February 19, 2013 by Golf for Beginners

Would You Sport This Putter Cover on the Golf Course?

When golf fans deliberate about The Masters, it’s usually with an eye on statistics but how many times is the term “fashion statement” used?

From Tiger Woods’ golf clothes to Esquire‘s Best and Worst Dressed at The Masters list, style has become almost as important as the game. Yes, The Masters Green Jacket is safe from both remodel and extinction but designers have decided that, since the jacket remains green, maybe an azalea pattern is needed to go with it?

Rickie Fowler sports neon, Phil Mickelson looks groovy his now regular pinstripe attire, Tiger Woods‘ red shirts make a statement on Sunday and the ever vivacious Ian Poulter with his brightly striped plaid pants…is, well, always a fashion statement…with an exclamation point! Golf course fashion is becoming de rigueur and accessories from belts to shoes are now par for the course.

Poulter’s company, IJP Designs, has decided that, in addition to his clothes looking ever so fashionable, so should the accessories, hence his newly created Azalea Jacket Limited Edition Putter Cover (see below). Blade and mallet styles will be available in limited supplies.

IJP Designs has created three additional putter covers to mark all four major tournaments. Wonder what we’ll see for the U.S. Open?

What do you think? Is this putter cover something you would sport on the golf course?

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Photo credit

Posted via email from stacysolomon’s posterous

May 30, 2012 by Golf for Beginners

Creative social media strategies to increase rounds on the golf course

Can the use of social media increase rounds of golf played? How can powerful yet seemingly “fun” apps like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare help bring more people from talking about golf on their computers and smart phones to playing the game?

Golf is already considered a “social” sport for many, so it should come as no surprise that fans are using the internet to find great deals, to have fun with an interest to, well, be social! Large companies such as TaylorMade Golf and Golf Channel have social media gurus who create strategies for engagement and to build brand awareness. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a big brand in order to reap the benefits of social media but you do have to make the effort.

Even small scale communication with your current and future clients will yield positive results, you just have to create a basic strategy for your golf course growth and then decide how social media can best work for you.

Here are just a few ideas to get the golf ball rolling, so to speak, and to get more golfers onto your golf course! Share yours here!

If you don’t have a blog, create one on your website now! Post at least once per week with descriptive pictures. Don’t fill your space with too many words, two hundred fifty will do but do be sure to include information about what’s happening on your golf course. Make sure that, if you don’t have a subscriber list, create one now. If I would have known that there were special events at my local golf courses like wine and dines, women’s get-togethers, local championships etc, I most certainly would have attended! Be creative! The Cadillac Championship held a social media “happy hour” …sounds like a great idea!

Everyone loves a good deal. Offering incentives at your golf course like two-for-one golf on Facebook and Twitter and on sites like Groupon will get people onto the fairways. Also create print-out coupons on your website and feature on your blog so that golf fans will head over to your site to read your blog and download your offers.

Do you use Foursquare? Geocaching? Ever heard of them? If not, you should.
Foursquare, a GPS, social networking app, allows members to note their locations with a mobile phone and can find out where their friends are or have been. To be the “Mayor” of your golf course could yield special benefits like a free round of golf!

Geocaching is also GPS based but is an outdoor treasure-hunting game. Basically, a golf course can post “clues” to find “hidden treasure” somewhere within the course and, when someone finds the “”item, they get the treasure. It could range from a sleeve of Callaway golf balls to a Titleist Vokey Spin Milled Wedge. In the last thirty days, almost eight million new logs were submitted to further confirm that this might be an interesting concept to include in your social media strategy.

All of your great incentives and happenings should also be posted on Twitter and Facebook. Make sure to add “events” on Facebook. Where events can also be promoted on Twitter, it would be more fun to, perhaps, have a “retweeting” contest. Even if you aren’t Ian Poulter who uses Twitter to gain followers with giveaways, you will surely get feedback.

In order to have social media work for your golf course, it is important to think “outside the box”. These few ideas will get you kickstarted and, using a bit of creativity, your golf course could increase its bottom line, that is, more players on the fairways, in the pro shop and in the pubs!

