The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort.
One of the toughest things in my business is that sometimes we make things look too easy. I pick up the phone, make a call and score an interview for a client. It looks effortless and simple, but what is often overlooked or not understood, is the years of investment my company has made in building the “right” relationships and working behind the scenes which allows for the “stars to align” and that opportunity to happen.
Golf is a relationship business. We support clients and associates in the golf industry. It is a formula that can be difficult to measure in the short term (especially for bean counter types) but always delivers in the long run.
This is one of the most challenging things about the nature of public relations – although PR is essential to driving the positive perceptions about a product or service – like the value of art, it is often valued in “the eye of the beholder” (and not the client) because their isn’t an objective way to measure the value of an individual piece.
I was reminded of this and the ongoing PR process – networking, connections and relationships – with a series of events that happened over the past month and which keeps GMS on top of our game.
Several weeks ago, I invited Brendan Sweeney, the Director of Golf Sales for French Lick Golf Resort, in French Link, Indiana to be a guest on my radio show, the Golf Insiders on ESPN1080 in Orlando. French Lick was the host site for the 2010 PGA Professionals National Championship, June 27-30, 2010. We interviewed Brendan on the final day of the championship as the winner was putting out. The top 20 finishers qualified to play in the final major of the year – The PGA Championship.
It was a major PR opportunity for French Lick to get radio coverage on the PNC and to promote the golf resort in Orlando. (Brendan lives in Orlando and is a big fan of our radio show so it was a win-win all the way around!).
Two weeks later, a client of mine called to see if I could arrange a foursome of golf as a birthday present for her brother who lives near French Lick. What perfect timing given that I had just had Brendan on the show. I call him and arranged a VIP day of golf on July 15th – on the house!
Fast forward to July 29th – the Monday following the British Open Championship. Our local ESPN station hosts a series of scramble tournaments called “The Monday After the Majors,” which my radio show, The Golf Insiders and my golf company, Golf Marketing Services, help to promote.
GMS always has a team in the event hosted by long-time, local sports talk celebrities, Mike Tuck & Jerry O’Neil. As a “thank you” gesture, I invited Brendan to play. We had a fun day on the links although our team did not win the Central Florida Claret Jug!
Fast forward to Friday July 23rd. Brendan calls me asking if I can arrange to get him an interview on the “Tuck & O’Neil” radio show to promote CBS Sports’ television special, “The Road to the PGA Championship” on Sunday July 25th – a one hour highlight show featuring French Lick and the PGA Professionals National Championship.
Brendan called at 2:05 pm. I figured it would be a long shot since the Tuck & O’Neil show goes on air at 3:00 pm but told him I’d give it my best shot (lead time is often a luxury in the PR biz!).
I called Jerry and reminded him that Brendan had played in the tournament earlier in the week. He said “Yes!” to the interview and we made it happen. Brendan provided a “Stay & Play” golf package for two at French Lick as a prize for the next “Monday after the Majors” event and it was a home run for everyone.
The SWINGPLANE LEARNING PROGRAM is the next big thing and is the start of causing the Band Aid Instructor to recognize that current day instruction is wholly ineffective and does not provide the Golfer the means to learn the fundamentals to what is actually a very simple series of physical movements. John Jacobs stated: ” golf swings consist of two turns and a swish”. Jacobs was right and the LAZERPLANE LEARNING PROGRAM ultimately lets the golfer learn that a swing “on plane” is in fact a wonderful simple movement. Let’s show the world how simple it can be and throw the “band aids” away.