Altered Course

In this new competition show from The Golf Channel, eight teams--with names like the Frenemies, the Serbian Sisters, and the Texas Hustlers--battle for $100,000 in cash and prizes, winner take all. In each weekly episode, there is a double-elimination competition to determine which team is eliminated.

The duos, which do include both men and women, play different stages in each episode. The format can be alternate shot, scramble or some other original format. Stages usually consist of "hybrid" holes that combine parts of two different golf course holes, often taking the golfers over obstacles or up and down hills. For example, they might tee off on hole #2 and finish on the #16 green.

What really makes the competition tough is that the teams' efforts are timed. This is uniquely different from standard golf, because the players are sprinting, then trying to catch their breath before taking the next shot. If you have seen biathlon, you know how difficult it can be to regain control after maximum exertion. These athletes are really athletes. And they are playing in Montego Bay, Jamaica, so you can expect weather to play a role.

The producers do an excellent job filming the competition. Because they use multiple hand-held cameras, audio/video teams that run to capture the action, and even drones, the viewer sees every shot and every transition between shots. The host, Kristen Kenney, is an athlete herself and she traverses the course during play to give the teams time updates and to conduct interviews. They have really done this right. It could have been a disjointed, uninteresting mess.

The matches are tough. Try to guess the winner before each one and you will be surprised more than you think.