Cleveland knows Marketing! A Titanium Retro Driver!

The folks at Cleveland Golf have come up with a cool idea! A retro titanium driver! What's that you say? Take a look at this 50's style all titanium driver with a paint job reminiscent of a Hogan driver. I have yet to see it in person and as it doesn't launch until 2012, we'll have to wait for the Orlando Golf Show in January. The epitome of cool and a great idea from CEO Greg Hopkins and his team!

The year of the Trues!

Truly, it was the years of the shoes shown above, TRUE Linkswear. A terrible pun, but the best new shoes on the market!

These are shoes you can actually use straight out of the box without getting blisters and they feel like your old slippers from the first tee to the eighteenth green. I've been a Footjoy Classics (now Icon) user for 25 years, but 2011 has changed all that.

First came Freddie at the Masters and the Ecco Street shoes. I bought them, I liked them but the white suede "tips" proved to be a nightmare to keep clean. I hoped someone could do better and they did! I had high hope for TRUES as I know Rob Rigg from his great efforts to encourage golfers to get walking again through thewalkinggolfer.com.

The TRUE booth at the January PGA Merchandise Show was a zoo which augured well for them in 2011. So, I tried the black and white version and they were a revelation. Comfortable right out of the box and allowing me to "feel" the golf course. I swear my bunker play is better now I can actually feel (that word again) the sand.

I just returned from 5 days golf and wore my TRUES every day through rain and shine - including 36 holes at Winged Foot in 5 hours and 40 minutes! They were perfect, so much so that I ordered a white pair (above) for the last couple of games of the year and next season. At $159 they are exceptional value.

So good on you Rob (and Sean), you have created something very special. The fact that all the big boys are jumping on the bandwagon and creating "me toos" confirms you have a success on your hands. 

Let 2012 be the year of continued walking in TRUES! ....And my Classics? Gone....all of them to goodwill or into the trash, anywhere but on my feet! You can read more here on their website.

How Not To Present Using Powerpoint

I have just returned from a conference where I was blown away by the quality of the powerpoint presentations used by sane, successful, well respected, professional people. The wind was more hurricane, than zephyr! None and I mean none of these folks knew how to present effectively using the standard powerpoint application.
The most common error was simply reading the information on the slide, even though everyone knows humans read quicker than they speak (so the audience is always ahead of the game). Second was using font sizes so small that 90% of the over 50s audience found it impossible to read and third was the usual array of nervous mumbling, lack of clarity and simply straying off the point of the slide.

There are many great articles about how to use the ubiquitous PPT, none in my opinion more relevant and on point than the one written by former Apple and now Enchantment evangelist, Guy Kawasaki.

Kawasaki's 10, 20, 30 rule is simple

10 - No more than 10 slides.
20 - No more than 20 minutes.
30 - Font size no smaller than 30 points.

The poor chap has sat though literally thousands of pitches, so he know what he's talking about.
Watch Guy Kawasaki's 2 minute video here - the investment will pay dividends and yes, when we present, we stick to his guidelines. There's also a great book on the subject, which you can get at amazon called Presentation Zen. You can buy it here.

Authenticity in Golf Marketing. How some companies get it and the Golf Channel still doesn't!

To be authentic in golf communications is critical. Golf is a game full of intricacies and nuance and the use of it in advertising and marketing is no less important. You would think companies using golf in their marketing would get that, wouldn't you? Well, in many instances they don't and the agencies they use are also clueless.

You would think the Golf Channel would get it right? Wrong! I have blogged previously about their awful Golf Now ads and the recent spots have not improved. They still lack authenticity. The actor clearly isn't a golfer, his terminology, his movement around the golf course, his use of a cellphone to book a tee time while his opponent is putting - we understand, it's supposed to be satirical - it isn't and it undermines the campaign.

To see a company using golf authentically in an ad take a look at the wonderful Zyrtec ad. Allergy drugs are not an obvious choice to associate with golf (particularly with a mother and daughter) but here it is pulled off with aplomb. Not only can the actors play, they look comfortable around the game and the closing shot of them walking is a joy! Great job by McNeil-PPC.

When you see further examples of the good, the bad and the ugly in golf advertising please let us know.

The LPGA - What's going on?

These are interesting times on the LPGA, to put it mildly! Blindsided by the Chinese as they lose an event, weak TV coverage of the outstanding Solheim Cup event and now the dabacle over Lexi Thompson.

The best news on the LPGA seems to be Lexi Thompson's stunning 5 stroke victory at the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, AL. And the result of the 16 year old's win would be what? - an exemption onto the struggling Tour that needs all the good news it can get? Oh no, way too easy. The Commish has said she is too young and the rules state players must be 18 years old to compete. Big news..she is already competing and it will surely only be a matter of time before Commisioner Whan throws the rule book out of the window and creates a special exemption for the most exciting player to come to women's golf in many years. No doubt a plethora of lawyers (What is the collective noun for lawyers?) are working on all the documents as we speak. The sooner this decision is announced the better. Thompson withdrawing from Q school would seem to suggest that she has already had the nod and the LPGA is waiting until after the Solheim Cup to make the announcement.

Mmmm, The Solheim Cup scheduled the same week as the Tour Championship. Interesting! I guess at least with the Irish venue the time difference will work in their favor, but it still has no network coverage, which is a great shame. I was at the first Solheim Cup at Lake Nona and at least another 3 of them since then and it's a great event and deserves more. You can see it on the Golf Channel surrounded by Big Break 33 and horrendous Golf Now ads.

