Social Media Connections Facilitate Global Golf Tourism

Spain has so many beautiful coastal courses

The fact that social media has us all "so connected" can sometimes lead to...  awkwardness.  For example, the confidential DM that mistakenly goes out to everyone is actually fairly common, and the consequences can be... unpleasant, to say the least.  Or what about the "old flame" who suddenly finds you on Facebook and wants to become a "new flame".  That's another distressing possibility.

That being said, most would probably agree that such occasional vexations are a small price to pay for the benefits of an interconnected global network; a network that includes people from around the world who share your interests and enjoy exchanging ideas and information.   These days I find out what's new in golf - courses, resorts, equipment brands and apparel styles - almost exclusively through my golf contacts on social networks.  They share news of promotions and contests,  recommend (or warn against) golf products and offer golf tips. You've probably had similar experiences.

Back in dark ages... before the Facebooks and Twitters and such... this kind of info-exchange just didn't happen much, there was just no easy way for like-minded people to connect.  Particularly if you lived in a distant city or on a far-away continent.

...and so many fantastic golfers.

This came to mind recently when a friend told me she was thinking of taking an early summer trip to Spain... and hoped to play some golf while there... but didn't really know where to begin.  Not being a particularly adventurous type, she was vacillating, and asked me if I could recommend anything.  Now, I've never played golf in Spain and don't know much about the country's courses, but thanks to social media I know about a dozen people who have played in Spain... and who know first hand about Spanish courses.  I'd have no trouble deciding where to spend my time in Spain... and, in fact, I hope to make that trip some day myself.  As for my friend, at this point she "doesn't do social media", but I think I may have convinced her to give it a try.

Of course there are some great websites for planning golf holidays in Spain, but if you can get extra input from someone you know... all the better, right? You may even find a Spanish playing partner, and that's the amazing power of Social Media.

Mobile, Social, Global: It's Divotr, A New App for Golf Fans

The idea actually germinated a while back... a couple of years ago, to be exact.

I was chatting with Doug Farrick... a fellow New Englander and golf blogger of note at GolfDash... about some remarkable experiences I'd had, via social media, with golf fans around the world.

As an early adopter on Twitter I'd encountered a highly engaged... and very engaging... group of global golf fans and had spent numerous summer weekends in front of my laptop sharing the excitement of pro golf tournaments... that I otherwise would've watched alone, in the climate controlled solitude of my cloistered man woman cave.  The 2008 Players Championship was where it really hit home for me; watching Sergio Garcia win in a playoff with Paul Goydos was infinitely more exciting in the (virtual) company of several hyper-excited golf fans in Spain  than watching all alone... with only my Corona Lite as company.

Doug had had some similar experiences, and we both agreed that golf fans... like fans of any sport... tend to have much more fun in real time and collectively, than they do alone.  Seeing as how we're both fans of myriad players and a number of different international tours, we decided we needed to find a way to refine and enhance the global fan experience that we were beginning to develop a taste for on the rapidly growing platform called Twitter.

Fast forward a couple of years; Twitter has experienced explosive growth (the tweets-per-day count has risen from 2 million tweets to over 2 hundred million) as have other social networks... some of them only months into their existence.  The mobile space is also evolving at an astonishing rate, and that's where Divotr comes in.

Divotr is the fruit of that long-ago chat I had with Doug.  It's a new mobile/golf/social app that'll take global fans of all stripes to an awesome new level of real-time interaction.  We're almost ready to launch, and while we put the final pieces into place you can get early access and the latest updates via email and Twitter.  Just sign up at our launch page.  Encourage your golf-fan followers to check us out as well.

I look forward to seeing you soon on Divotr... and I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a great year for golf fans.

Tees the Season: Fore Contextual Ads & Personalization

She loves golf and the color pink. There's an ornament for that.     From: PersonalizationMall.com

For the past couple of days I've been followed relentlessly... by a tiny lady in a golf cart.  She wears pink from head to toe and carries her clubs in a pink bag.

As I navigate the net, she appears everywhere; lurking in my sidebar with a perpetually miniacal radiant smile.  And just when I feel like I've finally lost her... there she is again.  If she wasn't so cute, the word stalker might even come to mind.

This Golf Chick© Personalized Ornament is a perfect example of of the amazing... and slightly disconcerting... power of internet advertising in the era of social context. And, chances are, if you haven't yet found your own version of this smiling rose colored divot diva, you will.  Even if you don't use social networks like facebook and twitter. You probably use search engines, everyone (except my father) does, and in doing so you're providing rich fodder for some well-targeted, very persistent, advertising.

My husband who shuns the social sites and looks down upon online oversharing, has been pursued by a mysterious silver plated cigar cutter for the past couple of weeks, and the secretive cigar aficionado doesn't seem to mind one bit, in fact I think he even ordered one... for self-gifting purposes.

