Who comes to mind when you think of the top attention getters in the game of golf?
I’ll throw out four names. Michelle Wie, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and John Daly.

Daly’s been struggling for years. But his fans don’t care. They just love John. Warts and all.

Woods’ has been struggling for over a year. Mickelson’s game can best be described as inconsistent. And you can say that for Wie too but she’s not a full time player. She may be a full member of the LPGA Tour but she is still a student at Stanford.  She doesn’t devote all of her time to her golf game.

MARKETING HANGS ON WIE AND WOODS

“Michelle Wie has a lot of work cut out for her if she going to win”.  Golf Channel promo for the Kia Classic between the Saturday and Sunday round coverage. What about the leaders of the tournament? Why aren’t the leaders being promoted? Why is it all about Wie? Sandra Gal was in the lead being chased by former World #1 Jiyai Shin!

Tiger Woods had the largest galleries at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard where he shot 73 66 74 and 72 to finish T24 on a difficult Arnold Palmer Bay Hill layout.  Even with that poor performance, or maybe because of it, the analysis of Woods game and the state of his game, the questions, including how he is going to do at the Masters and when he will win again or if he will win again and why golf writers continue to write about Woods despite his dismal recent performance dominates online and print space in the golf media and sports pages. 

Golf enjoyed over 10 years of coming out of the niche sports market. There was a super star, Tiger Woods, who attracted not just the devoted golf game fan but also the casual fan who was attracted by the incredible performance of Woods on the course and his star quality. He was the perfect marketing tool. The great athlete who pulled off riveting performances for the TV viewer and had the perfect private life with gorgeous wife and two perfect children plus two perfect dogs.

Whoops. That dissolved.

Now the perfecting marketing tool is more like a curiosity – his game has come to resemble a car wreck. You are afraid to watch the outcome but you can’t help but keep looking. I’m not sure how long that is going to attract the casual fan.

I’m told the TV ratings are “through the roof” at the beginning of the golf season despite Woods dismal performance. Or is it because of it. Are more people watching to see him implode?

Or is the PGA Tour doing a great job of marketing the new kids on the block and people are watching for that reason? You tell me.

SOLUTION?

Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods have one thing in common. We’ve known both of them since they were kids, watched them grow up and we know an awful lot about their ups and downs. In Woods case a bit more than we’d like.

My suggestion? Give us a reason to care about the golfers. We all don’t have to like them. In the case of Woods, Wie, Mickelson and Daly, most people either do or don’t like them, but at least they have an opinion.

Some of the players do a good job of revealing themselves or figuring out a way of letting us take a peak into their lives. We become invested. 

Most golfers have spent so much time alone honing their game, I don’t think they know how to “promote” themselves. And it’s not in their job description. If a player makes it to the PGA or LPGA Tour, then it’s that Tours’ responsibility to do its part to promote its player. That’s how the Tours make the big TV money. They need to learn how to market and sell the product better.

ALOHA SECTION PGA 2011 GOLF INDUSTRY CONFERENCE

Leaders from the PGA of America and the Golf Course Superintendents Association were talking but I’m not sure the troops, the members, were ready to accept the message.

The Northwest Region Director of the USGA Green Service, Larry Gilhully, had a strong message for the golf course operators and managers but I’m not sure they were ready for the message either.

I think it boils down to ego and business.

It’s Gilhully’s second trip to Hawaii to address an Aloha Section PGA Golf Industry Conference. He was here in 2008.

Gilhully’s message in 2008 -  there are three things a golfer wants when coming to Hawaii besides great weather. The golfer wants great service, great views and green grass.

The message wasn’t lost on our golf course managers and professionals, particularly the part about keeping the grass green.

But this year his message was very different. This year Gilhully says we may have to give up the green grass. Gilhully suggests the golf course grass can do just fine without constant watering, even if it is turning brown. That golf can be played just fine on brown grass.

That’ll save water, an already precious commodity. 
It will also save on manpower. Besides, he argues, perfectly kept courses are difficult to play for the average and below average golfer and they make up the largest percentage of golf course users.

I don’t think Hawaii golf courses will take his advice any time soon. Visitors want the grass to be green when they come to Hawaii, a point Gilhully readily concedes.

Another message that wasn’t enthusiastically embraced – the idea of moving the tee forward to speed up the pace of play and make the game more enjoyable.

