I am excited to have the chance to introduce you to a 36 A Day brand ambassador, Andre Martel. 

36 A Day – Andre, tell me a little bit about yourself and your interests in golf.

AM – I’m an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) at the Winnipeg Area Control Centre in Winnipeg Manitoba. I’ve been an ATC since 2000 and married to my 2nd wife Anne since 2011 and we have a 7-year-old daughter that was born in the Kingdom of Bahrain during our 3 plus years living abroad. I started playing golf over 40 years ago and have spent the majority of that time as middle to low single digit handicap. I played playing in the Northern Ontario NGA Men’s as a 14-year-old, the 1988 Ontario Junior in Hamilton, won by Mike Weir, and have 11. I’ve been fortunate to have played golf in several different countries.

36 A Day – Excuse me, did I hear that right, 11 aces?

AM – Yes, some good fortune for sure!

36 A Day – What made you consider reaching out to explore becoming a brand ambassador for 36aday?

AM – I love the site for research, especially your bucket list and reviews. I follow a lot of content online and find you extremely relatable.

36 A Day – You’re quite an accomplished golfer.  What’s been your journey to get to a place where your index is below 1?

AM – I’ve been a pretty good player since my mid teens. A good friend put me onto a podcast called Chasing Scratch and kind of went full “golf nerd” since. I did the Level 1 Titleist Performance Institute certification and just all in all got obsessed with improvement, strategy, and practice.

36 A Day – Seriously impressive, and I’m going to check that Chasing Scratch podcast.

36 A Day – You’re active on social media and a vocal advocate for mental health.  Why are you so passionate about this issue?

AM – My passion with mental health has a lot of layers. It starts with a story from 1998 that involves me still in the military as a crewman on Sea King helicopters. I was on the first helicopter tasked with what initially was thought to be a search and rescue after the crash of SwissAir 111 off Peggy’s Cove. That quickly turned into recovery of victims and as you can imagine pretty messed up exposure to mental. Trauma went un-dealt with and I suffered some definite undiagnosed effects. Then I had an immediate family member have some very difficult times dealing with anxiety and depression.

Most recently I discovered that I battle some anxiety and depression issues. The breaking point resulted in me losing my medical and going on an extended period of leave as I try to get myself in a better place regarding my mental health. The result was me having lots of time to focus on good things in my life and dedicating myself to my golf improvements was one of them!!

36 A Day – Thank you for sharing.  I am glad you’re focusing on your health and wellness and appreciate your openness and honesty.  I feel as men we need to be better as having them honest conversations.

36 A Day – You’ve recently shared a couple posts over the past weeks of holes in one with your 36 A Day apparel on.  Congrats!  You mentioned earlier you have 11 aces?

AM – The aces thing has been wild! I now have 11 in total! 4 since Covid started, 2 in 7days, 3 have been on par 4’s, 3 different countries, 2 continents.  It’s been amazing.

MJ – That’s one word for it!

36 A Day – You live in Winnipeg.  Is there anything you do to offset the shorter golf season in the Prairies?

AM – I play a ton of simulator golf. My home club has a simulator in the winter as do many here in the Winnipeg area and I also play a lot at a place called Golfzon. I particularly love the access to the launch monitor data. I also do a ton of golf specific off-season strength and flexibility workouts.

36 A Day – What are your favourite courses you’ve played in Canada?

AM – I love my home course Glendale here in Winnipeg.  Some of the excellent courses in Canada I’ve played are: Greywolf, Eagle Ranch, Banff Springs, Glen Abbey, Olympic View, Clear Lake, Falcon Lake, Highlands Links to name a few.  I just recently played Cabot Cliffs and the scenery was spectacular!!

I’ve also played Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie, Dubai Creek, Yas Island, Jumeirah, Royal Golf Club of Bahrain, and others worldwide.

36 A Day – I love that you’ve been able to travel and play the game, both here in Canada and globally!

36 A Day – You’ve been wearing 36aday hats for close to a month now.  Any favourites?

AM – I’d say the baby blue 1 has seen the most golf action but my favourite is the flat bill fitted red one!

36 A Day – Last question – what’s your dream foursome and where in Canada would you like to tee it up with them?

AM – Really tough one. If it has to be a course in Canada I’d pick Glen Abbey, I know it’s plain, and would pick Nicklaus because he designed it, Tiger because I want to talk about his famous 6 iron from that bunker on 18, and Brooke Henderson because she’s going to be the greatest Canadian golfer ever, I think and I have a young daughter I hope takes to the game!!!

36 A Day – Well Andre, thanks for making the time to connect and I hope the 36 A Day hats and shirts bring you continued success.  Thanks for supporting the blog and the brand and I look forward to getting notice of Ace number 12 soon.  Cheers!