Reader/writer/Journalist

Michael Croley

Michael Croley is the author of Any Other Place: Stories, winner of the James Still Award from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. His reporting, essays, and stories have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and periodicals, including Esquire, Virginia Quarterly Review, The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Golfer’s Journal, Golf Digest, The Paris Review, Switchyard and elsewhere. He teaches creative writing at Denison University.

Stories

The short stories of Any Other Place appeared in a wide variety of places but the ones below are some that readers have found most interesting.

“Larger than the Sea” Japanese soldiers invade the village of a young couple, forever changing their marriage.

“Solid Ground” An elderly woman watches a woman disappear before her eyes.

“Satellites” A father and daughter, estranged through grief, must confront wild animals released from a personal zoo.

Essays

“Love, Death, and Golf Clubs: A Tale of two Brothers” I took Tim’s Clubs and made them my own (Wall Street Journal)

“COMMUNION AND CLOSURE ON A GOLF COURSE” I WENT TO THE ONE PLACE MY LATE BROTHER ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO MEDITATE ON HIS DEATH AND FOUND A WAY TO MY FUTURE. (Hemispheres Magazine)

“Making Peace with Grief on the Golf Course” I spent seven months “chasing after a ghost by chasing after a white ball.” I never expected to find what I did. (Esquire)

“The March Madness Shot that Broke Our Hearts and The Real Tragedy that Followed” the famous shot by Christian Laettner and how the things that don’t matter come to mean so much. (CNN)

“After a Favorite Golf Partner’s Death, A New Life as a Single” I wrote about going in for golf lessons after my brother’s death and pushing ahead in the game we loved. (Golf Digest)

“One Last Round with My Brother, Tim After he passed away, I took my brother’s ashes to the famous Pinehurst No. 2 golf course to spread them on the ground he and I walked and loved. (Esquire)

‘Why Augusta National will forever remind me of a bond that will never be broken” When Tim was diagnosed with cancer, I fenagled tickets for us to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. (Golf)

“The Time I Played Catch with Annie Dillard” I did play catch with Annie and in those moments in the sun, I learned a lot about who I was and, I think now, who I wasn't. (Lit Hub)

“Kimchi and Turkey” We are never more American than in whatever hyphen we reside in. (Paris Review)

Journalism/Sports Writing

“A surge in Young golfers is turning the sport into a family affair” On our family vacation my wife and daughter get golf lessons. (Bloomberg)

“The Man out Front” I’m still trying to figure out Tom Doak. (Golfer’s Journal—paywall)

“the prodigies” the high stakes and big money in elite amateur golf. (golfer’s Journal—Paywall)

“Shut Up and Play” A Brief essay about why I really love golf. Playing it. (golfer’s Journal—Paywall)

“World’s Loudest Dad” A feature on ESPN personality Tony Kornheiser and his son, Michael, and their relationship through golf. (Golf Magazine)

“What a Wonderful World” I traced the early episodes of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf For McKellar Magazine. Order it here. (Mckellar)

“Hogan’s Hands”Anthony Ravielli was the man behind the iconic drawings of Ben Hogan in his classic book, Five Easy Lessons. (Golfer’s Journal—Paywall)

“Redefining the Green” Tom Doak is a genius. You don't have to know anything about golf to appreciate the way he has bucked every trend in the business to create his legacy. (VQR)

“Keep Moving” Gus Hauser left coaching. You’ll see why. (SB Nation)

“Ground Down” Shelley Duncan was my Crash Davis in the summer of 2013, a heady veteran whose days were numbered. (Paris Review)

“At This Country Club, Watch Out for the 17th Hole” For the 2022 U.s. Open I dug into the crucial hole of the Course. (New York Times)

“The Challenges of Whistling Straits” Ahead of the 2021 Ryder Cup, I talked about what makes Whistling Straits So Unique. (New York Times)

Awards

2020 James Still Award

2020 Weatherford Award

2016 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship