A Continuous Lean: ACL GOLF

At the Institute

Michael Williams — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 13:02:35 GMT

A personal story today from my trip to level up my golf game with Titlist in Oceanside, California. I wrote this story for The Old Ghosts, and if you enjoy these types of things, you should get on the list over there. Hope you like it. -MW

Keith Mitchell Goes Fishing

Michael Williams — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 22:17:09 GMT

Photo via Imperial

Last week, I was chatting with Keith Mitchell about watches for a forthcoming interview I did for Fourtané in Carmel by the Sea. Before we started talking about his interest in collecting watches, I wanted to chat with him for 5 minutes about his perspectives on golf and fishing.

I see many parallels between the two pursuits and thought it could be fun to discuss with Keith and share with all of you. Personally, I am fascinated by Keith. He’s just such a cool and normal guy. Beyond his on-course abilities, he has so many great hobbies outside of golf. He loves watches, clothes, fishing, food, and so much more. It’s great to see a pro golfer with so many varied interests. Did we just become best friends?!? Our quick chat is below — enjoy!

Michael Williams: Hey, Keith, good to talk with you. This is just a friendly chat, not about pro golf. We can touch on it, but I’d rather talk about fishing and watches.

Keith Mitchell: I can talk fishing all day, but I wasn’t sure how much golf you wanted to get into.

MW: So, fishing — I know you live in Georgia. I saw on social media you were out fly fishing. What are we talking here? Redfish? Striper?

KM: Redfish.

MW: Do you get to fly fish a lot?

KM: I started in 2020 in the Bahamas at Blackfly Lodge. Darren Clarke connected me with Clint Kemp, their head guide. I had no idea what I was doing, but on my first day, I caught a bonefish. Clint called it “the miracle on the flats” because I was holding the rod wrong and didn’t strip set — the fish basically hooked itself. After that, I didn’t catch another for three days. Ha!

The Connoisseur's Buying Guide

Michael Williams — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 16:48:59 GMT

My latest from Jack White Hickory Golf in Gullane, Scotland. If you haven’t had a chance to see all of the golf stories I have been doing at The Old Ghosts, I would love for you to check them out.

Pebble Beach With Strangers

Michael Williams — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 17:45:09 GMT

The famous #7 at Pebble Beach on film.

I frequently think about the trips I have taken to Japan. Many aspects of Japanese life are unique, but there’s a certain way technology and culture combine to make Japan a haven for introverts. Even in a densely populated area, the solitude one can find in Tokyo can provide solace. Some may dislike this notion, bu…

Alternate Universe

Michael Williams — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 18:22:49 GMT

The 10th at Royal St George’s. All photos by Omar Rawlings / The Fliers Club.

Scotland and Ireland get most of the attention when it comes to links golf, but we have recently returned from a life changing week playing the wonderful links courses of England’s southeast. The trip was organized by the The Fliers Club and the schedule was strong. 18 holes a…

Keep it Clean

Michael Williams — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 19:17:53 GMT

All Hail Cruden Bay

Michael Williams — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 11:05:08 GMT

Welcome to a new ACL GOLF newsletter. As I mentioned yesterday, in an effort to consolidate all of my editorial I’ve moved the golf newsletter over here to Substack to be with the rest of my writing. This section will only be golf related though, so don’t worry. If you happen to want to receive all of the ACL newsletters and podcasts you can just adjust…

Material Things

Michael Williams — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 19:25:26 GMT