I'll probably order a couple of the little golf cart ladies too.  Not for myself (my holiday decorating style is understated and traditional) but for a couple of the gals I play golf with during the summer.  It's cute and inexpensive... and the personalization makes it special.  And the best part is I didn't have to go looking for it - she it found me. Thanks to contextual advertising.

Golf Pigeon: An Awesome All You Can Eat Golf Buffet

Illustration via golfpigeon.com

It's amazing how much golf there is on the Internet these days.

News coverage, at the professional level, is non-stop... and thanks to niche golf bloggers with eclectic passions, it goes way beyond the top-tier tours.

Any kind of golf product or service you can imagine... and a few you probably never imagined...  can also be found; presented and reviewed on myriad sites and blogs and discussed (in sometimes heated exchanges) on forums or via Twitter.

Of course there's plenty of less-than-stellar golf content out there... spam-y sites with tons of garish ads and no original anything... but there's much more that's remarkably good, and I keep telling myself I'm going to create a directory of the good places... but I never quite get around to it. Someday... maybe. In the meantime let me tell you about one site... a relatively new one... that combines a lot of the best elements of a good golf place.

Golf Pigeon, which launched earlier this year. describes itself as a kind of "all-you-can-eat buffet for anything golf" and that seems pretty accurate to me; it's a high quality golf buffet... with lots of variety. You'll find news and reviews, training tips and videos and... just a week out of BETA testing they have users in 122 countries. So it's more than a little global.

Illustration via: golfpigeon.com

Initially... I've got to admit... I was attracted to their adorable logo... a fierce-looking little pigeon emerging from a golf ball shell (above)... but what sold me on the site were the contests and the pigeon coop where you can redeem "pigeon points for some great golf gear... and of courses, the human element.

After all when a site is social it's the users that make the difference and The Golf Pigeon population is very diverse, but collectively fun, and easy-going to the max... which is a really good way to be when you're talking about golf. They're also passionate about the game.

Oh, one more thing: Golf Pigeon has a partnership with Rickie Fowler and they're currently doing a rather awesome contest with truly excellent prizes.

Hats Back tests one's ability to wear a PUMA hat... backwards...  like the fabulous Mr. Fowler does.

So check out Golf Pigeon, I think you'll be glad you did. 

Bubba Watson in France & an Era of Big Personalities

June 30, 2011 - Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images Europe

The biggest story in golf this weekend will probably end up being the one about Bubba Watson's behavior in France.

The fractious Floridian has assumed the mantel of golf's newest newsmaker... following in the footsteps of Tiger’s Knee and Lucas Glover’s Beard... because of a "rant" he launched upon missing the cut at the Alstom Open de France.

The remarks which began with his observations regarding the on-course ambiance in Paris, which is decidedly less structured than one typically finds at US events:

"It's not a normal tournament. There's cameras, there's phones, there's everything. There's no security. I don't know which holes to walk through. There's no ropes."

he then clarified, admitting: 

"I'm not used to that, I'm not saying it's bad. It's just something I'm not used to, I'm not comfortable with. It's very strange to me. Just very uncomfortable."

So, why did this become such a buzz-worthy, socially-shared, thoroughly reported... and re-reported... news story?  Probably because in addition to the fairly matter-of-fact comments above, Mr. Watson made a multitude of remarks that seemed almost totally scripted to reinforce/exaggerate his "unworldly, small town American good ol' boy persona":  he supposedly called the Eiffel Tower, "that big tower",  described the Château de Versailles as, "the castle we're staying next to" and dismissed the Arc de Triomphe as "this arch I drove round in a circle".  There were also reports of condescending behavior towards European fans and European Tour players.

The result was a virtual tsunami of Bubba Watson coverage.  A multitude of independent golf blogs picked up the story as did golf's most esteemed publications. Where it appeared, a lively debate generally ensued in the comments sections.  On Twitter, "Bubba Watson's French Misadventure" has inspired... and continues to inspire... a river of tweets from from a cross section of golf media types, tour players and fans.

At face value... particularly on Friday afternoon... this incident seemed to be a clear negative for the three time PGA Tour winner,  but with the passage of a few days, and with an apology that came via @bubbawatson on Twitter,  I'm not so sure about that.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal's John Paul Newport wrote about the return of Big Personalities to professional golf, contrasting a generation of robopros with some of today's more visible and distinctive up-and-comers such as Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter and... Bubba Watson. Ultimately he concludes that there may just appear to be "more characters in pro golf as a result of players' newfound awareness of the power of personal branding and their ability to express themselves through social media".

Oscar Wilde said "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about" and that's  probably truer than ever in these days of audience fragmentation and short attention spans.  Given the fact that with a decent reputation management agent and an established social media presence one can control the fallout from an incident like l'affaire Bubba quite effectively and possibly even use it to enhance the brand.

And today's click-hungry media environment only makes such a strategy more effective.

