GWAA Podcast

by Golf Writers Association of America

Season 2

Episode 20, Sarah Kellam

Sarah Kellam wears a lot of different hats as a Manager of Digital Content for the LPGA Tour's official website, LPGA.com, but her favorite role of all is being a storyteller. Kellam joins this month's GWAA Podcast to discuss how she prioritizes the many different stories of the LPGA. She also shares the valuable advice she's received in growing in her role as a writer along with one very simple, yet important question she asks herself when creating content for the website. Also, Kellam shares the story of how she narrowly missed out meeting her idol when she joined the ranks at Golf Channel.

Episode 19, Josh Carpenter

Sports Business Journal's Josh Carpenter joins the podcast to discuss his love of breaking news and shares how he manages to get the scoop on so many stories across the golf industry. Carpenter discusses why he's avoided trying to be funny on social media and shares some secrets on how he's been able to capture some juicy tidbits while on-site covering a golf tournament.

Episode 18, FORE the Good of the Game

Mike Gonzalez and former PGA Tour player Bruce Devlin co-host the FORE the Good of the Game podcast. Gonzalez joins this month's GWAA Podcast episode to discuss the purpose of their podcast - to chronicle the lives of golf's major champions. With more than 100 interviews already in the books, Gonzalez shares how he preps for the hours long interviews, the common themes he's seen emerge from speaking with so many major champions, and the challenge of tracking down some of the world's greatest players.

Episode 17, Bill Hobson

Bill Hobson, the host of Michigan Golf Live and the Fore Golfers Network Podcast, joins the GWAA Podcast to explain why his media credential was revoked from covering the LIV Golf Team Competition in his home state of Michigan. Hobson was contacted by LIV Golf prior to the event about doing an interview with Pat Perez for his podcast, which later became a point of contention. Hobson discusses the issues that LIV Golf had with his interview with Perez, he explains why he didn't want to edit or remove the podcast, and details the lessons he believes can be learned from his experience.

Episode 16, Mentorship Webinar

Six members of the GWAA shared their journey to making a career in golf media as well as the lessons they've learned with students pursuing their own careers in journalism. Here are highlights from the panelists that joined the 2024 mentorship webinar, including: Ryan Herrington - Golf Digest Ryan Lavner - Golf Channel Dana Gordon - BZA Hope Barnett - LPGA Connor Stange - PGA Tour Champions Amy Rogers - Golf Channel

Episode 15, Brentley Romine

Golf Channel Writer Brentley Romine joins the podcast to discuss his recent exchange with Tyrrell Hatton following the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Romine shares what he was thinking in the moment and what he would have done differently in looking back on the interview. Romine also shares some of the interview skills he's acquired through the years and shares how the college golf beat has become his specialty.

Episode 14, Julia Pine

Julia Pine, the Director of Championship Communications and Content at the USGA, joins the podcast from the media center at the U.S. Women's Open to talk through her responsibilities in managing the media not just during the women's championship but also talks through the new initiatives she's testing out at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.

Episode 13, Sean Zak

Seak Zak, Senior Writer at Golf.com, shares the challenges he experienced in covering Rory McIlroy's victory at the Masters Tournament and Grand Slam achievement. Zak shares how covering the Masters Tournament each year, including Tiger Woods' victory in 2019, equipped him to handle the challenges that came with covering McIlroy's historic milestone in the game of golf. Zak also discusses the reason he spent a summer in St. Andrews and why he wrote a book about his trip. And the writer turned teacher shares a campfire metaphor that he tells his students to help promote better storytelling.

Season 1

Episode 12, Meet Amanda and Aman

In 2024, the Herbert V. Kohler GWAA Journalism Scholarship was created to celebrate the next generation of golf journalists. Aman Misra and Amanda Vogt were the first two recipients of the scholarship and join Amy Rogers for this episode to discuss their background and show how they became interested in covering the game of golf. Misra outlines his extensive research on the history of the game and shares a great story about the mystique of Bobby Jones. Vogt shares the crazy story of how she met Aman for the first time unexpectedly while they were both covering the Paralympics in Paris in 2024 and describes how she changed her perspective on golf being boring to wanting to make it her chosen career.

Episode 11, Rex and Lav

Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner, co-hosts of the Rex and Lav podcast on Golf Channel, join host Amy Rogers to discuss the challenges they've faced while shifting from their work as writers to becoming television reporters and podcast hosts. They share the tips and advice they've received from other journalists and explain how they manage their own nerves and anxiety while being on live television. They also share insights into how they determine which topics they'll cover on their podcast and they explain how they utilize different media platforms for their reporting and analysis.

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