1991. Kiawah.

It all came down to Bernhard Langer facing one last putt on Sunday. The ultimate Ryder Cup.

Ross Greenburg weighs in with a documentary on the Golf Channel tonight at 9 p.m. Here’s the trailer:

Here’s the release:

The epic competition between the U.S.A. and Europe on Kiawah Island, S.C., in 1991 that forever changed golf’s Ryder Cup from a friendly exhibition to a high-stakes rivalry, is captured in War by the Shore, a 60-minute film by 51-time Emmy Award-winning producer and former president of HBO Sports Ross Greenburg, premiering Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.

War by the Shore goes inside the ropes on those three historic days in September, with in-depth and insightful interviews with many of the competing players and the captains who led their teams during one of the most memorable Ryder Cups ever played. Contested by the best golfers on either side of the Atlantic on Kiawah’s picturesque and brutal Ocean Course layout, the 1991 Ryder Cup was a spectacle for tournament patrons and television viewers, alike. All were witnesses to a tense, back and forth – not all together civil – affair, filled with miraculous shots and epic collapses.

You could make the argument that 1912 was the most significant year in golf history. That’s the year Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead were all born.

Now on the 100th anniversary of their birthdays, Golf Channel celebrates three men who changed the game with American Triumvirate (Monday at 9 p.m. ET).

Here is the trailer with the release below:

From the Golf Channel:

One-hundred years ago, three of the most impactful, game-changing and important names in golf were born three months apart: Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. Golf Channel will commemorate this centennial next Monday, Aug. 13, the exact 100^th birthday of Ben Hogan, at 9 p.m. ET with the worldwide premiere of American Triumvirate, a captivating, hour-long special offering an in-depth look at the careers and lives of each man and who they were beyond the record books.

Narrated by acclaimed actor Kurt Russell, known for his hard-edged, tough guy roles in such movies as “Backdraft” (1991) and “Tombstone” (1993), American Triumvirate, presented by Zurich with limited commercial interruption, will show how this triumvirate of men helped save the sport in America and shape a modern, new era of golf. The film is motivated by American Triumvirate: San Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and the Modern Age of Golf written by author and golf historian James Dodson.

Between these three men the numbers are staggering: 198 combined PGA TOUR wins, and 21 combined major titles. Snead captured more victories than any other man in Tour – perhaps world – history. Nelson won more events consecutively and in one season than anyone else ever has or ever will. And Hogan authored the greatest career comeback – and arguably the greatest swing – golf has ever known. As the documentary transports viewers back to the early days of professional golf, it also highlights the myriad accomplishments of Nelson, Snead and Hogan that shattered the record books – their 198 combined titles are 39 more than Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player won as The Big Three.

Their accomplishments in golf are well documented, but through archival footage and interviews with family members, historians and contemporaries, American Triumvirate also paints a different picture about these men. Stories told will shed light on what really defined them, which was so much more than what they accomplished on the golf course.

“Because they were from anonymous places, they had authenticity … these guys did it without any help, they did it by themselves. They were models of absolute self-determination.” – James Dodson, golf historian and author of “American Triumvirate: Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, and the Modern Age of Golf”

“You can always argue who was the greatest player, but Byron was the finest gentleman the game has ever known.” – Ken Venturi

The documentary begins with a look back at the 1912 birthplaces of each man, from the high plains and small towns of Texas (Nelson and Hogan) to the Blue Ridge hills of Virginia (Snead). Captured through past interviews with Nelson and Snead – and through the remembrances of Hogan’s widow, Valerie – viewers will discover how the hardscrabble circumstances of their youth and coming of age during the backdrop of the Great Depression formed for each man a blueprint for future greatness – but greatness achieved in uniquely different ways. The year, 1912, also saw the Titanic christened and sank, the first transcontinental flight, and famed Fenway Park and Tiger Stadium opened.

Their personal lives also are remembered through countless interviews that were recorded for the documentary. The final list includes: golf legends Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Ken Venturi; Nelson widow Peggy Nelson; noted swing coach Butch Harmon; Hogan widow Valerie Hogan; Snead nephew and former Tour player J.C. Snead; Snead’s son Jack Snead; Hogan protégé Kris Tschetter; Hogan friend Eldridge Miles; former USGA president Bill Campbell; former players Lanny Wadkins, Curtis Strange and David Feherty; Hogan biographer Curt Sampson, USGA historian Rand Jerris, golf historian Martin Davis and golf historian and author James Dodson. Historical interviews with Sam Snead and Byron Nelson also are included.

American Triumvirate will air on the heels of the 2012 PGA Championship. Golf Channel will host a special, pre-screening for family and friends of Hogan, Snead and Nelson, and for golf industry professionals tomorrow evening on Kiawah Island, S.C., site of this year’s final major championship tournament. American Triumvirate was produced by Golf Channel in conjunction with Mickey Holden Productions.

