Mike Benestante is a native Houstonian who received his formal education at the University of Saint Thomas and the University of Houston. During college, Benestante competed on the college golf team and eventually entered the entertainment business as a concert promoter in Texas.  After college, he moved to Wiesbaden, Germany where he married June,  started a family, and launched a career as a golf professional in Europe. Upon returning stateside, he continued his apprenticeship and became a PGA “Class A” Professional . Mike holds a distinction of conducting golf instruction and serving at public, private and military facilities. Currently, Michael is assisting with the family business while preparing his legacy memoirs for the children. Mike is married to June and they have 3 grown children, 2 son-in-laws, a Boston terrier (Frankie), and 3 grand-dogs.

The two passions in my life are golf and writing. I played college golf at the University of Saint Thomas and continued an amateur career both in Texas and in Europe. It was in Wiesbaden, Germany where June and I exchanged nuptials and decided to start a family. My first published golf article was for the local newspaper and was an instructional piece translated into Deutsche.

My career in the golf business began at Rheinblick Golf Course, an American military course which overlooks the Rhine valley. As an amateur I qualified for the 1983 German Open in Frankfurt. My golf hero is Ben Hogan while my writing influences are  Whitman, Hemingway, Samuel Clemens, and Montaigne. My dad, Ernest was my golf guru: he introduced me to the great game when I was a little boy.

The big hope is to get my mind, body, and spirit in shape; so when I turn them in at the end, I might get the full deposit back. It is my notion that we might only have one crack at life, so perhaps its worth a genuine effort. My interest in random order include: Fitness, Golf, Track, Romance, Humor, Walking, Traveling, Sports, Gardening, Conservation, Ecology, Music,  Movies, Photography and Politics.