• David Feherty retired from golf tours in 1997 and became an on-course reporter for CBS.
  • His interview show Feherty launched to great acclaim on the Golf Channel in 2011. Guests have included professional players like Jack Nicklaus and A-list actors and golf fans like Matthew McConaughey.
  • David regularly tours the US with his one-man show, sharing hilarious and occasionally NSFW stories about his life on and off the green.

 

 

The laser focus required of a professional athlete doesn’t leave room for a plan B. But when golfer David Feherty retired in 1997, he found success in multiple new careers.

 

After David put down his clubs, he picked up a microphone and returned to the green as an on-course reporter for CBS. His professional experience, sharp humor and Irish charm made him a hit with golf fans. Off camera, he’s written five non-fiction books and a column for Golf magazine called Sidespin. 

 

In 2011, David launched the post-golf project he’s probably best known for: his self-titled interview show “Feherty” on the Golf Channel. The show debuted as the most-watched original series in the channel’s history and David was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality in 2014. He’s interviewed players and famous fans including Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy and Matthew McConaughey. But he’s still modest about his abilities.

 

“I wasn’t an interviewer. I’d never done that before,” he says. “I asked the first question and then listened. And I think that’s the key to the show’s popularity. I have guests, not victims, and I like the show to be a service to them.”

Sometimes you birdie, sometimes you bogey 

David’s life hasn’t all been awards shows and celebrity schmoozing. In 2017 his son Shey died of a drug overdose on his 29th birthday. He’s talked openly about his own struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and bipolar disorder. 

 

In some ways, David feels that being honest about his past makes it easier for his interviewees to open up to him. 

 

“Because I’m willing to talk about it, it puts me in a good place whenever I’m talking to someone that might have similar problems or at least understand them,” he says. “There’s a human aspect to it where I hope it turns out to be a conversation rather than an interview.”

 

These ups and downs haven’t robbed David of his sense of humor. And for the last five years it’s been on full display in his one-man show. 

 

“It’s two hours of storytelling, Irish jokes, stuff like that,” he summarizes. “You don’t spend 43 years as a professional golfer without bumping into some strange and funny things along the way. Really it’s a journey through my life.”

 

And what a life — and career — it’s been.

 

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