STATE OF THE GAME

Why wouldn’t the golf course operator want to make the game more enjoyable by moving the tees forward? Because of the “bullies” at the golf course, the 2 percent of the players who are really good and let everyone know it, don’t want those tees moved up and probably don’t want a bunch of newbie’s running around “their” course getting in their way. The men and women being addressed at the conference are the best of the players. Maybe they can smile and bully the bullies.

PGA of America Executive Director Joe Steranka gave the keynote address and offered some insights into lifestyle today and how to grow the game.

How do people spend their time and their money in today’s economic climate?

Studies show people want to spend what available time there is with their family. They want to spend less money. And the kids today are more likely to be family centric. 

That was a nice surprise to hear. So let’s get them to the golf course to spend quality time together doing a healthy activity.

How do we do that? Make the golf course a friendly place to be.

Don’t let the bullies scare the newcomers away. Put the pins in places people are more likely to be successful. Encourage people to start from the pins they are more likely to be successful from so they like the game.
Don’t make the conditions so “championship” hard that the ordinary person is scared away.
Do make the golf course and shop a more ‘newcomer’ friendly environment.

There are other ideas floating around. The larger hole on the greens for example but Steranka didn’t touch on that. You can read more about that in Golf Digest.

TIGER…AGAIN? SORRY

Steranka was also asked in the short Q & A if Tiger Woods and his scandal hurt the game. Steranka was quick to say that Woods has done an awful lot for the game of golf.

Is there another Tiger Woods in our generation? Yes, says Steranka, there is someone out there. Just like there was a Woods sitting in his room watching Jack Nicklaus, making plans to be better than him.

Or a great “her”, for that matter.  Steranka pointed that the young women today belong to “just” the second generation of women growing up with Title IX benefits.

(Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is now known as the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in honor of its principal author Hawaii Congresswoman Mink but is most commonly known simply as Title IX. The law states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…”)

More women are using sports to get ahead. Golf is a sport. There are a number of Hawaii female athlete golfers who are attending colleges on golf scholarships today. Stephanie Kono, at UCLA, and Kristina Merkle, at the University of Tulsa, and Cassy Isagawa, at University of Oregon, come to mind immediately. They all started in the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, founded by Mary Bea Porter-King, LPGA, and friends.

JUNIOR GOLF ALIVE AND WELL IN HAWAII

The Hawaii State Junior Golf Association (HSJGA) conducted the 14 & Under Junior Tour Series – Big Island at Waimea Country Club the last weekend in March.

The Waimea Country Club proved to be a difficult test for the juniors with fast greens and long native grass.  The conditions were perfect with periods of sunshine, a consistent breeze, and a few moments of some fog and mist, typical of the climate of the Hamakua coast.

Pono Yanagi, Boys 7-10 Division Champion when asked what the key to his victory was replied, "keep focusing on the next shot and don't worry about the shots before."

There are two (out of four) remaining events in the Junior Tour Series (14 and Under).  The Junior Tour Series (14 and Under) – Oahu at Mililani Golf Club will be held April 16-17, and the Junior Tour Series (14 and Under) – Maui at Pukalani Country Club will be held April 23-24.

The 14 and Under Junior Tour Series was started four (4) years ago to help prepare younger HSJGA Members for the HSJGA summer tournament schedule. 

MID PACIFIC OPEN

The Hawaii golf season continues with the 2011 Mid-Pacific Open on April 14 -17 at the Mid-Pacific Country Club in beautiful Lanikai.

Five flights of golfers will be vying for a total of $50,0000 in cash, for the professionals, and $12,000 in merchandise certificates for the amateurs.

There will be Professional, Championship, A Flight, B Flight and the Pro-Amateur Senior flight.

“The Golf Club” will be broadcasting the show live overlooking the Moku’s and the Koolau mountain range. Truly one of the most amazing views on Oahu from the Mid-Pacific Country Club clubhouse.

You are invited to come out and watch the top professionals and amateurs in Hawaii and learn. It’s an amazing event.

See you “on top” the radio.

Thank you for your Mana and may you hit the sweet spot every time,

Danielle

PS You can hear “The Golf Club” radio show online at http://www.radiogolfclub.com/ or on one of these fine radio stations:
It’s “The Golf Club” show every Saturday morning at 7 AM on KHUI 99.5 FM and KGU AM 760 AM on Oahu, KONI FM 104.7 on Maui , KTOH 99.9 FM on Kauai and on KPUA AM 670 in Hilo.