What Makes The Intersection Of Marketing And Golf Such An Intriguing Match

To describe golf as a challenging sport is certainly an understatement. It is a game that can be played for a lifetime and never be mastered. Similarly marketing, with its constant changes and complexities, can be a beguiling profession that requires constant learning and adaption. So what happens when the two subjects come together? Let’s explore the intersection from the perspectives of marketing leaders at three different organizations - PGA of America, Topgolf and Dell Technologies.

PGA of America represents the 28,000-member golf professionals who work at local golf course, managing operations and providing lessons to golf enthusiast and beginners. It also puts on 26 championships, including the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Jeff Price is its chief commercial officer and has responsibility for the organization’s marketing programs.

According to Price, they must market to three different consumer mindsets. He elaborated, “First is the win-mentality golfer. That group has been marketed to very well for a long time. The [golf industry] markets to them well and that core is very strong. But if you think about the social golfer, which is the much larger universe of golfers, their motivation and learning is not to be embarrassed. They don't want the pro to ask, ‘What, did you shoot today?’. That's fine if you ask the win-mindset golfer, but for that social golfer, it's ‘Did you have fun today? What was your best shot? Did you enjoy your group?’. Something that is much more about that group activity motivation.”

Price continued, “What we found in the third group was the mindful human who thinks about health and wellness and the zen that golf can create. We had done research right before the pandemic, but then we realized that post-pandemic, those folks were the ones that were coming to golf because they couldn't do anything else. So all of a sudden, golf started to resonate. We're at a 25-year high in the number of young golfers 18 and under who are participating. And certainly, the women's side of the game is growing. Hopefully at some point in the future would be 50/50, male-female. There's a momentum in the sport that we have to continue. Thinking about it as marketers. how do we not just engage those consumers but retain them and give them fulfillment in their journey? And if we do that, our sport can continue to grow. As our CEO, Seth Waugh, likes to say, ‘If we can make golf look a little bit more like society, then maybe society can behave a little bit more like our game.’ And that would be a wonderful outcome.”

What lessons might a marketer gain from golf? Price admitted, “I think what golf has taught me is that there's a lot of focus on marketing from a B2C perspective. That is obviously a powerful engine for good. But the power that golf brings that marketers sometimes underestimate are the relationships that are forged through getting someone on a golf course and having an opportunity to take them outside the four walls where you might only get 30 minutes. Golf helped me appreciate the power of B2C and B2B coming together to build a business. Balancing those as a marketer is always important!”

One of the fastest growing golf-related companies right now is Topgolf. It’s format is welcoming to non-golfers and serious golfers alike who can gather in shared hitting bays while being servers food and drinks. Topgolf’s CMO, Geoff Cottrill, is a marketing veteran from Coke, Starbuck and Converse who came out of retirement because of the opportunity he saw with the firm’s mission. He admitted, “Honestly, the reason I came here was an opportunity to participate in changing a game that has been around for a very long time, by providing access to people that maybe haven't had access to the game before. Providing that access and watching the joy in their faces when they hit a golf ball for the first time, it's really fun.” Cottrill added, “We're hyper-focused on changing the face of the game of golf. We are a low-barrier entry point into the game through the lens of fun and through the lens of play. We are dedicated to bringing more play and playfulness to the world.”

Cottrill expanded, “We've been doing a lot of work around the brand, the company and our core beliefs. We believe in this idea of the unlimited power of play and we want more people to have more play in their lives. I’ll tell a story [to illustrate this point]. I was at the Players Championship in Jacksonville with a friend of mine who works for Topgolf and we were walking around the course. I saw a couple of eight-year-old kids right before a rain delay and there weren't a lot of people on the course. They were on top of this hill and I saw them lay down and roll all the way down the hill. We both laughed and said, ‘Oh man, they're having a blast.’ And then I said to him, ‘You know, if we did that, they'd cart us out of here because we were misbehaving.’ You’ve got two kids that are playing, and I do the same thing, and I'm misbehaving. Wait a minute, what's happening? Why is that as we get older, we’re not encouraged to play more? We think there's an opportunity in the world. So that's one of the things that we're dedicated to - bringing that idea of play through the game of golf. And bringing that sense of play, and wonder, and awe, and curiosity, and fun to people's lives while they're holding a golf club, swinging the club and aiming it at a target. Whether you hit it or not, it doesn't matter.”

How has the game of golf influenced Cottrill as a marketer? He reflected, “I think what this job has reminded me of as a marketer is to really just maintain focus on the consumer and the player. In this case, the player, and double down on the things that you believe in. I think where I have been successful in my career it was because I doubled down and become the voice of the consumer in the boardroom. I think the game of golf needs more voices in the boardrooms of more golf companies so that diversity is truly represented and the power of diversity is ultimately realized.”

Golf also creates opportunities for marketers to raise their brand’s visibility and to connect with customers in unique ways. Dell Technologies is great example. Liz Matthews, senior vice president of brand put it this way, “Dell Technologies Match Play enables us to accomplish key business objectives by hosting our customers, partners, suppliers, and community stakeholders for meetings and thought leadership discussions. We also showcase our technology and social impact initiatives directly with consumers as attendees are able to engage with all aspects of our brand, from esports to sustainability.”

In addition to the direct commercial benefits, companies also further their community investment commitments through golf. Matthews explained, “Giving back is integral to who we are as a company, and Dell Technologies Match Play allows us to do so right in our own backyard. Over the past seven years, we’ve raised more than $5 million for local charities to support the health, resiliency, and academic achievement for Austin’s youth, and we continue to provide free tournament access to members of our military. Our team members typically comprise 25% of the nearly 1,200 volunteers that make the tournament possible – hosting this world class event in Austin is a source of pride for many of us at Dell Technologies.”