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!

Very Cool Golf App in the iPad & iPhone Store

We are helping our Swedish friends at Golf Clinic with their terrific new Golf App for the iPhone and iPad. It features our professional golf client since 1991, 2 time Ryder Cup player, Per-Ulrik Johansson. The app covers all the angles of the short game and features great teaching videos, so you can use it on the range. A unique scoring system also help you track progress of the most important part of the game - from 100 yards and in. You can read more about it here in the press release. AND you can buy it in the App Store after searching for "Golf Clinic".

5 Things We Would Change About The Game (if we could!)

1. Everyone Walks. (The only exemption is medical)

Yes, we know it's not possible in the U.S for so many reasons, most of which revolve around cart fee revenue. But, just for a moment, imagine the peace and quiet, golfers walking, good caddies, no maniacs screeching tires to get to the ball in a hurry (and then taking 3 minutes to hit it - more of that later). One of the reasons carts were introduced was to speed up play. Once and for all let's clear this up - they don't. Golfers using carts take, on average, 15 minutes more to play than their walking counterparts.

2. Simplify The Rules.

The books on the Rules of Golf and the Decisions on The Rules of Golf get thicker every year. Many of these rules get in the way of what should be a very simple game. Tee it up (behind the markers please!), hit it, find it, hit it, hole it. Simple. Since Dustin Johnson's "incident' at the trash strewn "bunker" at Whistling Straits last year we have had weird rules decisions coming at us from every angle - Harrington's ball moving one dimple, Villegas moving a divot with the ball in motion. For most of us these rules play no part in our regular game and yet I would suggest that they do keep people away from the game.

3. Let The Kids Play.

At Country Clubs all over the country, children are treated appallingly. They have to tee off just before it gets dark, they can't do this, they can't do that. Clubs need to embrace children, teach them basic etiquette (as they do in Europe) and let them go at it, regardless of the time of the day.

4. Let The Real Decision Makers Play.

We all know who they are, right? Yes, women are still treated as second class citizens in the game in the U.S. You know one of the main reasons men are playing less? Because women decide what the family does on the weekend and more are opting for something other than golf. The golf business loves to talk about this issue, but a game managed at the highest levels by men continues to pay lip service to women. You know the mentality, just make things pink and they will be happy! If the game wants to see some growth, the "pink solution" better disappear and fast!

5. Play Quicker!

Why is the game taking so long nowadays? I grew up in England where the game takes a maximum of 3 1/2 hours. America has done a stellar job in turning a morning activity into a day long slog. There are many reason for this - here a few.

a) Golf courses are longer. 40 years ago, 6,500 yards was the norm - now it is 7,000+. And handicaps are just as high as they were in the 1960s.
b) Carts are slowing the game down (See 1 above)

c) The PGA Tour (in fact all of the professional tours) have allowed 4 1/2 hours to be the norm for 2 or 3 competent players playing a medal round.  I love golf, love it, but watching Tour golf is painful to watch on television or in person (as we did last week at the U S Open). These professional laggards are making  watching golf as exciting as a root canal. As a result of the Tour slow coaches, millions of amateurs now think its okay to stalk putts from 3 angles, plumb bob, and measure their yardage down to the nearest inch. Well, none of these are acceptable to amateurs! Get a move on. Play ready golf. Call it what you will but for God's sake "you're away!" 18 holes should never take more than 4 hours, never!

Observations from a Member Guest Tournament

I had a great time recently playing in a 3 day member guest event at one of the best private clubs in the metro DC area. It's the first time I have played serious golf in quite a while and suffice to say my game was not up to the challenge. That's okay - my scratch days are long gone!

While my game flagged it gave me time to observe some of the newer trends emerging with club golfers. Here are 3 alarming observations.

1. Who came up with the idea to put a ball marker on your hat? I grant you it is acceptable for Paula Creamer and her pink Swarovski crystal encrusted marker to adorn her CDW hat. But and it is a big but, guys fiddling around for their marker on a sweaty hat is just plain wrong. That's why the US Treasury came up with dimes. Get a few and put them in your pocket!

2. With the average handicap remaining at around 19 (as it has done for 30 years) why do the hackers insist on using all manner of GPS and electronic devices to help them get around a golf course? Do they really need to know it is 159 yards to the front edge and 168 yards to the hole? Even if they could hit a club 168 yards, they rarely do it on request. All they are doing is slowing down play and contributing to the 5 hour rounds that seem acceptable in America. Use your eyes you people, look around, enjoy the walk, smell the flowers. Don't we all spend enough time looking at electronic screens?

3. The antithesis of GPS is plumb bobbing. Old school, harking back to a gentler time in golf - the only problem was it didn't work then and it doesn't work now. We had a group of 4 guys playing in front of us who were all doing it, almost as if they had all been afflicted with the same disease! I'm not sure who they have seen on Tour doing this....but for goodness sake...STOP. Did Hogan plumb bob? Nicklaus? Woods? No, they didn't and nor should you. Especially if there is a 4 ball behind waiting to hit!

Okay, I feel better now!