3 Golf Products That Should Be Outlawed

1. The Long Putter. There has been win after win this season and even Phil has now seen fit to jam the long putter into his belly. But that doesn't make it right does it. Once again the games overseers, the USGA and R & A have been out maneuvered and outpaced by the game's manufacturers. And they only had 20 years to make a ruling on this one! If anyone doesn't think that anchoring the putter to the body doesn't provide an advantage then they haven't tried it. Again, it doesn't make it right and it sure isn't pretty to watch. I was at a junior event recently and saw quite a number of young girls and boys with these 40 inch monster putters. One more instance of the purity of the game vanishing before our eyes or is just a fad...let's hope it's the latter.

2. Range finders. I know I have waged war on these before, but I'm very specific about when and where it is acceptable to use these and when it is not. Professional golfers or caddies really needing to know the yardage to the exact spot for a tournament - no problem, fire away. Amateur golfers with handicaps, playing on the weekend, with a busy tee sheet - problem, stop! These people can't hit the ball the distance that they expect 95% of the time and yet they still insist on knowing the exact number of yards to the pin. They slow up play and look like idiots having spent two minutes working out a yardage and then 2 seconds hitting it 123 yards when the distance was 176!

3. Metal Spikes. When softspikes first hit the market 20 years ago, they were a great idea with horrible execution. Players slipped silently onto their behind, but at least they didn't spike up the greens. Fast forward to 2011 and the various plastic cleat brands on the market (softspikes is the generic, but not the brand leader anymore) are great - they grip, you can wear them indoors and they don't spike up the greens or tees. Most clubs have banned metal spikes now, so it just needs the professional tours to finally join the party and the century and force its players to make the switch.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg. Email me with anything else you think should go into the old club barrel!

Is it over yet?...the PGA Championship falls to a 4.3 rating

That was hard work wasn't it. Sitting through that golf tournament so we could see the SAME Omega ad 50 times and the PGA President trot out the old story about how the game is growing? Er, no it's not!

It was a great win by Bradley Keegan or Keegan Bradley, but not enough to see another ratings decline for the final Major of the year. (I think if they stopped saying "Glory's Last Shot" that might pick them up a point or two!). Of course, El Tigre making an early exit didn't help, but combined with a truly dreadful golf course (read Phil's comments here) and an inept telecast by CBS the writing was on the wall.

The PGA of America has a choice of literally thousands of golf courses and they decide on a course that isn't even the best in Atlanta and then they let Rees Jones do his worst. What were these x-large jacketed gentlemen thinking? They sit at press conferences and talk about making the game fun and then proceed to play their one and only major on a golf course that would be literally unplayable for the average golfer.

Well, it's in the books now and once again the PGA has confirmed its position in last place in the majors list. Bradley does look like the real deal and let's hope to see more of him at the President's Cup - maybe in place of the golfer formally known as Tiger.

Annika - A One Word Brand

It's pretty cool to be instantly recognizable by one name, like Elvis, Elton, Bono,....and Annika.
Perhaps even cooler than that, is to be as universally liked, as Annika is. People often ask what we do at MacDuff and we tell them the stock answer, golf marketing, consulting, content development and distribution (we know - it's a mouthful!). Their follow up question is almost always - who for? So, we tell them our client list and the reaction from them when we mention Annika's name is always the same - wow, that's really cool! What's even more amazing is that our non golf friends (yes, we do have some!) have all heard of Annika. So, thanks Annika for being our friend and client! Her e-news created by our great staff here is out today (with invaluable assistance from Annika's husband, Mike) and you can read it here.

The Chubby Slam - 3 down, 1 to go

Andrew "Chubby" Chandler's charges continue their dominance of golf's 4 majors. Darren Clarke's magnificent victory at RSG was the 3rd major victory for Chubby's boys, after Schwartzel at The Masters and McIlroy at The U.S Open. The omnipresent Chandler can always be spotted at the back of the range as his players near their tee time. One can only imagine the consternation at the IMG Monday morning meeting following the majors this year as another victory is chalked up to the British golf impresario! Congratulations Chubby!

The 140th Open Championship at Sandwich

The best in the world are back to Royal St. George's (or Sandwich) near Pegwell Bay in the south of England for the Open Championship or "The British" as it is often called in the US. The list of winners above shows several stand outs, notably in the modern era, Norman's final round 64 in 1993. The pre-war winners include a couple of the greatest ever including Hagen, Vardon and Cotton - check out those final round winning scores of 80 and 79 - I guess the British weather moved in!
TV coverage on ESPN starts at 4:30 am on Thursday and for those who haven't seen Sandwich you will see (IMHO) one of the weakest courses of the Open rota. Yes, the finish is tough, but there are only a few memorable holes. One of them, the 4th, for example, featuring 2 massive bunkers, one of which is named "Big Bertha". Against the wind it's a big carry from the back tee!
Hagan said it best,
"The first 9 holes were tremendous fun but not very good golf and the second 9 were tremendous golf but no fun at all"
As for the winner, I favor one of the Europeans on form, Westwood, Donald, McIIroy. I also like the Aussies including Jason Day who I watched for 36 holes at Congressional and watch for Justin Rose - he's coming into form and can play links golf!