Steve Sesnick claimed that in 1983 he had conceived a concept that would become one of the biggest made-for TV franchises in sports. Four of golf’s top names competed in a “go-for broke” format over two consecutive days on Thanksgiving weekend, when golf was traditionally dark, college football limited, and the NFL only had two games to contend against.
It was a huge success from its 1983 debut. The show’s TV ratings were higher than all majors, except for the Masters. This was a great achievement for TV producer Don Ohlmeyer, and IMG executive Barry Frank. They have been credited with its success, not Sesnick.
You’re unlikely, if you Google Steve Sesnick (who died in 2022), to find any connections to golf, or even the sports world. Sesnick’s biggest claim to fame in the late 1960s was his management of The Velvet Underground. The band is now considered one of the most influential rock bands.
Schupak The story of the Skins Game’s forgotten man
Sesnick’s parents moved to Palm Coast in Florida in 1979. It has since become a bedroom community between St. Augustine to the north and Daytona Beach to the south. It was in its infancy at the time. The 1980 U.S. Bureau of the Census recorded a population of only 2,837, despite the Arnold Palmer Golf Course and Sheraton Hotel.
Sesnick recalls that there used to be nothing but swimming pools and miles and miles of road. He knew exactly what Palm Coast would need to become a major tourist destination. He would create a golf-themed event that could generate the publicity and goodwill needed to boost home sales.
He said, “I loved them.” “I did it because of them.”
Arnold Palmer was the key to Sesnick’s plan. Jack Nicklaus told Palmer that, if Palm Coast’s course was slow, he would convince Desert Highlands, an Arizona real-estate project with a Nicklaus course to replace it.
Ohlmeyer was credited as the visionary behind the Skins Game. The Skins Game featured Gary Player, Tom Watson and other stars. Ohlmeyer was also the original producer of “Monday Night Football”, which aired on ABC.
In an article in The Los Angeles Times from 1986, Ohlmeyer described how The Skins Game made Desert Highlands a household brand among golfers. It also sparked the construction boom of golf courses in Scottsdale which turned the city into a golf mecca.
Ohlmeyer stated that “the first year we lived there, only a handful of houses had been sold.” By the time we returned for the second season, the development was almost sold-out.
In an interview for a book in 2010, Ohlmeyer was asked about how he came up with the idea of the Skins Game. He replied, “I saw a leaderboard and didn’t recognize anyone.” I asked, “What if there was a leaderboard that included Palmer, Nicklaus and Player?” The idea was to get people to call their neighbors and tell them they have to watch what’s happening right now.
According to Nielsen ratings, in 1985 and 1986, the Sunday telecasts of the Skins Game had more than eight million viewers, and a higher rating than any other golf event, including the one in Augusta Georgia.
The vaudevillian antics of its participants made it difficult to remember the huge stakes that were at play. Nicklaus won $240,000 in 1984, and Player $170,000 the year before. This was more than twice the amount that the Masters winner received ($108,000).
NBC broadcast the event, with Vin Scully as play-by-play. This year marks 40 years since the first event.
