Kudos to Golf Channel's "Golf In America"

The first episode of the new Golf Channel show "Golf In America" is airing this week over on the cable station, and judging by the first episode, it promises to be must-watch TV for golfers.

The first episode opened with a profile of singer's Justin Timberlake's involvement with Big Creek Golf Course and its transformation from bankruptcy into the United States' Platinum green (as in U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards) golf facility. Timberlake is involving his family in the project, and the course, when finished, will be of the destination variety that's still affordable for local residents to play on - the course is listed as being $32 for weekend play.

Not being of the age to be a fan of his music, I became a huge fan of Timberlake as a young man with his head and his heart in the right place, and I also gained an interest in playing Big Creek when I next visit the Memphis area.

Another story were equally interesting: a young Canadian immigrant teaching his children golf and how his daughter is now the world's number one for her age group in juniors, and how all of this is happening despite the family's limited means. "I am teaching my children golf to teach them about life," he said, "not to teach them to become pros. That is their decision and I will respect what they decide." That family was heartwarming and inspiring.

If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend catching it (GC will undoubtedly have it in heavy repitition over the next week) and see if you like what you see.

Note: interesting that Golf Channel has no apparent link to Golf In America on their website as of today. You would think that they had this all in place prior to the premiere.