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend us on Facebook.

Ask me how I can help you promote your golf course or golf business: email golfforbeginners@aol.com

photo credit: rockbottomgolf.com

Posted via email from stacysolomon’s posterous

November 2, 2011 by Golf for Beginners

Bradley, Poulter, Mahan to Attempt $300K Hole-In-One at WGC-HSBC Champions

During the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai this week, Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter, and Hunter Mahan will be given the opportunity to ace the 17^thgolf hole at Sheshan Int’l golf course. If they succeed, performance tech innovator Power Balance will donate $300K to a charity of their choice and one lucky fan will be awarded $30K!

All three golfers have been at the top of their game recently. Ian Poulter took home the trophy at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain in May, Hunter Mahan finished second at the Fedex Cup in September and Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in August more recently capturing the PGA Grand Slam of Golf on October 20.

“This is a fun, interactive way to give back to our golfing communities,” said Josh Rodarmel, co-founder of Power Balance. “Golfers have consistently given us great feedback about our products and continue to comprise an important segment of our business.”

If you believe that a hole-in-one will be an easy ace, even for great golfers like Mahan, Bradley and Poulter, think again. According to HSBCGolf.com, “Two holes, 16 and 17, play around and over the (rock) quarry, giving the golfer both an awe inspiring view while requiring great golf shots. These two holes will not only be the signature holes of Shanghai Sheshan Golf Club, but also of the whole
Shanghai region.”

17th hole at Sheshan Golf Club

May 4, 2011 by Golf for Beginners

Bubba Watson: America’s newest golf and fan favorite?

An article in The Palm Beach Post, “He’s Bubba Watson, he’s American and he’s becoming a big time player,” made Tom Petty’s song “Freefalling” come to mind:

“She’s a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America too…”

Gerry “Bubba” Watson is fast becoming both a USA and PGA Tour ‘best hope’ as a young number-one player most likely to grab the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Although it will take time to ‘rule’ the rankings and push past European Tour golfers, I was curious as to why Bubba is fast becoming a fan favorite.

Photo credit: New Orleans Sport

Can it be his social media conversation that engages fans? Although Watson’s tweets are less than memorable, he still currently lays claim to over 122,000 followers. Bubba also shares videos with the fans and answers questions …but he’s no Ian Poulter!

Bubba Watson Twitter profile? Christian, Husband, Pro Golfer who enjoys giving back to help others grow in life! Your welcome.

A link from Twitter to Facebook simply leads a user directly to the Bubba Watson Facebook page (over 18,000 strong) which shows affiliations with great American charities,

“The Ronald McDonald House Charities, The First Tee of Northwest Florida, University of Georgia, PGA Tour, The Birdies for the Brave and The Green Beret Foundation.”

Bubba may not be the great communicator that helps drive Lee Westwood or Ian Poulter’s fan base, so it may well be his golf game that draws the crowd.

Watson has become a solid Tour golfer. After his second victory of 2011 came last week at the Zurich Classic and his third overall on the PGA Tour, fans are starting to cheer Bubba.

Avid golf fan and Yahoo contributor Mark Paul gave a sense of the typical fan feelings about Bubba, “He is a popular golfer because of his style of play. But he is also becoming popular for his quality of play.”

Brett Martel , writer with the Associated Press added, “The lanky lefty’s unorthodox swing and awe-inspiring power were already a draw.”

In my opinion, being a left-handed golfer with a huge “down the middle” drive certainly helps Watson stand out in a crowd. Combine these attributes with his Mickelson-esque family involvement and his determination to become a better man and Bubba has all the makings of a PGA Tour standout.

Bubba was considered a bit of a “hothead” earlier in his career, “My wife, my caddie and my trainer would say my attitude’s in the right spot,” Watson said. “This week, I won [by] not getting down on bad shots, just staying focused on what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“All the bad boys are standing in the shadows…”, Tom Petty, “Freefalling”

Perhaps it was the ability to manage his anger which turned around Bubba’s golf game placing him in a position to win. “If I’m going to support kids and do charity work, that’s not a good example to lead on a golf course,” relayed Bubba. “So I still have backwards steps, but hopefully I take two forward when I take one back, and so far it’s working.” Sounds like Watson has finally stopped freefalling and is starting a forward motion which may make him unstoppable.

