NEW YORK -- In a remarkable feat of television production that involved televising two rounds of a golf tournament from courses 356 miles apart on consecutive days, NBC Sports will bring viewers both rounds of the inaugural Kiwi Challenge Saturday and Sunday from 4-6 p.m. (EST).
Produced by Jim Walton Jr. in conjunction with Pithey Communications for NBC Sports, the Kiwi Challenge - an official PGA TOUR Challenge Season event -- will air in HDTV. Golf fans will see Adam Scott, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker - four of the best under-30 players in the world - set or threaten course records at two New Zealand courses ranked among the world's best: Kauri Cliffs in Northland and Cape Kidnappers in Hawke's Bay.
At the same time, travel aficionados will see areas of New Zealand not often found on travelogues. Walton and his crew of more than 35 technicians, cameramen and producers not only captured every birdie on the course, but made a special effort to capture the essence of New Zealand through remarkable aerial footage and panoramic shots that captured what the golfers and the sellout galleries at both courses experienced.
"There are shots in these shows I've never ever seen before in golf," said Walton, who brings a quarter-century of television production experience to the Kiwi Challenge. "The biggest challenge we faced was covering two different golf courses so far apart and doing it in a way that captured not only the golfers, but the landscape of New Zealand. I think we captured the landscape tremendously."
The trick for Walton, his partner Michael Pithey, director Bryan Hennessy and their crew was producing a seamless telecast from two courses 356 miles apart on consecutive days - in a foreign country.
"When it came down to it, we had a big thing to do," Walton said. "It would be like televising an event in California where you play Riviera on one day, then play Pebble Beach the next day. Now, do that in a foreign country. We had everything we needed: power sources, camera cranes, lifts, but I made one site trip and Michael made two before the event. Our director went over for one trip. If we did an event like this in California or the East Coast, we probably would have visited it who knows how many times.
"There's no way we could have done this without all the help on the ground, from people like (tournament director) Alex Robertson, (tournament coordinator) Diana McCarty and Amy Tapper, who handled all the logistics of getting us from place to place. The support from the staffs at both properties was over the top and they had a lot more to do than just help us out."
Walton served as the coordinating producer for 43 episodes of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf in 17 countries, spent seven years as a feature producer for ABC Sports - where he worked on six U.S. Opens and six British Opens - and worked as a producer and director on the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Olympics for NBC.
Even with that background and the daunting task in front of him, Walton was comfortable with the challenge of televising the Kiwi Challenge because he was working with a core group of technicians who knew television production "inside and out" and because of the veteran cast he had calling the action: NBC's golf announcing mainstays Dan Hicks, Roger Maltbie and Mark Rolfing.
"As far as visiting a golfing venue and the sheer beauty of the golf course, this ranks right up there near the top of the list, if not the top of the list," said Hicks, who broadcast 29 golf events as well as Olympic coverage for NBC this year. "We've had the privilege to go to Pebble Beach, we've had the privilege to go to Bandon Dunes and overseas a bit, but the New Zealand golf experience we got at the Kiwi Challenge was as good a scenic venue as we've ever covered. It was absolutely spectacular."
Joining that veteran crew was New Zealander and Tiger Woods' caddie, Steve Williams, who was making his television debut in front of a camera with a microphone instead of a Tour bag. Williams joined Rolfing on the course, providing commentary on clubs and yardages - a subject he's familiar with - as well as the thought process that went into every shot.
"First of all, this was a huge challenge for Steve because he had never done anything like this before: making his commentating debut and doing it in a challenging format like we had for the Kiwi Challenge," Hicks said. "We were doing it live-to-tape, where all of the calls were recorded while the action was happening. There's a lot of starting and stopping and you have to have the ability to go with the flow, know what you said earlier and be able to say something that adds to the telecast.
"With all that, Steve did great. It helps that he's somewhat of a natural. He knows what kind of shots these guys are hitting and he was a yardage machine down there."
Aside from his on-course experience providing yardages and commentary, Williams, producer Laurie White, a cameraman and sound technician traveled by helicopter to three of the North Island's most picturesque and interesting locations. The crew shot such items as the 90 Mile Beach at the extreme tip of the North Island and a section of rain forest in the Northland area near Kauri Cliffs where a Tane Mahuta Kauri tree is believed to be the oldest and largest living tree in the world.
Another piece showed Williams releasing a live kiwi bird into a sanctuary on the Cape Kidnappers property.
"I really enjoyed the experience and learned a lot about the game by doing this. What stood out for me was the knowledge and statistics that everyone on the commentary team had about all four of the players," Williams said.
"Steve Williams was fantastic," Walton said.
The Kiwi Challenge will be broadcast to more than a billion households located in every geographic region of the world. After NBC's telecast to the United States, the Kiwi Challenge will air in India (Nov. 18-19/ESPN Star India), Latin America (Nov. 20-21/Golf Channel Latin America) and Hong Kong (Nov. 20-21/ESPN Star Hong Kong).
Other international sites carrying the Kiwi Challenge are the Philippines (Nov. 20-21/ESPN Star Philippines), China (Nov. 24-25/ESPN Star), the host nation of New Zealand (Nov. 26-27), Malaysia (Nov. 29-30/ESPN Star Malaysia), Singapore (Nov. 29-30/ ESPN Star Singapore), Taiwan (Dec. 3-4/ESPN Star Taiwan), Canada (Dec. 24-25/TSN) and the United Kingdom (Dec. 27-28/Setanta).
"The two courses will showcase the magnificent scenery New Zealand is famous for," Williams said, talking about a Kauri Cliffs course named the Best New International Course by Golf Digest in 2001 and a Cape Kidnappers course that was ranked No. 1 in the world by the Daily Telegraph newspaper in the UK and ranked 41st in the world by Golf Magazine. "The exposure from this event will keep golf in the news. This comes at the commencement of summer (in the Southern Hemisphere), which is great timing."
About the Courses
Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers are world-class, luxury golf resorts on New Zealand's North Island. Located in the Bay of Islands, Kauri Cliffs is ranked the 63rd best golf course in the world by Golf Magazine and was recently voted the No. 1 International Golf Resort in the World by Golf Digest Index. Some 350 miles to the Southeast lies Cape Kidnappers which was ranked the 41st best golf course in the world by Golf Magazine and the No. 1 course in the world by the Daily Telegraph. Opened in January 2008, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers features 26 luxury suites overlooking the golf course, farm, and Pacific Ocean.
On top of spectacular golf courses, each facility features extensive golf practice areas, gourmet dining, a spa, and numerous outdoor activities including hiking, swimming, and various adventure activities. Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers are both members of Relais and Chateaux. For more information, on the Kiwi Challenge please visit www.thekiwichallenge.com and for more information on the two golf courses please visit www.kauricliffs.com and www.capekidnappers.com.
CONTACT:
Brian Robin, Matt Paulson/Brener Zwikel & Associates
(818) 462-5610/5609
