There will also be three live news-oriented shows

There will also be three live news-oriented shows, according to Michael Whelan, vice president of production. A preview show called Golf Today that will air before tournaments. "It's our version of theNFL Today," Whelan said. A post-game show that will bring you behind the scenes after the other networks have already cut away. And Golf Central, "our version of ESPN's Sportscenter," a nightly wrapup of golf news, notes and highlights.

Overkill? Perhaps. After all, what are we going to learn on Golf Today that we didn't know from Golf Central: What Mark McCumber had for breakfast? But Golf Channel executives are banking on golfers' insatiable appetite for golf and healthy disposable incomes.

"I've read that we have barebone production and nothing could be further from the truth," said Whelan, formerly with HBO Sports. "Every tournament we have 11 cameras and 6 tape matchines. We will have quality production and high standards. For $4.95-6.95 a month, people will expect as much."

Until I can actually get The Golf Channel, I'm not expecting anything at all.

LPGA tees off

The LPGA season got under way this week with the Chrysler Tournament of Champions in Orlando. There will be no LPGA stop in South Florida this year for the first time since 1965. That's because next week's HealthSouth Classic moved from Lake Worth to Orlando. Outgoing LPGA Commissioner Charles Mechem says one of the priorities of his last year is finding a sponsor for a new South Florida event.

Another Mechem priority: filling in the early season gaps that have created Winter Recess. After playing in Orlando the next two weeks, the LPGA has only one event the following six weeks, Feb. 16-18 in Hawaii. After that the tour resumes March 9-12 with the Ping/Welch's Championship in Tucson, Ariz.

On the course, Betsy King and Amy Alcott will continue their quest for elusive win No. 30 that would get them into the LPGA's Hall of Fame. There is talk of changing the eligibility requirements, but King and Alcott want to get in the old-fashioned way, by earning it. King has been stuck on 29 since November 1993, Alcott since March 1991.

Bump-and-run

Raymond Floyd is going to stick with the round bellies this year. He'll play the Senior Tour's Royal Caribbean Classic at Key Biscayne Feb. 3-5, close to his Indian Creek home. Last year, Floyd played the PGA Tour's AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach with his sons Robert and Raymond Jr. ... The 63rd Ione D. Jones/Doherty Cup will be held Tuesday-Saturday at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale. The prestigious women's amateur event will have a format change: only 32 will advance to match play, not 64. Leslie Shannon of Fort Lauderdale, a three-time winner, is defending champion. ... Weekly tickets for the Royal Caribbean Classic are available for $25. For information call 305-365-0365.

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