By James Raia
Fred Greene's long, varied broadcasting career has included employment at free-form FM radio stations and creative director positions in Major League Baseball. He's been an announcer, disc jockey, producer and a beacon of longevity in an often-turbulent industry.
Greene's media tenure in the San Francisco Bay Area extends nearly 50 years, a milestone connected to at least three additional life landmarks.
On May 20, the podcast Golf Smarter celebrated its 1,000th episode. Greene is the executive producer and host. The long-time NCGA member will turn 70 in August. He's also celebrating in June 45 years of marriage to Joanne Greene, a career-long radio and television broadcaster.
The couple met earlier in their respective careers at Bay Area rock ‘n’ roll stations. They quickly learned media employment is fickle. While on their honeymoon in Hawaii both were notified of their dismissal from their respective stations.
Joanne Greene doesn't play golf, but like he is with his podcast, Fred Greene is obsessed with the game. The couple live next to Marin Country Club in Novato. He has a putting green, a short game practice area and a swing net. Greene plays twice a week, often at his favorite course, Rooster Run Golf Club in Petaluma. He carries a 10.2 Handicap Index, although his index has been as low as six.
"When I started the podcast, I was probably 21 or 22, and I have only taken two or three lessons ever," said Greene, who started playing at age 43. "I have tried to keep away from lessons during the podcast. I want to prove to my audience the original premise of the podcast. You lower scores faster if you work on your mental and emotional game and understand course management than if you just work on swing mechanics."
Described on its website (golfsmarter.com) as "a caddy for your brain," the weekly podcast began in 2005 as an amalgamation of Greene's skill set. The first Apple iPhone debuted in 2007 but the pioneering days of podcasting had begun.
"I love production so much I just stayed with that," Greene said. "In the early 2000s when podcasting happened and digital production started happening I got some training on video audio production and I've been hooked ever since and absolutely still love doing it."
Greene had tenures with several iconic Bay Area radio stations, including KSFO, KSAN and KYA AM. He created programs for the Oakland A's, Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale and Hall of Fame football coach and broadcaster John Madden.
In 1987, Greene launched Fantasy Play-By-Play and created interactive sports attractions for more than 20 professional sports franchises.
Throughout the podcast's 20-year legacy, Greene has focused on interviews with mental coaches and fitness experts. Guests have included Dr. Bob Jones IV, grandson of golf icon Bobby Jones; long-time friend Tony Manzoni, the deceased teacher and college coach; and Pia Nilsson of Sweden, the former LPGA player and long-time coach and author.
"When I started doing the podcast, there were like two or three golf podcasts out there and I am the only one still there,” he said. "Golf Smarter is the longest-running golf podcast in the world. The beauty is that you hear a beginning, middle and end. You can pause and pick it right back up. Content on demand is really remarkable and a wonderful thing."
Greene doesn't report on competition, except for the majors. In April, he attended the Masters for the first time. For his 1000th podcast, he interviewed long-time network golf broadcaster Jim Nantz.
"I knew I needed something big; this has got to be celebratory," Greene said. "I could only come up with one name and with persistence and with some luck and knowing some people who knew people, I got Jim Nantz. They said I could have 25 minutes, but we spent an hour-and-a-half together."
Greene's work continues his fascination with broadcast media. He admired a radio disc jockey as a boy growing up in Los Angeles. He wanted to be someone people listened to. Being a celebrity was appealing.
As a teenager in the Bay Area until he graduated from San Francisco State, he was immersed in radio. An internship advanced into full-time employment. But within a few years, being on-air was far less important than the mechanics of media.
"When most people start a podcast, they know content is king," said Greene. "But they get caught up in having to be a production engineer and they don't want to do that. It becomes overwhelming and they just stop doing it. But lucky for me, the production element is my favorite part."
"Somebody asked me recently, 'How long have you been podcasting?' I said this since I was 15 years old. They said, 'Wait a minute, you're turning 70 this year, how can you have done it since you were 15?’ I've been doing the same thing my entire life. The only thing that's changed is its distribution."