Wild Golf

Michael McDonald

Welcome to the Wild Golf Podcast with Michael McDonald. We will inspire you to join a community of adventure golfers who step outside the conventional golf box and experience the beauty of the game, and life, in profound ways. We interview the golf pioneers and explorers who, in the face of uncertainty, turned their vision into reality; so you can to.

  1. 37.  Jim Gales MBE - Founder & Chair of Scottish Disability Golf & Curling (The SDGC) and Multiple Open Champion

    14/03/2022

    37. Jim Gales MBE - Founder & Chair of Scottish Disability Golf & Curling (The SDGC) and Multiple Open Champion

    Welcome to this episode of The Wild Golf Podcast.  I am your host Michael McDonald.   My guest this week is Jim Gales, MBE.  Jim is a three time Open champion, Canadian Open champion and founder and chair of Scottish Disability Golf & Curling. He is also an international curler; some would say he is a curling mercenary.  Like Jim’s mother, Jim is blind.  We follow Jim’s journey as an only child losing his parents at a relatively young age, to taking up golf and curling, and developing into an elite athlete at both while at the same time founding and running the biggest disability golf charity in Scotland with well over 1000 members all over the world.  Yet, to my surprise, the SDGC receives absolutely no funding from the R&A, the home of golf in Scotland .  If you are able to donate, please visit the SDGC website referenced in the show notes.  Jim has a wonderful sense of humour and I hope to have a beer with him after a game of golf in Scotland in the not too distant future.   I hope you enjoy this discussion with Jim as much as I did.  You can find out more about the SDGC on its website (https://scottishdgc.org.u) and you can follow the SDGC on Twitter (@thesdgc ). If you like this episode, please tell your friends and leave a review on your favourite podcasting service.  Please also follow us on Instagram (@wild_golf_podcast), Twitter (@wildgolfpodcast) and Facebook (Wild Golf Podcast).

    59 min
  2. 36.  "Just Let Me Play" - The Charlie Sifford Story with Charles Sifford, Jr.

    28/02/2022

    36. "Just Let Me Play" - The Charlie Sifford Story with Charles Sifford, Jr.

    Welcome to this episode of The Wild Golf Podcast.  I am your host Michael McDonald.   In celebration of Black History Month in North America, my guest on this episode is Charles Sifford Jr., the eldest son of the legendary Charlie Sifford, the first black PGA tour player who paved the way for many including Tiger Woods, who described Charlie as the Grandpa he never had. All Charlie ever wanted to do was to play the game he loved against the best players in the world but he had to courageously fight every step of the way, with the loving support of his wife Rose,  in the face of appalling racism from the  PGA, Augusta National, and countless sponsors.  This is the story of a teenager who left the  South just to be able to play the game he loved and who eventually received the recognition he deserved, culminating in his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States, in a ceremony with President Obama in the White House a year before he passed away.  As Charlie said in his biography, “Just Let Me Play”, and when he was allowed to play, he proved to the world that he was one of the best at golf, and like his son Charles, he was and will always be remembered as a good man; one of the best.    You can find out more about Charlie Sifford by reading his biography, “Just Let Me Play”;  the centenary celebration edition is available on Amazon.    If you like this episode, please tell your friends and leave a review on your favourite podcasting service.  Please also follow us on Instagram (@wild_golf_podcast), Twitter (@wildgolfpodcast) and Facebook (Wild Golf Podcast).

    1h 33m
4.6
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Wild Golf Podcast with Michael McDonald. We will inspire you to join a community of adventure golfers who step outside the conventional golf box and experience the beauty of the game, and life, in profound ways. We interview the golf pioneers and explorers who, in the face of uncertainty, turned their vision into reality; so you can to.