At the 2007 Open de France

Editor's Note: When I attended the awesome Open de France a few years ago I was delighted surprised to find out that cameras, video recorders and cell phones were allowed all over the course throughout the tournament. I've got to admit it did cross my mind... as I discreetly took photos and shot video... that it had to be a bit distracting for the players. ~ At one point, as Colin Montgomery was leaving the green after a narrowly missed birdie putt, an amateur paparazzi got a bit too close and received an angry scowl and raised fist from surly Scotsman. Whoopsies.

The Ike Championship: Sudden Death at Somerset Hills

via MGAgolfer

A classic playoff battle on an enchanting golden age golf course. It doesn't get much better than that, and so went the MGA's 56th Ike Championship.

The event took place over two days at Somerset Hills Country Club in the pastoral countryside of Northern New Jersey. The course, built on the site of a former racetrack by A.W.Tillinghast in 1917, features a layout that contrasts open expanses with rolling woodlands, and has often been described as charming. As a spectator it's a delightful stroll, but after 41 holes yesterday, nutmegger Tommy McDonagh was clearly glad to see the 493-yard ninth in his rear view mirror. You see, the Norwalk, CT native has been playing an awful lot of golf lately; just prior to his battle at Somerset Hills McDonagh had played in the grueling Connecticut Amateur Championship… and won it!

The Ike Championship had been on my calendar for months, and I'd been looking forward to getting back to Somerset Hills having fallen in love with the place several years ago when I was there for a fund raiser. In the end, life got in the way and I wasn't able to swing it... but fortunately, the Metropolitian Golf Association has a stellar social media team and they did an amazing job with ultra-timely updates on Facebook, and Twitter, daily photos and videos, and even an exciting live chat animated by the with the always engaging Billy Condon. It was the next best thing to being there.

High Heel Golf Blogger Inspires Rickie Fowler's Ace

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Jennifer Harris w/Rickie Fowler via HighHeelGolfer.com

You've probably seen the video of Rickie Fowler's utterly implausible Red Bull ace... the one he hit blind off an elevated tee at Washington D.C.'s Historic Georgetown Waterfront.   If you haven't, you'll want to have a look.  It's quite impressive. To say the least.

The miraculous hole-in-one was hit as part of  "Red Bull Capital Drive" a multi-channel social media campaign that involved Twitter and Foursquare.  Fans were asked to follow "alerts" to find a special flag somewhere in the city.  If they found it they got a golf ball that Rickie would hit... on 106-yard hole with a narrow fairway, and a makeshift island green in the middle of a fountain.  The winner would be the one whose ball ended up closest to the pin.

Well, you now know the outcome, but you may not know the back story.  It took Rickie 6 shot to make the ace, and the ball he made it with just happend to belong to Jennifer Harris the ultra-engaging voice behind HighHeelGolfer, a great new golf blog that presents a truly fresh look at the game.  And those who play it.

Anyway, Jennifer won two free passes to the US Open (she's taking her Dad for Father's Day!) and the hole-in-one ball, signed by the talented Mr. Fowler.  How totally awesome is that?  I'm looking forward to hearing the High Heel Golfer impressions of the action at Colonial and I have no doubt she'll be pulling for Rickie. 

Twittour 2011: Golfers in Spain Launch a Twitter Tour

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Todos Juntos.  It means All Together and it's the tag line for Spain's bid to host the 2018 Ryder Cup ... but it could also be the tag line for Spain's Twittour 2011.

Twittour was dreamed up by a group of Spanish golfers on Twitter who call themselves #jugones which means... gamers?  Close enough.  Anyway, these golfistas twiteros from all over Spain got to know each other over time via the celebrated social network.  They soon found they shared a passion for golf, and not long ago decided to do what most of us never get around to: they organized a real life golf tour and devirtualized their love for the game... and Twittour 2011 was born.

Twittour 2011 will be a series of tournaments on different courses in Spain.  The first event, Twittour 2011-Lerma, took place this past Friday at Golf Lerma, a pastoral parkland course in the Castillian countryside three hours north of Madrid.  Lerma was created on a site that was once a hunting estate, and when the Twittour group arrived at the course on Friday morning they found the wide fairways and undulating greens covered in a dusting of snow.  The hearty jugones were not intimidated however, and once the snow stopped falling they got right down to business despite the cold north wind whipping across the Lerma's many lakes. After their wintry round the players had a sublime Spanish dinner... with lots of wine. Prizes and awards were then presented.

Twittour 2011

The Twittour 2011 website is great.  There's a blog where members write posts about the tournaments and discuss current events and issues in golf (the awesome @martasegura writes about women in the game). There's also a media gallery with photos and videos and a schedule of events among other things.  And what's so inspiring is the way these golfers got together and made their Twittour a reality.   It looks like the next event is scheduled for May 20 in Madrid.

If your interested in global golf... and who isn't these days... if you're interested in the joy and conviviality of the game, and also if you're intrigued by the way social networks can bring people together, check out the Twittour 2011 website, (if you don't speak Spanish you can put it thorough Google translate and you'll get the gist).

The #jugones have a good thing going on, and their enthusiasm for golf is quite contagious.