The Back Nine - The Back Nine Moves to 101.1 ESPN, St. Louis' FM Sports Station

The Back Nine Moves to 101.1 ESPN, St. Louis' Sports Station

Updated: Fri 5/8/2009 9:03 am

Chesterfield, MO - May 8, 2009 - The Back Nine Radio Show will soon be heard by more golf fans. The St. Louis area's leading golf radio show is moving from TEAM 1380 to the new 101.1 ESPN effective May 16th.

In it's 5th year of broadcasting, The Back Nine features the area's most expansive coverage of the game of golf. Show host, Dustin Ashby commented on the move to 101.1 ESPN, "We've been fortunate to have had great partners since The Back Nine was introduced on 550 AM KTRS six years ago and most recently our time working with TEAM 1380. Our move to 101.1 ESPN speaks to our desire to serve a growing audience. We're excited to be partnering with St. Louis' Sports Station and the team in place at 101.1 FM."

The Back Nine radio show was introduced through a partnership between Dustin Ashby and Dan O'Neill of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Ashby was the General Manager of WingHaven Country Club, Men's Golf Coach at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and one of the area's top amateurs at the time O'Neill invited him to co-host a weekly golf radio show. "I don't think either of us knew exactly where this would lead at the time, but the early response was positive and the show gained momentum each year", said Ashby.

Key to The Back Nine's success has been a concerted effort to integrate with the leading golf associations in the region. The show's website resides within the Golfers Network, a vertical network consisting of over a dozen golf websites. Included in the Golfers Network is also the Gateway PGA, Missouri Golf Association, Kansas Golf Association, Southern Illinois Golf Association, Kansas City Golf Association, in addition to websites designed specifically for PGA Teaching Professionals and golf retailers. Back Nine co-host Adam Frillman commented, "From the very beginning it was important to Dustin that the show tell the story of area golf, specifically putting the players in front of the product." Prior to joining The Back Nine, Frillman spent four years as the Marketing Director at WingHaven Country Club where he worked with Ashby. "I see a lot of the same principles he believed in at WingHaven evident in the community we've built here at The Back Nine. To Dustin it's about providing dignity and status to visitors of the website or listeners of the radio show."

The Bogeyman, Dan O'Neill has maintained a prominent role with The Back Nine through it's expansion from a simple one hour radio show to the two hour show on the FM dial and substantial digital presence. O'Neill participates in the show's weekly "On the clock" segment, which is the show's most often downloaded segment from The Back Nine podcast.

New this year, The Back Nine has added their own PGA Professional to the show in the form of Troy Halterman. A graduate of Kansas State University and member of the Wildcats golf team, Halterman has experience playing the various mini-tours as well as several years as a Class A PGA Professional in Kansas City. "Troy has already added a lot to the show in the form of golf instruction and his broad knowledge of everything surrounding the game of golf," said Ashby. Halterman continues to compete as a PGA Member within the Gateway Section while also assisting Ashby with the University of Missouri-St. Louis golf team.

The Back Nine debuts on the new 101.1 ESPN, May 16th and will be heard each Saturday morning, 8am - 10am. For more information on The Back Nine or Golfers Network visit www.golfersnetworkusa.com or call 636-733-0592.