Teams will Compete in Extraordinary Layouts Exceeding 700 Yards, Requiring Daring Golf Shots While Racing Against the Clock
Series Inaugural Season – Altered Course Montego Bay presented by Hyatt Zilara and Hyatt Ziva – Filmed on Two Premier Courses in Montego Bay, Jamaica
Video: Altered Course Series Trailer
Website: Altered Course Montego Bay Website
ORLANDO, Fla., June 4, 2015 – The traditional golf course layout will not apply to the eight teams competing in Altered Course Montego Bay, Golf Channel’s new reality competition series premiering Monday, June 15 at 9 p.m. ET. The series will require teams to navigate re-imagined golf holes in excess of 700 yards all the while traversing natural obstacles they encounter along the way.
Taking place in Montego Bay, Jamaica and presented by the all-new Hyatt Zilara and Hyatt Ziva Resort, this tournament-style competition series will feature eight two-person teams racing against the clock as they take on the twists and turns of these extreme golf holes. One Altered Course hole can incorporate upwards of three traditional golf holes, with the teams competing in a variety of formats, including alternate-shot and scramble. Teams will be scored on a combination of strokes and the time it takes them to complete the hole. Weekly eliminations will leave one team ultimately left standing as champion, pocketing a grand prize of more than $100,000 in cash and prizes.
Altered Course Montego Bay features a talented and diverse cast including professional and former collegiate golfers, siblings, best friends, sergeants in the United States Army and speed golf competitors.
Kaleb Nichols (26, Fort Carson, Colo. / Memphis, Tenn.) and Derek Williams (29, Fort Carson, Colo. / Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Sergeants in the United States Army and stationed in Fort Carson, Colo., both have served multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Golf is their escape and their sanctuary.
Kyla Inaba (28, Kelowna, British Columbia) and Eileen Kelly (27, Victoria, British Columbia) – Teammates at the University of British Columbia (UBC), both are an inspiration to each other and grew to become best friends during college and following graduation. The two are known for their extreme fitness regimens and often joke that they are training to be ninjas.
Amelia Ek (24, Cypress, Calif.) and Jada Patipaksiri (24, Cypress, Calif.) – Professional golfers on the Symetra Tour and mini-tour circuits, Ek and Patipaksiri have known each other since childhood and admit due to their competitiveness, they always have not been the best of friends. Ek hung up her golf clubs for a corporate job in 2015 and is playing for Patipaksiri, who is attempting to achieve her dream of playing on the LPGA Tour.
Shepherd Archie (25, Augusta, Ga.) and Wesley Yates (25, Atlanta, Ga.) - Best friends and college teammates while at Florida A&M University, Archie and Yates have ultimate goals of walking the fairways on the PGA TOUR. Young and strong, they learned the game through The First Tee (Yates – First Tee of Atlanta; Archie – First Tee of Augusta).
Alexander Gylfason (24, Reykjavik, Iceland) and Petur Petursson (24, Reykjavik, Iceland) – Having first met on the golf course while in college, the two have developed a close friendship over the years. Following graduation, Petursson has focused his energy on competing on the mini tours, and is currently playing in the Nordic Golf League in Sweden – a feeder tour to the European Tour. Gylfason is a professional golfer and founder of Speed Golf Iceland. In 2014, he became the first Icelandic golfer to compete in the Speed Golf World Championships.
Ariana Savich (23, Orlando, Fla. / Carmel, Ind.) and Milena Savich (25, Wesley Chapel, Fla., / Carmel, Ind.) – One of the more athletic teams on Altered Course, sisters Ariana and Milena Savich have experience in team competition - Both represented their father’s native country of Serbia in the European and World Amateur Team Championships, and Milena has a goal of representing Serbia in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Chris Garcia (33, Austin, Texas) and Neal Williams (35, Arlington, Texas) – Best friends who met on the golf course, Garcia and Williams come from two different backgrounds and have overcome incredible odds off the golf course.
Anthony and Nick Capra (23, Advance, N.C.) – Twin brothers and recent graduates from the Professional Golf Management program at North Carolina State University, Anthony and Nick Capra are exactly alike and completely different at the same time. Both took up golf at the same time as kids, and know each other’s games inside and out.
KRISTEN KENNEY TO HOST: NBC Sports pit reporter for the Red Bull Global RallyCross series, Kristen Kenney will host the inaugural season of Altered Course.
GRAND PRIZE: The teams are playing for more than $100,000 in cash and prizes. The winning team of Altered Course Montego Bay will receive the following:
- $15,000 in cash from Skechers GO GOLF and Skechers footwear for life.
- $10,000 in cash from MusclePharm and a trip to MusclePharm’s Sports Science Center.
- A five-day, four-night stay at any Hyatt Zilara or Hyatt Ziva all-inclusive resort.
- Free golf for life from GolfNow
- $25,000 in cash
SERIES INAUGURAL SEASON AND HOST COURSES: Altered Course’s inaugural season takes place in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Filming commenced in February at the all-new Hyatt Zilara and Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall Resort, with the competition staged at two of Montego Bay’s premier courses, White Witch and Cinnamon Hill. Altered Course Montego Bay presented by Hyatt Zilara and Hyatt Ziva will air for eight consecutive Mondays, concluding Monday, August 3.
ABOUT GOLF CHANNEL
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Serving the most-affluent audience in all of television, Golf Channel – co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of NBC Sports Group – is available in more than 200 million homes in 81 countries and 11 languages around the world. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, as well as a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s highest-quality news, instruction and original content. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, headed by GolfChannel.com, are the leading golf destinations on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through Golf Live Extra and select programming is simulcast via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio. In addition, Golf Channel connects the world to golf through a wide array of digital and lifestyle services including Golf Channel Mobile, a comprehensive app covering golf’s latest headlines, scores and analysis; GolfNow, the world’s largest online tee time booking platform and golf course technology partner, which includes the GolfNow Mobile App, featuring on-course GPS tracking, in-round scoring and game tracking; GolfAdvisor.com, a golf course ratings and review portal for golfers, by golfers; a North American network of Golf Channel Academy instructional facilities; and Golf Channel Am Tour, the world’s largest amateur golf tour.
-NBC Sports Group-