[EP 035]
Today our hosts, Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley speak to Vince Cellini, current host of Champions Tour Learning Center, previous Golf Channel Host, including shows such as Golf Talk Live and The Big Break.
We talk about the future of the Champions Tour, Phil Mickelson, how Vince got started in broadcasting and some fun stories Vince recalls from his career.
[EP 034]
Today our host Michael Bleackley speaks with Yohann Benson , PGA of Canada member from Montreal, Canada. We talk about Yohann’s playing career, caddying for Mark Hubbard, Adam Hadwin, Russell Knox, his experiences while qualifying for the 2008 US Open, The 2022 PGA Championship and much more.
Yohann’s Info: “My love and passion for the game was instantaneous” Yohann joined as a member the beautiful Whitlock Golf and Country Club where his grandfather Tom Benson was a member for over 50 years.
After a brief but successful amateur career, Yohann left for the United States to improve his game and to see first hand how the best players in the world train and play.
His first taste of international competition happened in 2008 when he joins the Mackenzie Tour and qualifies to play in one of golf’s most prestigious events, The U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, the first time he rubs elbows with the greats of the game.
Yohann Benson’s platforms:
[EP 033]
Today our host Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley talk with PGA Champions Tour rookie Rob Labritz after his first major (Regions Tradition), Rob had played 8 events already and sits in 41st place on the Charles Schwab Money List with just over $140,00 0 in earnings. Rob is scheduled to play the remaining 17 events of the season.
[EP 032]
Today our hosts Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley recap the latest news in golf, including PGA Tour event, Wells Fargo won by Max Homa, the latest drama with Phil Mickelson and the snippets from Alan Shipnuck’ soon to be released book. We talk about slow play in golf and tips on how to play faster and have more fun and lots more.
[EP 031]
Join Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley as they chat with Rapper, Writer, #RappersDontGolf Podcaster Tucker Booth @tuckerdalebooth (Twitter)
Podcast #031 is unique as we explore Golf, Books, Entertainment, Mental Health, Politics, Faith and Music. Yup it’s a doozy!
[EP 030]
Today our hosts Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley speak with Bob Harig about his new book release:
Tiger & Phil: Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry
Bob shares a few fun points from his book including Hal Sutton’s famous pairing of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at the 2004 Ryder Cup.
Bob Harig formerly worked with ESPN and recently joined the Sports Illustrated staff.
You can buy his book on Amazon. It’s a great read.
[EP 029]
Today our hosts Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley talk to Elisa Gaudet, who is the founder of Women’s Golf Day and Executive Golf International. We’ll cover how she started the WGD and the growth of women’s golf globally.
She is a fascinating person with great insight into growing the game of golf.
Elisa’s Bio:
Elisa A. Gaudet brings more than 20 years of experience in the golf industry to Women’s Golf Day (WGD), which she founded in 2016. This annual global event, held on the first Tuesday in June each year across the globe, engages thousands of women through the game of golf. WGD has become a global movement in which over 1,000 locations in 80 countries have participated, thus engaging new and existing golfers and creating a global community based on empowering and supporting women. In a historically male-dominated sport, WGD transcends language, culture, geography, religion, politics, gender and age.
Gaudet’s golf industry experience spans USA, Europe and Latin America, and has included executing the 2002 EMC World Cup for the PGA TOUR. In addition, from 2000–2001, she spearheaded sponsorship, marketing and PR for the Tour de las Americas (Latin PGA Tour).
Prior to Women’s Golf Day, in 2002, Gaudet founded Executive Golf International, a strategy-driven golf marketing firm. Her widespread experience in the field also involves TV rights negotiations, sponsorship procurement and activation, targeted and strategic marketing, player relations, and benchmarking studies and large-scale destination marketing.
An award-winning writer, Gaudet’s syndicated monthly column “On the Lip,” later renamed “Two Good Rounds,” ran from 2003- 2016 and has appeared in Huffington Post, Cybergolf, New England Golf Monthly, Florida Golf Central, Visit Miami Book, Alaska Inflight magazine, Golfers Guide, and Stratosphere private jet magazine. She is the author of the “Two Good Rounds” book series: “Two Good Rounds – 19th Hole Stories from the World’s Greatest Golfers,” “Two Good Rounds SUPERSTARS – Golf Stories from the World’s Greatest Athletes,” and “Two Good Rounds TITANS – Leaders in Industry & Golf.” Gaudet is a breast cancer survivor and champion for empowering women to live their best lives now.
Gaudet has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs to share her golf knowledge, and has hosted golf programming and segments on lifestyle, travel and the 19th hole. She has spoken at numerous international sports and business conferences, including the International Sports Conference – Geneva, Asian Pacific Golf Summit – India, European Golf Course Owners Association – Austria, Golf Inc., and many corporate events.
Her many industry awards include the International Sports Awards (ISC) (2020) – Individual Sports Professional – Community Award, National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) (2018) – Champion Award, and European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA) (2016) – Significant Contribution to the Future of Golf.
Prior to her involvement in the golf world, Gaudet worked in the entertainment industry for more than 10 years as a model and Screen Actors Guild (SAG)–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) actress.
She is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; and also studied at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California; University of Valencia in Spain; Imperial College of London, and Paris-Sorbonne University. She has traveled extensively and has lived in London, Paris, Geneva, Tokyo, Cape Town, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Mexico, Barcelona and Miami. She now splits her time between New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida.
www.womensgolfday.com / www.execgolfintl.com
[EP 028]
Gary Williams rejoins our co-hosts Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley to recap the 2022 Masters Tournament.
Gary was on the grounds at Augusta National Golf Club and shares his experience of following Tiger Woods, as well his opinions on player performances this year. Including: Tyrrell Hatton, Harold Varner III, Corey Conners, Shane Lowry, Rory McIIroy, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Jon Rahm, Gary Player wearing the Saudi Golf League logo for the opening ceremonial tee shot and lots more.
Gary’s bio:
[EP 027]
Today our hosts Raf and Mike chat with Oliver Tubb from Vancouver BC.
Oliver has won over 50 golf tournaments in his career and travelled around the globe to collect these wins. Including Canada, USA, Mexico, Europe, South Africa, The Caribbean and Middle East.
He’s a renowned golf coach working with a small elite group of students and recently pivoted into his life long passion of golf course architecture and landscape design with Lobb Partners, a global golf architecture firm with offices in Whistler (Canada), Surrey (UK) and Seoul (South Korea).
Some of Oliver’s accomplishments:
[EP 026]
Today our hosts Rafael Kalamat and Michael Bleackley speak with the esteemed Michael J. Whelan. For those of you who don’t recognize the name, you have definitely watched his television productions. Michael had some amazing stories and insights into the wonderful game of golf.
Here’s a recap of Michael’s bio:
-Former Vice President of Production at The Golf Channel
-Former Director of Sports Production at HBO
-Former Producer Olympics at NBC Sports
-Emmy Award winner
-Peabody Award Winner
We cover a lot of topics today, here’s a short outline:
-Michael’s relationship Arnold Palmer, including Arnold forgetting to promote the Golf Channel on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
-How he was offered a job at The Golf Channel and built the original broadcast team and production team.
-Stories about working with Mike Tyson at HBO
-Input on Greg Norman’s LIV / Saudi Golf League partnership
-Peter Kessler’s role at the Golf Channel
-Phil Mickelson’s latest drama and when he asked Phil to be a broadcaster in 1995
-How Tiger Woods’ success assisted growth of The Golf Channel
-His animal rescue initiatives to save 5000 dogs and cats from kill shelters
-The Palmer Awards
-The time he played golf with 45 before he was Prez.