As part of the fun surrounding our 50th anniversary, Golfweek has been walking down Memory Lane with a number of former employees who helped make the brand what it is today.
We continue the series with one of the many editors who worked on the magazine and website, working up to the title of managing editor, Dan Mirocha.
When did you work at Golfweek?
2006-2010
What was your Golfweek title, and give us a brief description of what you did.
I was hired as an assistant editor for Golfweek.com and became managing editor of the website for about a year before I left the company. We covered lots of junior and college golf, and convinced the senior writers to use a new social platform called Twitter.
What's your current title and company?
Account Director at wello, Wells Fargo's in-house creative agency
What's the one moment you're proudest of while working with Golfweek?
We didn't know it at the time, but our website and video production teams were pioneers in creating social video content long before "YouTube Golf" was mainstream. Whatever we dreamed up, we found a way to produce — live events, scripted shorts and longer-form packages. My favorite video was the afternoon we spent on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, challenging the AJGA's top juniors to hit trick shots to the island green. The video is still on YouTube! It's almost 20 years old. Crazy.
What's the 'hair-on-fire' moment you remember most vividly?
I was lucky to cover the 2009 PGA at Hazeltine near my hometown of Minneapolis, and the 2010 Masters, U.S. Open (Pebble Beach) and Open Championship (Old Course). That week in St. Andrews is still fresh. Our Golfweek team stayed at The Dunvegan Hotel. I played Carnoustie and Prestwick, ate fish and chips at the Road Hole and learned how to pronounce "Oosthuizen." One night, after one or two Tennents at the Dunvegan, a group of us walked to the St. Andrew Cemetery, hopped the stone wall and found Old Tom's grave. Among the trespassers was Jim Nantz. As seagulls squawked and circled overhead, Jim Nantz read the inscription on Old Tom and Young Tom's grave exactly the way you think Jim Nantz would read the inscription on Old Tom and Young Tom's grave.
What's your favorite golf course you've played and why?
I had never heard of Bandon Dunes when I joined Golfweek in 2006. But former editor Dave Seanor said I had to go, and helped get tee times and lodging for my dad, brother and me in 2009. I've been back twice since and it remains atop the list of my favorite golf spots. Sand Valley and Cabot Cape Breton are a close second.
(Editor's note: We appreciate all the former employees who have contributed time and effort to this feature. The golf journalism community is a small one and we're proud of the achievements of all our former colleagues.)
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek 50th anniversary memories: Editor Dan Mirocha covered all four majors