Episode #61 is the 4th installment of my sitdown interview with Masters Announcer, Ben Wright. In the previous installments Mr. Wright shared some amazing stories with us including- his friendship with Ben Hogan, how he helped put the Beatles on tv for the first time, when Jack Nicklaus shed a tear from a fellow player, how Ben felt that he had jinxed a player at the Masters, how he punched out another player and many many stories that have never previously been shared.

On this installment Ben shares a few more stories and adds a bit of color to the stories he has shared before.

It was an absolute pleasure to sit down with broadcasting legend, Ben Wright – I sincerely hope you have enjoyed our time together.

Episode #61 kicks off #MastersMarch for the TalkinGolf History Podcast. Five podcasts in 5 weeks, in our countdown to the 2021 Masters with stories you won’t hear anywhere else.

What better way to kick off this series than with a story that has nothing to do with golf – or atleast the first 15 minutes of our show has nothing to do with golf. If you are a Beatles Fan listen in for this unknown backstory of how the Beatles made their first tv appearance ever! I hope you Beatles fanatics listen past the first 15 minutes, but if not, you can skip to my outgoing message and a little more color to the story.

For the golf fans there is plenty of meat for you as well including how Ben Wright may have cost a friend a major championship, CBS’s illegal calcutta and Ben’s favorite moments from the Masters.

On this episode of the TalkinGolf History Podcast we dive into the profound history of Herbert Warren Wind. Few sports writers in history hold a candle to the great Herbert Warren WInd, and we golfers should cherish the fact that he was on our side.
If you think you know a lot about the man that the USGA named its highest honor in literature after, think again – his contributions to the game will echo in golf’s history.
Our guests for today’s show are Bradley Klein and Stephen Proctor.

Ann Gregory won over 300 golf tournaments, she broke the USGA women’s color barrier and for 65 years her story has been lost to the masses. Today on our show we are joined by Junior Curator of the USGA Golf Museum, Kylie Garabed who helps shine a light on the amazing career of Ann Gregory, Golf’s Unheralded Pioneer.

On a personal note: The original purpose of this podcast was to share stories with you that you might not hear anywhere else. Ann Gregory passed away in 1990 without the accolades she should have been afforded, let us honor her in death like she should have been honored in life – as a champion, a pioneer and as she might have wished, a golfer.

Golf From The Fringe presents “The Golf Club Without a Course.”

The TalkinGolf History introduced the first ever storyline podcast in 2018, when it introduced the Golf From the Fringe series – after a year off, our latest show captures the unique story of the history of the Pittsburgh Golf Club – which includes a runaway bride, a billionaire, the US President, Queen Victoria, the battle between private and public golf, the formation of the Western PA Golf Association, the creation of Oakmont, Fox Chapel and the Pittsburgh Field Club —–all in 26 minutes of run time.

The soundtrack alone makes this podcast worth listening to, as it follows 60 years of popular music through the duration of our story’s timeline.

Sountrack includes:

Kevin MacLeod’s “Wizardtorium”
Wizardtorium
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…

Nabucco Va Pensiero circa 1840

Johann Strauss II, “Roses From A Southern Waltz” perfomed by the Philadelphia Orchestra circa 1880

Charles B. Ward, “The Band Played On” circa 1895

Scott Joplin, “Original Rags” circa 1899

Elizabeth Lennox, In the Gloaming” circa 1910

Kevin MacLeod, “Atlantean Twilight”
“Atlantean Twilight”
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…

History is all about stories and on this episode we get right to the chase in a game I call “Name Assocition.” I simply say a name to Ben Wright and then stand back and wait to hear a wonderful story – an often a story I had never heard before.

Stories on Seve, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Ken Venturi, Byron Nelson, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Dan Jenkins, Peter Allis, Sean Connery, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus.

Some of these stories will make you laugh…others may shock you.

A note to parents: adult language is present in this podcast.

The TalkinGolf History podcast finishes its second season with legendary writer and broadcaster, Ben Wright who spent three decades in the towers of Augusta National broadcasting the Masters.

Mr. Wright joins us for a series of podcasts kicking off with “My Friend, Ben Hogan” where he talks about his special friendship with Ben Hogan and how he saw every single shot Ben Hogan hit to claim the 1953 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

What was it like to see Hogan at his very best?

A story about Jack Nicklaus crying at the Open.

Ben Wright hitting irons while being watched by Ben Hogan.

This is a must listen to episode…and the good news…there are at least 2 more interviews with Ben Wright coming!!!

The Golf Course Architecture Magician of the Midwest had the marvelous ability to shape the land in such a way that it would appear that it had to be Nature’s work – it has been said that you wont find 18 better greens in the world, than you will find at the Maxwell Masterpiece – Prairie Dunes County Club. Prairie Dunes, much like Perry Maxwell somehow sits under the radar- both the club and the man were gamechangers for golf design in America, built upon the traditions of the old Scottish game.

Download and listen to this ode to Perry Maxwell – the genius of the shadows- perhaps the only man to have completed design work at Pine Valley, Augusta National and Cypress Point.

We welcome back to the podcast Jeff Martin, golf researcher and founder of Thinking About Golf. After to listening to Episode #3, Jeff decided to do some research – little did he know that his research would encompass hundreds of hours to get to the very root of the questions;
When did the The Augusta National Invitational become the Masters?
When did the Masters become a Major Championship?
And the search for the lost apostrophe…

Listen in and learn more about what is usually the first major of the year and in 2020 will be the last major of the year.