Like many great ideas Golf Hawaii had modest beginnings, but it didn't take long for the famed magazine show hosted by Mark Rolfing to become one of the most successful series in sports television.

Golf Hawaii is a 30-minute magazine format golf and travel show that showcases Hawaii best golf resorts. The 12-week series, includes interviews with prominent TOUR professional and personalities in the game. The show also tours the Hawaiian Islands' premier, all-inclusive destinations and golf courses. Now, you can relive some of the exciting moments in this comprehensive website. Read More »

Mark Rolfing

Rolfing, who first made his mark in television as an ESPN golf announcer and now works for NBC Sports, developed the idea for a golf and travel show after providing one-minute golf tips for local TV station KITV-4. He expanded on that nascent premise to develop and produce Golf Hawaii, which aired in the 50th state beginning in January 1995.

The Golf Hawaii television concept was further developed and in late 1995 - 1996 a 10-week series was launched to a national audience via ESPN who saw the attraction of a program that featured a compelling tropical locale, Hawaii, and it's nearly 100 golf courses. That first year on ESPN, Golf Hawaii, through premiere airings and repeats, reached nearly 650,000 households cumulatively per week and steadily grew in popularity from there. The series continued on ESPN through 1998, then moved to The Golf Channel in '99.

In addition to featuring Hawaii's great golf resorts and other natural wonders, Rolfing has used his celebrity and rapport with the game's many personalities to provide viewers with compelling interviews.

The list of players to sit down with Rolfing includes: David Duval, Sergio Garcia, Fred Couples, Lee Trevino, Tom Lehman, Hale Irwin, Ernie Els, John Daly, Ben Crenshaw, Greg Norman, Davis Love III, Gary McCord, Paul Stankowski, Justin Leonard, Peter Jacobsen, and Chi Chi Rodriguez. Other prominent guests to appear included PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem and former Vice President Dan Quayle. One of the highlights of the series on ESPN included a 1996 Christmas show that featured interviews with Tiger Woods at the start of his career and Michael Jordan at the peak of his. It also showcased a made for TV - Championship of Hawaii - that pitted Bill Murray against Joe Pesci in a three-hole playoff on Kapalua's Plantation Course.

"It's been exciting and very rewarding to be able to create a show that people enjoy," Rolfing says. " I am most proud of introducing the beauty and challenging golf courses of Hawaii to the world."