get better with the other to keep yourself honest,” Mediate said.
As he shows viewers why he hits a fade, moving the ball left to right, Elkington tells them it’s his go-to shot because it’s the most reliable for him and it’s the shot that holds up best under pressure – something every professional or accomplished golfer relies on.
To prove it, Elkington displays how to hit a fade, then curves the ball around a tree and deposits it 10 feet from the hole.
“We have fun when we play golf together, Rocco and I. I learned some things today and we showed off today, showing everyone hot to hit those curve shots. We had a lot of fun and he and I really enjoy making the ball do what we want it to do,” Elkington said.
“That’s what we’re going to do – forever,” Mediate said.
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
