Could the iconic ‘Wonderful World of Golf’ series be about to return to your TV screen? Well, a reboot is now in the pipeline…
Long before there was The Match, Golf Channel Games, and the various other spin-offs of lucrative exhibitions during the quiet offseason, there was Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf.
The iconic television series, featuring a pair of the greatest players in a showdown almost always at one of the most revered golf courses in the world, was hugely popular with fans for decades, starting in 1962 before eventually being canned in 2003.
These matches, packaged into hour-long episodes, nowadays provide us with a warm dose of nostalgia via the medium of YouTube. Classic contests include Gene Littler battling Ben Hogan at Pine Valley during the show’s inaugural year, and Seve Ballesteros taking on Paul Azinger in a fierce contest around the Old Course in St Andrews in 1995.
Even after a lengthy hiatus from 1970, the format returned with a bang when superstars Nick Faldo and Greg Norman went toe-to-toe at Sunningdale’s Old Course in 1994.
And now, it seems, the PGA Tour is working to revive the show once more.
As reported by the Sports Business Journal, the bosses at Ponte Vedra HQ filed a trademark for ‘Wonderful World of Golf’ earlier this year.
SBJ have revealed that Pro Shop Holdings, the golf entertainment and media company behind the Netflix series Full Swing and who earlier this year revived the Skins Game on Amazon Prime Video, are now locked in talks to bring back a refreshed version of another cherished showpiece.
While details are scarce over broadcasting details and a potential return date, the intention is clearly there to bring the Wonderful World of Golf back onto our screens for the first time in over two decades.
The trademark filing’s goods and services are: “Organizing, arranging, and conducting professional golf tournaments or competitions, production and distribution of television shows featuring golf tournaments.”
TG has reached out to the PGA Tour for comment on the plans.
