If you’re a fan of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or just sit down to watch the Masters on Golf Channel, you’re likely to see Chantel McCabe on the screen. McCabe is a veteran reporter who has covered every aspect of golf. She took some time to sit down for an interview!
Aly Riley: How old were you when you became interested in golf and who was your favorite player to watch as a young girl and now?
Chantel McCabe: I didn’t know much about golf until I started covering it. I played casually with my dad, beginning in college. I wish we played sooner, but now, the whole family is hooked. Bronte Law and Lizette Salas of the LPGA are people I’d love to play a round with. Rickie Fowler was so captivating as a top player who had a totally different vibe. I have too many favorites to list and I love these guys like brothers.
AR: Prior to the Golf Channel, where did you work and how did you get your start? Where did you go to school?
CM: I went to UNH (New Hampshire) for sports management. I interned all but one semester and some duties included writing game notes, game recaps, and doing off-camera interviews. I’m still to this day learning. When I graduated, I took a job in Springfield, Massachusetts, covering news for live reps. I covered NHL hockey and politics before golf. I remember having such a fear at first being in the beautiful and overwhelming Golf Channel studios because I thought I didn’t stack up to be there.
AR: What is your favorite course to visit both for work and on a day off?
CM: I enjoy playing nice, private courses. I’ve been to Pebble Beach for work, including Sawgrass where the Players [Club] is held. I’ve played several PGA Tour stops including Innisbrook, Pinehurst, and East Lake. I also can’t get enough of 9-hole courses that are good to walk.
AR: If you weren’t doing journalism, what would your career be? What are your other interests?
CM: I enjoy politics a lot from growing up [in the] First in the Nation state and covering elections. I have so many interests that I wouldn’t rule out, maybe getting into art or something with history, or maybe athletic directing, what I went to school for!
AR: Lastly, I am a hockey reporter myself and also in a male-dominated sport. How do you ignore the stereotypes and prove women journalists can do this job too?
CM: I was so young when I covered hockey, I was still trying to navigate life. I tried to force being someone I wasn’t- my role model, NBC host Kathryn Tappen. I made myself unhappy because I couldn’t be like her. We are so different with our skills. I think I often got too pushed around and taken advantage of because I had no confidence and I was a lost puppy. My favorite quote is: “You are what you allow.” When I no longer allowed myself to think I was inferior or underserving, that’s when things got better. It’s a vicious circle when you’re learning, traveling with all men, but I had to own it, let my work do the talking and let go the control of wanting to impress!
Chantel McCabe is the epitome of a hard worker who does it with grace and class. She is one of the most versatile sports reporters out there. She teaches us all that all you have to do to make it in this business is simply be yourself.
