Mid-Am Crisis: A Golf Discussion

My Grandfather, Ed Bates, is my golf hero. He taught me the game and has shaped so much about how I strive to live my life. His easy-going disposition and constant optimism have always been something I aspire to. Gramps, as I call him, was the club professional at the 9 hole course I grew up at. He worked behind the counter there for 35 years and touched a lot of lives along the way. For him, golf has always been a foundation for building friendships and a vessel on the journey towards self-improvement. I don't think I've ever known anyone who loves the game as much as he does...and that's saying something.   We recorded this episode on the eve of Gramps' 87th birthday. Amazingly, even at his impressive age, he still plays golf four days per week. On most of those occasions, he still beats his age. There aren't many folks who spend every day at the place they worked for three decades but for Gramps the golf course is just home. He once told me that the secret to life was "a hard day's work, a loving wife, and a happy child." Golf was how he made that his reality. During our discussion, we talked about how that all came to be. In addition to Gramps' life story and golf legend, we also talked about some of the ways he's taught the game to people. In those moments, he shares what I believe are some of the best lessons any golfer can learn. He's a wise old sage and someday when we run out of chats like this I know I'll be coming back to listen again and learn from him once more.   Gramps, if you read this or ever have a listen, know that I love you dearly and can never thank you enough for giving me the gift of golf. The best I can do is share the game with others and try to spread what you taught me.   For those who want to read more about Gramps, check out the story I wrote about him for Golf.com at the link here > https://golf.com/news/features/good-golf-monotonous-story-about-gramps-ed-bates/  Gramps has been a leading character in many of my stories over the years and if you'd like to find more of them please visit my site at https://jayrevell.com/  Follow me on Twitter @jayrevell If you enjoy Mid-Am Crisis, I hope you'll leave a review on your favorite listening platform.   Cheers and Thanks for listening.   -J  Mid-Am Crisis is a production of Revell Media, LLC

Samantha Marks likes to share her golf takes on Twitter. That's how she has developed a large following and it has even helped her build a successful business. Marks has a knack for modern media - undoubtedly shaped by her stint in broadcast journalism. She formerly worked for the Golf Channel until the company went through a severe reorganizing. Now, she's running her own marketing firm with many growing clients in the golf industry. Marks loves to talk golf online and she isn't afraid to mix in humorous accounts from her personal life. That approach continues to pay off with opportunities like contributing words for The Golfer's Journal and doing brand collaborations with companies like Amstel Light. In our discussion, Marks shared her journey to playing collegiate golf at Arkansas, her pivot to working in media, and how losing her job at Golf Channel led to her becoming a business owner. She's a tenacious spirit and a witty commentator on the day to day happenings in golf. After following her for some time, I'm convinced that she will continue to capture the attention of golfers around the globe. We had a great chat and I'm hopeful it will lead to many more.  

Follow Samantha Marks on Twitter at @SamanthaSMarks 

To learn more about her company, SKRAM Marketing please visit https://www.skrammarketing.com/ 

Follow me on Twitter at @JayRevell 

For more or my writings and other musings on the game, be sure to visit https://jayrevell.com/ 

Mid-Am Crisis is a production of Revell Media, LLC 

D.J. Piehowski is part of the No Laying Up collective. Along with his friends and partners Chris Solomon(Soly), Todd Schuster(Tron Carter), Neil Schuster, and Phil Landes(Big Randy), they have created one of the most entertaining and informative golf media companies in the game today. Although D.J. was the last to officially join the team, he acts as a sort of creative glue that helps to elevate their content through his superb storytelling abilities. D.J. cut his teeth in golf media working first at Golfweek and later at the PGA Tour. Through his writing and other skillsets he also helped The Golfer's Journal become an incredibly popular brand in the golf world. Through the latter engagements, he made quick friends with the original No Laying Up guys and before long found himself as an integral part of their team. D.J. brings a unique perspective to their content and his affinity for finding the right strings to pull during interviews adds an interesting depth to their productions. His love of filmmaking and study of cinema shows through in nearly every video they share across their Youtube channel. I first connected with D.J. a few years ago when he was kind enough to read some of my earliest writings(they weren't very good!) on the game and the tips he was nice enough to give me then still help shape my work today. We recently spent some time together when he, Neil, and Big Randy visited my hometown of Tallahassee, Florida to shoot a season of their budget-friendly golf show called Strapped. As much as I enjoyed watching them create their show in person, it was even more fun to talk with him about the work they do at No Laying Up during this discussion. D.J. is one of the great voices in the game of golf today and he brings tremendous authenticity to every story he tells. If you enjoy their work or just love hearing from someone who's chasing a dream with friends I think you'll really like listening to our chat. Lord knows it had me ready to go tell some stories of my own.  

You can dive into the No Laying Up universe of golf content at https://nolayingup.com/ 

For more of my golf writing and other related content, please be sure to check out my site at https://jayrevell.com/ 

If you enjoy listening to Mid-Am Crisis I hope you'll leave a review for the show and help spread the word by sharing with friends.  

Cheers, -J

Mid-Am Crisis is a production of Revell Media, LLC

Will Smith seems to will things into existence. No project makes that more evident than the creation of the National Links Trust. Along with his long time friend Michael McCartin, Smith breathed life into the National Links Trust as a means for setting a new course for public golf in Washington, D.C. The recently formed non-profit was established to preserve, improve, and promote the three courses owned by the National Park Service in our nation's capital. East Potomac Park, Langston, and Rock Creek are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the National Links Trust is on a mission to elevate their playing experiences while keeping them as beacons for affordable public golf. With a long term lease of those courses now in hand, Smith and his colleagues have set forth to restore and renovate the facilities. Although that road may be long, Smith and the NLT team have proven their ability to attract other visionaries to the project. To date, three of the best architects in golf are slated to lead the work - Tom Doak, Gil Hanse, and Beau Welling have all agreed to come on board. Thanks to Smith and others, the excitement for what these courses can become has reached a fever pitch among beltway golfers and architecture enthusiasts around the U.S. When not working through the challenges of National Links Trust, Smith is deeply involved in the golf society he co-founded. The Outpost Club began as an extension of opportunities Smith found from working in golf design and today it has become one of the premier golf societies in America. It is another example of Smith's ability to execute a vision. During our recent discussion, Smith and I discussed his work with National Links Trust, his background in golf and love for course design, as well as why the Outpost Club has become such a successful golf society. Smith is a genuine and passionate person whose professional ambitions are born from a desire to create unique and memorable experiences through golf. Our conversation was easy to get lost in.  

For more information on the National Links Trust please visit https://www.nationallinkstrust.com/ 

To learn more about The Outpost Club please visit http://outpostclub.com/ Thanks as always for listening to Mid-Am Crisis. 

Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review.  For more on my golf writings and other musings visit https://jayrevell.com/

Matt Ginella is one of golf's great ambassadors. He has over two decades of experience in the sports media business and is best known for his time at The Golf Channel. As one of the most familiar faces on that network, he served as the host of Golf Advisor Round Trip and was their voice for all things golf travel. Since leaving Golf Channel, Ginella has founded Dawn Patrol Productions. The new company produces a popular podcast called The Fire Pit with Matt Ginella and recently inked a deal with Golf Digest and Discovery, Inc. to create a variety of content for their platforms. I've enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Ginella over the last few years and I'm happy to report that his passion for the game of golf comes through in everything he does. He's a family man, community builder, and advocate for the kind of golf experiences that get people hooked on the sport. Each time I talk to Matt Ginella I come away more impressed with him as a person. This week's episode is further proof of that. We spoke as he is preparing to move his family and production team across the country to their new home in San Diego. Despite his leaving Florida, I'm confident our paths will continue to cross. 

To learn more about Matt Ginella's new company, Dawn Patrol Productions, please check out their Youtube Channel at the link belowhttps://youtu.be/VewRr2XgDJg

If you are enjoying the Mid-Am Crisis podcast, you might like to discover more of my work in the golf space at www.jayrevell.com

One of my favorite people I’ve met through golf in recent years is Matthew Galloway. He’s among the top caddies on the LPGA Tour and a hell of a good golfer himself. Galloway is a recovering mini-tour player who traded his playing dreams for success with a caddie bib. Before turning pro, he won the Florida Amateur Championship and was a three-time Division II All-American at the University of West Florida(He was recently inducted into the UWF Hall of Fame). Galloway also had a few minutes of stardom when he appeared on the Golf Channel’s Big Break Mexico. After retiring from the mini-tour scene, he took a chance and started caddying on the LPGA Tour. He's been at it ever since and has carried the bag for players like Michelle Wie and Angel Yin. I’ve been lucky to cross paths with him a few times including most recently when he looped for me at Streamsong Resort during the LPGA’s pandemic break. In this episode, Galloway joins me for a conversation as he comes off the road for the upcoming birth of his daughter. We talked about the approachable vibe of LPGA Tour, his recent trip to Bandon Dunes, golf in the Sunshine State, and of course what he’s feeling like as an expectant father. If you don't know of Matthew Galloway, hopefully, this chat will change that. I’m thrilled we got a chance to catch up and will be hoping that his paternity leave from tour life means we can meet up for some golf soon!

Find Matthew Gallow on Twitter @matthewgalloway 

For more podcast episodes be sure to check out www.midamcrisis.com

If you'd like to dive into my book, The Nine Virtues of Golf or my other writings on the game be sure to visit www.jayrevell.com

Cheers!

-J

In this week's episode, my friend Trey Runkle joins me for a sprawling golf centered conversation. You may know Trey from the great work he does with his website Outside the Cut. He's also a prolific contributor to the world so many of us know as "golf twitter." Trey and I caught up on a range of topics including the golf scene in Washington, D.C., how everything has gone downhill since the 2020 PGA Merchandise Show, and what stories we are still yet to experience in the rest of the year. Trey always makes for a great conversation and I'm so glad we got the chance to chat. He's a great writer and someone who truly keeps his finger on the pulse of the game. If you ever get the chance to hit him up for a few holes I highly recommend it. Although, as he points out in our discussion, I still owe him a round of golf for standing him up at the Winter Park 9 last January. I'm hopeful he can forgive me...

Check out all of Trey's work at his website www.outsidethecut.com

Don't forget to subscribe to Mid-Am Crisis and leave the show a review if you can. 

As always you can find this episode, and every episode of the show at www.midamcrisis.com

For more musings from me, please visit www.jayrevell.com

Sean Martin is the Senior Editor for PGAtour.com.  He's also someone I love to talk golf with. We connected a few years ago when I discovered that his wife's family lives in Tallahassee. We got together for some golf on one of his visits to the Capital City and have been friends ever since. In this debut episode of Mid-Am Crisis, Sean and I talk about taking kids to the course, the history of the PGA Tour's ill-fated Tallahassee Open, and how one course we visited nearby sparked a text thread that's still going strong a year later. There was also some chatter about golf writing. Sean is one of the best guys in golf media and always makes for an insightful conversation. Personally, I think he needs to visit his inlaws more...

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You can follow my journey through golf, life, and everything in between via stories and podcasts at www.midamcrisis.com

For other musings on golf and why I love it, check my out at www.jayrevell.com