The radio golf talk show emanates weekly from the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, but it’s possible a member of the U.S. military based overseas may be more familiar with it than a golf fan in northern Colorado.
“We’re probably better known outside of Colorado than in — other than Colorado Springs,” notes Jay Ritchie, a longtime host of “Tee to Green,” which airs year-round each Sunday from 8 to 9 a.m. (MT).
Though Tee to Green has Colorado roots, it is heard more nationally and internationally than in the Denver metro area. That’s because in addition to long being included on American Forces Network Radio, the show has gotten a big audience boost in recent months with Sirius and XM satellite radio adding Tee to Green to their lineups in June (Channel 122 on Sirius and Channel 143 on XM). Plus, a San Francisco station picked up the show just this month.
“If you’re on Sirius and XM, you’re everywhere,” Ritchie said. “Our goal in the beginning was to be a player in the national golf scene. We’re not quite there yet, but we’ve made good inroads in less than four years.”
Tee to Green also is featured on about a dozen station affiliates nationwide, most notably in Houston and San Francisco. But, at least on conventional radio, the show hosted by Ritchie and Jerry Butenhoff is nowhere to be found in the Denver area. Colorado Springs-based station KRDO (1240 AM and 105.5 FM) carries the program the much of the southern half of the state.
But for those so inclined, there are several avenues to access Tee to Green regardless. If they don’t have a local affiliate carrying the program, or access to satellite radio, the show can be accessed via streaming on teetogreenradio.com or on the national syndicator’s web site, sportsbyline.com.
Tee to Green has been around on and off since 1990, albeit not always at the Broadmoor, and Ritchie has been on board since 1991. After the Business News Network pulled the plug on the program in 2002, Ritchie co-hosted a local golf show on KVOR in Colorado Springs for the next three years before striking a deal with Sports Byline USA and returning Tee to Green to the national stage in January 2006. Since then, Sirius has dropped and re-added the program to its lineup.
“There are times I can’t believe we’re still on the air after all the hits the show has taken,” Ritchie said. “I think we’re on our third or fourth incarnation. But it’s a good show. There are other good golf shows out there on the radio, but in my opinion we’re as good as any of them.
“Golf is like a family thing. You go to the (PGA) Merchandise Show and you see the same people every year. You go to the majors and you see the same people. And we feel like part of that national golf family. On Wednesday, I can pick up the phone and say, ‘I need a guest’ and people will say, “˜Sure.'”
As with the most prominent Denver-based radio golf show — “In the Fairway” on 104.3 FM, which airs from April through the end of October — Tee to Green lines up some interesting guests. Among those the show has had on this year are Fred Funk (the week he won the U.S. Senior Open), NBC’s Jimmy Roberts, Turner Sports essayist Jim Huber, singer Amy Grant (who with Vince Gill hosts a charity golf tournament in Aspen), instructor Jim McLean and longtime LPGA standouts Juli Inkster and Meg Mallon.
There’s also more offbeat guests such as Greg Martin, who wrote the book “Caddie Confidential.” When the latest incarnation of Tee to Green debuted on Jan. 8, 2006, the first two interviewees were USGA executive director David Fay and Whistling Straits founder Herb Kohler.
“It’s basically a radio magazine show, with guests and features,” Ritchie said of the format, which does not include viewer call-ins. “Guests are the stars of the show, and it’s working because we’re still on. If you”˜re into golf, it”˜s worthwhile.”
Given the different ways Tee to Green can be accessed, Ritchie doesn’t have an accurate fix on the show’s weekly audience size. But he points out that Sirius and XM have a combined 18.9 million subscribers, and American Forces Network Radio includes 500 stations in 177 countries. So there’s a large pool of listeners from which to draw.
Ritchie, to point to one indicator, thinks it’s a good sign that teetogreenradio.com drew web hits from 40 different countries in a recent month.
“And when people in Boston or Orlando or San Diego say they listen to the show, that’s cool,” he said.
Though Ritchie enjoys his weekly golf show, it’s not his only radio gig. He also produces Air Force Academy football network broadcasts on the radio (1510 AM in Denver); does pregame, halftime and postgame shows for Falcon football; is the radio play-by-play voice of Air Force hockey; and also does some Air Force women’s basketball games.
Ritchie occasionally can’t make Tee to Green because of Air Force Academy commitments, so Butenhoff, his co-host since 2006, goes solo.
Tee to Green sometimes goes on the road — annually to the Merchandise Show, usually to the U.S. Open, occasionally to the U.S. Women’s Open, and to several spots around Colorado.
Speaking of the U.S. Women’s Open, the Broadmoor will be front and center in 2011 when it hosts the top event in women’s golf. The club also was the venue for the Women’s Open in 1995 and the U.S. Senior Open last year.
“When you tell people you’re broadcasting from the Broadmoor, in the world of golf that gives you some credibility,” Ritchie said. “You couldn’t ask for a better locale.”
And Tee to Green broadcasts whether it’s the middle of summer or the thick of winter in Colorado Springs.
“There’s no reason to go off the air in the wintertime,” Ritchie said. “We’ve got listeners in Florida and California and a lot of other places where they’re playing (golf in the winter). And if you’re a golfer and you can’t play, what’s the next best thing? To talk about and listen to talk about golf.”