Quotes from the documentary:

“Sam Snead’s tempo was fantastic. I thought it was the best tempo I’ve ever seen.” – Jack Nicklaus

“You can always argue who was the greatest player, but Byron was the finest gentleman the game has ever known.” – Ken Venturi

“Anybody that says 11 straight is no big deal, for any reason, whether it was war time or there was nobody playing or whatever … look at the scores that he shot, the courses that he played. Eleven straight is astonishing.” – David Feherty on Byron Nelson’s record of 11 consecutive victories on Tour in the late ‘40s.

“If Tiger didn’t do it in 2000, I don’t see how anybody’s going to do it. Eighteen wins in one year will never be broken. Eleven straight … you can’t say anything is impossible, but that’s as close to impossible as I think it will ever be.” – Butch Harmon on Byron Nelson’s two victory records.

“I remember screaming … I said ‘Ben, it’s going to hit us,” and I didn’t even realize at the moment that he had jumped in front of me.” – Valerie Hogan recounting the collision with a bus in 1949 that seriously injured Ben Hogan and was thought to have permanently ended his golf career.

“Ben Hogan was a very, very good player before the accident. I think he was better after the accident. I think that speaks to how strong his mind, not only his will to survive, will to succeed, and his will to prove everybody wrong that said he couldn’t do something.” – Butch Harmon commenting on Hogan’s inspirational playoff win at the 1950 U.S. Open following his 1949 car accident.

“The golf tournament with his name on it meant so much to him – not because it had his name on it, but because it helped people.” – Peggy Nelson commenting on the Byron Nelson Championship as the working model for charity fundraising on the PGA TOUR.

“He did a lot of things for people in our county that nobody knows about, even the people he did it for didn’t know it was him doing it. He bought people homes, cars … there was people that got groceries from him for months and months and months that didn’t know where it was coming from.” – Jack Snead on his father’s charitable giving.

“They were out there to make a living, and it was difficult to make a living. Hogan went broke twice, before he ever won a tournament.” – Rand Jerris, United States Golf Association museum director.

“They were all born in 1912, yet they all dominated at different times.” – Martin Davis, golf historian.

Update: Just saw Tiger Woods responded to Chamblee’s comments. Check below.

It’s not easy to steal a conference call with Johnny Miller and Nick Faldo also on the line, but Brandel Chamblee did it.

Chamblee may not be as unpredictable as Miller, but he is every bit as blunt. The fearless Golf Channel analyst didn’t hold back in his assessment of Tiger Woods in advance of the Players Championship, which begins Thursday.

Chamblee called Woods’ situation “sad.” The former No. 1 comes into the Players after a poor showing in the Masters and a missed cut last week in Charlotte.

Now sad is a relative term since Woods did win at Bay Hill in March. However, he still doesn’t look close to resembling his old self.

Chamblee thinks there’s only one solution to the problem: Fire swing coach Sean Foley, and re-hire Butch Harmon.

Chamblee said.

Simply, he needs to fire Sean, call Butch.  I think that would get it done right there.  Fire Sean, call Butch.  And I know he’ll never do that, because he’s letting his ego get in the way of common sense.  He wants to prove to people he’s right.  He would rather prove to people he’s right than be right.

He’s going to ride this thing as long as he can, and it’s just sad to see.  I think Butch ‑‑ golf is all about rhythm.  Any athletic endeavor is about rhythm, and he’s out of rhythm.  I think Butch would make him stand up tall.  He is a tall guy.  He would start to swing like a tall guy.

Earlier, on the subject of being tall, Chamblee said:

Tiger Woods is 6’2″, 6’3″, and by the time he gets over the ball, he’s probably 5’9″, 5’10”, he’s bent over so much.  With his driver, he’s standing about a foot further away from it; when he was playing his best golf, he’s standing about a foot further away from it now, than when he hits his iron shots now.

He’s got just very complicated swing thoughts going on, and he’s been at it for the better part of two years trying to incorporate these, supposedly one of the best athletes, trying to incorporate these swing thoughts over two years.  It’s just sad.

Woods was asked about Chamblee’s comments Tuesday. Hard to think of anything Woods hates more than somebody questioning his swing. Looks like no Christmas card for Brandel from Tiger.

Outwardly, Woods said:

I can understand that everyone has an opinion, and he’s entitled to his. But he’s no longer playing anymore, so, so be it.

Here’s what Woods really wanted to say:

F-you, Brandel.

Naturally, Faldo and Miller also weighed in on Woods. Here is Sir Nick’s assessment:

He won at Bay Hill, and including myself, thought, basically, wow, he’s back.  And all of a sudden, the Masters, he hit nerves a lot.  His nerves just went off the red line and he basically succumbed to the pressure of the Masters and I think that really affected him.  I think that was a shock to him that he went from the top of his game to just like, what the heck is going on, and it really made him very human.  And that was very difficult for him psychologically I think.  The Masters really hurt him, especially after you saw what he did at Bay Hill.

Sir Johnny had this to say:

He’s trying to go with the perfect shot he’s working on, and instead of going with, you know, like Trevino said, if you’re choking, just hit it low and you don’t have time to get off line.

He needs to learn to have these couple, three or four shots that just are infallible so to speak; they are sort of ugly, but that’s what I would work with him a lot on, especially with the driver.