In April, 1998, Kiel Christianson answered a small ad in the Michigan State University student newspaper: “WRITERS WANTED. No pay. Free Golf.” He emailed the address in the ad and began what has turned into a 25+ year career in golf writing. The ad was to write for MichiganGolf.com and TravelGolf.com, along with dozens of other websites under the WorldGolf.com umbrella. Eventually, he became the editor of GolfInstruction.com (with pay) and started two regular golf blogs (two of the first in the industry), as well as contributed regularly to the TravelGolf.com podcast (also one of the first in the industry). Those websites were purchased 10 years later by The Golf Channel, where Kiel continued writing as a freelancer until 2019, when The Golf Channel released their freelance writers and consolidated their websites (though he continued blogging for them until 2021). Since 2020, he has published MidwesternGolf.com, a website devoted to the courses and resorts of the Midwestern US along with equipment and travel sections. He also contributes to several other online golf publications and occasionally to traditional print publications. When not playing golf, he is a professor and department chair at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.