Back9Network Looks to Put the 'Fun' in Golf Coverage With a "New Attitude"

Back9Network, a multi-platform media company that launched in April 2012, is looking to continue grow as a company as the year starts off, taking a different approach in their golf coverage as compared to other sports networks.

While ESPN and the Golf Channel tend to focus on the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) of America's tour, concentrating on tournament results and action, Back9Network fills a different need for fans of the sport.

"The Golf Channel tends to focus on the sport, the personalities playing at the PGA level, and techniques in the sport on how to improve your game," says James L. Bosworth Jr., Co-Founder and CEO of Back9Network to Latino Post. "We are bringing much more than that, focusing on the lifestyle and the passion of golf enthusiasts. What we are about is showing how you can enjoy the sport and the lifestyle."

Bosworth partnered up with Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, a longtime golfing fan who owns the Tehama Golf Club in Carmel, Calif. and is an investor in famed Pebble Beach Golf Links. Eastwood, who is a Back9Network founding shareholder, was named creative board chairman.

The actor first met Bosworth when he was an assistant pro at Pebble Beach in the mid-1990s and kept in touch throughout the years. Eastwood, who supported the idea of Back9Network from its inception, helps with the programming and casting choices for the network, which currently carries over 14 original programs that caters to all levels of fans, from novices who just got into the game to weekend warriors who make golfing a big part of their life.

"It was natural to seek his advice," said Bosworth to Variety magazine when the announcement was made. "There's no better guy to go to for a golf media company."

Bosworth has a good understanding of culture surrounding the sport of golf, having been awarded Seton Hall University's first-ever full golf scholarship and later becoming the the youngest assistant professional at Pebble Beach Golf Links as well as founding staff member of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy.

Bosworth went on to work for Odyssey Golf, becoming National Sales Manager in just two years prior to the company being bought out by Callaway Golf for $130 million in cash in 1997. He moved on to Cleveland Golf, where he helped manage the company's expansion into the wood and putter markets, before he founded the Bosworth Sports Group - a sports marketing and corporate consulting firm before starting up Back9Network endeavor.

Having seen different facets of the golf industry, Bosworth also understood that the sport's image, as an upper-class, stodgy sport that was not welcoming to minorities and women, needed to change if they want to continue growing their fan base.

"We want to be a part of that change," says Bosworth.

Between all the changes in the market and the sport, Bosworth believes Back9Network can fill the void for an underserved market of golf fans that are more interesting in the fun aspect of sport.

"You tend to get invited into the culture of golf," says Bosworth to the Latino Post. "We're trying to grow fan engagement in the sport. We want people to take a look at golf and say, 'Hey this looks like fun.'"

The network is looking to launch its 24/7 cable network, building a following around their online original programming that features celebrity profiles, reality shows, and comedic series revolving around golf and that are accessible to both fans of the sport and non-golf fans alike.

Back9Network has signed professional golfer Cheyenne Woods - Tiger Woods' niece - and three-time Major Champion Padraig Harrington as correspondents for the network while hiring Ahmad Rashad away from the Golf Channel's Morning Drive show, in August. Rashad will produce lifestyle event coverage around the golf majors and other venues around the world for Back9Network. .

Back9Network also has a licensing agreement for live, online simulcast of the SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio station Fairways of Life with Matt Adams and a syndication agreement with USA Today Sports, which allows for both to share online content and coverage.

"We have a fresh new attitude. We're about fun and we're about inclusion" says Bosworth. "We bring much more and our original programming reflects that, appealing to all people."