Featured In March Episode of Traveling Golfer
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – To say that 2020 was the most-different year in modern memory is a colossal understatement. As a result, it should be no surprise that 2021 started in a similarly unusual way for the golf industry.
The annual PGA Merchandise Show, the largest event of the year on the business side of golf, never happened. Instead, an attempt was made to replace it with a Virtual PGA Merchandise Show. Participation by companies was less than half the normal level. Interest was at an even lower level.
Despite those handicaps, the Traveling Golfer was able to keep his 20-year tradition of selecting Tony’s Top Ten new products, a way of bringing new technology to the golf public.
Traveling Golfer show host Tony Leodora, who normally walks the miles of aisles at the annual PGA Merchandise Show to discover top new products, instead let his fingers do the walking. Through use of the virtual show platform, e-mails, text messages and old-fashioned phone calls, he connected with market leaders and emerging companies throughout the golf industry. The result is a new “Tony’s Top Ten” list of products that will debut on the March episode of the award-winning Traveling Golfer television show.
The winners include products from companies such as Greenkeepers, High Heat, Bridgestone Golf, Copper Tech, Nexbelt, Putting Arc, Pyramid Putters, CertiFresh Cigar, Tour Edge and Covel.
“This particular show has been a labor of love for a long time,” says Leodora, who has attended the PGA Merchandise show every year since 1992. “It is a chance to meet face-to-face with people who have worked hard to develop a new product and see their excitement as they introduce that product to the golf world.
“Obviously, this year was much different. A lot of that excitement was replaced by frustration over the constraints that the pandemic has placed on the business world and apprehension over whether golf will be able to make a full recovery and sustain that momentum in the years to come. Despite that less-than-electric atmosphere, a number of great new products have emerged and we were able to put together another strong list of worthy candidates.”
Interviews with representatives of each of the ten selected products are the highlight of the March episode of the show. Despite the fact that the PGA Merchandise Show Demo Day was not held as usual at the massive Orange County National driving range, that facility and the adjacent golf courses were used as a backdrop to introduce many of the products.
The March episode of the Traveling Golfer airs as a scheduled weekly feature show on NBC Sports and NBC Sports + throughout four markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. NBC Sports airings are 10:30 a.m. on Sundays, 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and 11 a.m. on Thursdays. NBC Sports + airs the show at 8 p.m. Mondays and Fridays. In addition, the show airs nationally, three times every day, on the new Fun Roads Network (funroads.tv/schedule) – in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Wichita, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington State, North Dakota, Raleigh, Orlando, San Jose, Albany and Boise markets. Additionally, national and international expansion has taken place via connected TV on Roku, Amazon Fire, SelectTV and GlewedTV.
The Traveling Golfer also airs a number of times in the Month of March on “Rivertalk” on HTC-4 in Myrtle Beach.
The show also airs on the Traveling Golfer network of websites … including The Golf Director Network and The Myrtle Beach Golf Channel (see full list of sites on travelinggolfervideo.com).
As part of every Traveling Golfer show there is the additional feature, “Tech Talk”, hosted by Tour Edge Golf experts, such as President Dave Glod. With years of experience as a club maker, Glod presents an inside look at the research and development of high-quality golf equipment.
Responding to golfers’ never-ending demands to learn more about interesting golf courses and golf resorts across the country and around the world, well-traveled host Tony Leodora created the Traveling Golfer so he could take viewers on video trips to some of the most exciting golf locations. Four times in six years, the show has been honored as the No. 1 Golf Television Show in America in the prestigious International Network of Golf awards, presented at the PGA Merchandise Show.
The Traveling Golfer is a series of monthly shows hosted by Leodora, who has 20 years of experience in televised golf. The featured destination stays on the website for one month, before being replaced by a new show. All old shows are archived for continued viewing on the YouTube Network and on the home website, www.travelinggolfervideo.com.
For more information about the Traveling Golfer, or to find out how a property can be featured on the show, call TL Golf Services at (610) 721-8186 or e-mail Tony Leodora at tony.leodora@TL-golfservices.com.
