Michael J. Whelan

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.

Thanks to our sponsores