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February 10, 2011 by Golf for Beginners

Golf fans policing PGA Tour: Good or bad for the game?

Tim Finchem created a buzz in the golf media world with the admission that if fans want to call in a rules infraction, it is their right to do so. This will create thousands of call-ins by armchair golfers who think they see, or possibly do see, something.

For the most part, PGA Tour golfers know the rules but, Ian Poulter even reluctantly admitted, “I still dont know all the rules, there’s too many.”

Although there are Tour golfers who admit they don’t know every rule, is “see something, say something” always the best idea?

Why encourage fans to police the PGA Tour?

With social media being an integral part of the world we live in, it is quite easy to reach the PGA Tour via Twitter or Facebook with a comment or an @ statement. Although seemingly harmless, not every fan with a Rules of Golf book should be an armchair referee.

“Cutting them (fans) off is not an option at this point” said Finchem, and he has a point. With the PGA Tour grasping for audience, the Commissioner isn’t turning away any viewers but, rather, welcoming them in as pseudo-refs.

Telephoning the Tour is an option but would create a glut of calls for every piece of dirt that a fan thought was moved illegally. Perhaps Finchem will set up a special hotline that he could man during each event?

One good thing that may come out of all of this is that fans may actually dust off their copies of the Rules of Golf. Golfers may finally READ and understand the rules!

Should the game of golf remain pure or should the new media be welcomed into the sport? Paddy Miller mentioned that the Commissioner has compromised the integrity of the game and is jeopardizing the tradition of golf itself.

Golf has always been a sport of honor in which golfers call an infractions on themselves…if they know that an infraction was created.

If a Tour player, however, didn’t realize that he broke a rule, he could go on to win the event which would be unfair to the other golfers. With money and position at stake and knowing that technology now rules the airwaves, it is impossible to keep the tradition of the game completely status quo. Hopefully a resolution that is fair to all will be achieved.

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January 11, 2011 by Golf for Beginners

Golf snitch tweets in DQ, should Poulter be offended?

“An armchair official tweeted in to get Camilo DQ. What is wrong with people have they got nothing better to do?” tweeted an angry Ian Poulter after a fan spotted a rules violation on TV by Villegas and decided to say something about it.

In this world where everyone is now connected through the internet and social media, Dave Andrews decided to tweet it. The question was not whether Villegas is guilty of the infraction but whether fans should come forward or leave policing and the outcome of the game to pro golfers?

“No one likes a snitch,” continued Poulter. True but also no golfer wants to lose a big paycheck and FedEx points at the end of the day…and no golfer wants to win for the wrong reasons.

Poulter made a good case on Twitter for why fans should see something, say something, “I still dont know all the rules, theres too many. More to life than eating rule books.”

Yes it is difficult to remember all of the rules…there are so many (that is why golfers carry around the Rule Book) but, in this case, the ball did not come to rest as Villegas flicked dirt from its path, possibly affecting its line. Most amateur and even many beginner golfers understand to wait for a golf ball to come to rest before addressing it. The mind focuses on what it wants to and Camilo was probably thinking of his next shot. Villegas understood his infraction and graciously took his medicine learning this lesson in the process:

Rule 23-1: ”When a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed.”

I wonder how many golfers realize that a hole is not complete until a golf ball drops to (and comes to rest at) the bottom of the cup?

Ian Poulter should perhaps also understand that without the avid golf fans who tune in to watch and learn about the sport from professionals (and have nothing to do?), events like the Hyundai Tournament of Champions which could not draw three out of four major winners, would probably never take place. No play day, no pay day for the golfers.

“Case closed, yes he should have been punished but it’s a shame it wasn’t before he signed his card,” ended Poulter’s tirade.

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Ian Poulter (credit)

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