Shell's Wonderful World of Golf is back on!

At least there are something to watch on TV while nearly all events are being cancelled or postponed. TGC is showing 4 episodes of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf this morning and tomorrow morning. Right now they are showing Sarazen and Cotton match at St Andrews from 1962. It is neat seeing the conditions and the clubs they are using.

i think Cotton looked too cold. he could have done with an underarmour cold gear vest..instead of wearing a cotton sweater

Showing now; Gary Player and Peter Thomson 1962 match at Royal Melbourne GC.

Alway liked that program. Good to know there will be something to watch. :-)

The Sarazen/Cotton match looked like the kind of golf that I and the other old guys around here play every afternoon.

Love this! Byron Nelson vs Gene Littler at Pine Valley!?! Love this stuff.

"You know, it can take a veteran like Nelson a couple of holes just to warm up."

Thanks, OP, I love watching these.

Would love if they would bring this back. Could you imagine a Koepka-Rory battle at Pine Valley or Cypress Point??

Problem is, they probably couldn't pay them enough to get them interested.

So true, and so sad.

Good point ... Tiger/Phil match was as close as they’ve come to something like this and the $10M prize proves your point of not being able to pay enough to hold these types of events with any regularity ...

Would love to see this series come alive again

Not to be a Debbie Downers here, but.... Vaguely recall they brought this back in early '00's, or tried to. Match between Freddie Couples and Calcavecchia at Santa Lucia Preserve, if I'm saying that correctly, in Carmel. My brother was in attendance and provided some details - on second hole camera crane toppled, camera guy, mid-30's, died in the accident. Match cancelled, the production company who was involved had some issues about safety factors. I have no idea if this was a reason they may have curtailed any further matches, or is any more were played after that. For some reason that event always stood out in my mind when seeing repeats of older shows like they are showing now.

I recall some older clips of this show in early 60's Pro's would play with Celebrity's - Robert Wager, Bob Hope, guys like that. One of the best tips in my note library is from Sam Snead showing Fred MacMurray a full shoulder turn. (yes, I'm old!) Sad to see that clip is now hidden behind Golf Pass pay wall.

The other show you mentioned, was 'Celebrity Golf'. Sam Snead would take on various Hollywood celebs on courses in the LA area such as Bel Air CC, Lakeside, Woodland Hills CC...etc..etc. No affiliation with 'Shells Wonderful World of Golf'.

SWWOG was brought back in 1994 after a 24 year absence. It ended again in 2003. IIRC its ending had to do with Shell no longer sponsoring the event. Here is an article on the canceled Couples/Calc match from 2002. Sad story. Cameraman Dies During Golf Match

Golfers without traveling coaches, managers, trainers, sports psychologists, dietitians, chefs. How did they ever manage to play?

In defense of sarazen he was in his 60s in that match...

Hogan Snead match is must see. Hogan didnt miss a green

I couldn’t help but notice they all looked extremely awkward putting.

You can watch a lot of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf matches here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiptkVvNm8VA-YjjtV_LUFw/videos.

Chi chi was a pint sized bomber back in the day

Good job by the Golf Channel but doesn't this prove that you can show golf during the down periods in lieu of the loop of Tin Cup and The Greatest Game Ever Played?

It would be nice for GC to pull all the old instruction footage out of archives and show it as well. They used to show lots of instructional stuff that was always interesting.

That's kind of what I meant. Me and my crew are all in our 70s. I recognized the kind of golf Cotton and Sarazen were playing. The driving distances were similar, and if you took allowance for the fact that their 4-iron was today's 6-iron, their club choices looked familiar. Nice to see the Old Course looking kind of shaggy, too.

Thank you for clarification Bob. Now I recall it was always Snead playing against someone else!!. Thanks again for the note about this.

Meh. Most if not all the matches are on YouTube. Been watching them for some time very good but GC reaching for straws as are all the sports channels unfortunately (ESPN FS1 etc).

That is by far the best of them all. I also enjoy the Faldo Norman match. Although it does not come close.

I watch the old shows for the golf (easier to relate to their swings). I also watch for the clothes!

They all dressed with great style. Today, it's almost seen as a crime to not be underdressed.

It used to be work clothes, casual clothes, and home-only clothes. We're now trending toward a single style (ultra casual) for all occasions.

I’d have to say no..

golf was much, much sexier back then. Different swings, all shapes and sizes, overcoming incredibly iffy fairways and greens..no bomb and gouge, just shot making..

a close second to Hogan and Snead was Porky Oliver against someone or other at a dust bowl somewhere like Vegas or Texas. Swung completely ‘wrong’, looked like a fat ditch digger, course was a tip, easy 65 or something if memory serves..

I watched Arnie vs Julius Boros.

Some holes, their drivers went 250 or so.

173 yard par 3 with a cross wind, Boros hit a 3 iron, probably 24 degrees. Arnie hit a 4 iron, probably 28.

Greens were not the crazy stuff of today. Heck, I bet the stimp reading would have been about 5! This is the good old fashioned golf where ball striking was IMO more important than putting. I liked seeing it.