Tag Archives: Golf

Episode 108: From Scarcity to Abundance | Ellory Wells

Ellory Wells

In Episode 108 of the Defining Success Podcast, Ellory Wells shares how he lost his job and took up a career in online marketing. Learn about his transition and how he’s living in a world that’s transitioning from scarcity to abundance.

Ellory Wells was born and raised in north Texas. He loves technology, gadgets, cool toys, video games and movies. He often writes his blog posts while sitting on my back porch overlooking nature and the golf course.

In addition to writing and coaching, he enjoys reading, watching TV and movies, playing golf and spending time with his wife.

Ellory Wells has a blog, a podcast – The Empowered Podcast, he provides one-on-one coaching, he organizes a a mastermind group and wrote a best selling ebook titled, How to Start Your Professional Podcast for $200 or Less.

In his one-on-one coaching, Ellory helps his clients get clarity.

Our world is shifting from scarcity to abundance. Ellory believes the world used to be more cut-throat, but in today’s innovative society, there is room for everyone to grow.

Ellory’s most popular blog post is 7 Types of People Successful People Avoid.

Ellory Wells

Shout Outs:

Flight of the Buffalo
Jim Caviezel
Chris Cerrone
Vernon Ross
Christina Canters

Quotes:

“If you expose yourself to a new normal, it’ll change you.”
“The best, most successful people think in a mindset of abundance.”
“If you want to make a million dollars, help a million people.”
“If you have ten ideas, see one of them through to completion.”
“You don’t have to be across the finish line to help someone else.”
“Success is not hating what I do every single day.”

Check Out:

ElloryWells.com

Ellory Wells The Empowered Podcast

Episode 102: Passionate Blogging Leads to Success | Ricky Potts

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Passionate blogging leads to success. Ricky Potts is an extremely busy guy who has a lot of passions. He started his personal blog not too long ago and has been able to generate 40,000 – 60,000 unique views on his blog every month. He’s also leveraged his blog writing to create multiple opportunities for himself and his career including becoming the Digital Communications Manager for Troon Golf, a contributor to DiscountTeeTimes.com, and Relentless Beats. He’s passionate about craft beers, golf, electronic dance beats, and blogs about them all. Learn how passionate blogging led to his success.

Ricky Potts

Ricky Potts is the Digital Communications Manager for Troon, passionate blogger, total beer snob, music fanatic, weekend golfer, runner and an all around opinionated realist.

Troon Golf is the largest golf management company in the world and Ricky got
connected with Troon Golf through a company he previously worked at
called, Imavex. Troon Golf reached out to him to ask him to become their Digital Communications Manager and he jumped on the opportunity.

Ricky writes for Discount Tee Times, a unique reservation system in its 20th year of business, catering to the needs of the golfing community. They offer discounts of 20-60% off the posted rate for play today, tomorrow and up to 60 days in advance at over 100 championship courses throughout Arizona and Nevada.

He also writes for Relentless Beats which is Arizona’s longest running and most influential global dance music force.

He also created 1,001 bottles of beer where he writes on numerous craft beers he’s tried.

And, he’s the owner of the Google+ golf community and host of the weekly Friday Foursome.

Shout Outs:

DJ Eric Prydz
Kris Strauss
DJ Tiesto
Paul Oakenfold

Success Quotes:

“If I got one person to read one blog post than that entire blog post was worth writing.”
“Success is what you make it.”
“Go figure out what it’s going to take to make you successful and do that.”
“I can’t imagine not being the happiest person on the planet.”

Ricky Potts

Episode 76: Gamification Makes Learning The Golf Swing Fun | Nancy Dunn Kato, Published Author and CEO at SwingPlay.com

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Nancy Dunn-Kato is a very well respected golf instructor, one ot the top junior golf instructors in the country. In our interview she talks about the gamification of teaching the golf swing; how she makes these simple little games to help kids learn the golf swing. There’s a movement in education about gamification, working to make the learning experience more fun and enjoyable.

Nancy Dunn-Kato has been a Certified Class A LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Member since 1989. She has played and taught golf for over 24 years.

Nancy’s company SWINGplay and its concepts are a direct result of her dedicated work with junior golfers and a real, practical, understanding of what works best. SWINGplay’s unique programs are specifically designed to focus the learning needs of young and adult golfers at all levels from beginner to advanced players. The SWINGplay systems and methods reinforce the play in golf – to keep the learning experience fun, positive, and filled with success that grows naturally out of children’s play. Skill and ability grow quickly through the game-play!

Zeb’s Take

It’s obvious that Nancy really understands the golf swing, and how to teach the golf swing. She made a lot of good points; young golfers teaching other young golfers how to play the game and how young kids can teach parents and how valuable that can be and how you can bring the family together.

The thing she talked about that I want to expand on is making the golf swing fun. She talked about breaking it down into little smaller components, and then teaching that in a fun game type of way – gamification. She’s talking about making rainbows, knocking out shark’s teeth, dragons, Leprechauns, shooting spray guns. I’ve actually had a chance to see some of the stuff she is talking about and it’s very cool. I can see how young people can accept and understand it all very quickly because of the way she sets up these little games.

In education, we get so much information from so many different resources. Before the internet, teachers were more on their own. Now, there’s someone like Nancy who creates this killer program about how to teach the golf swing to young kids. She can take that and give that to golf instructors across the country and they can understand. I think this gamification of learning coincides with our social culture and the way that we are able to share knowledge today. It really enhances the learning experience, I think education needs to go that way. Having a teacher that stands in front of a class and lectures is like if Nancy were a golf instructor that stood there and just tells you what you’re doing wrong. Versus, talking about rainbows and dragons, you can imagine the difference that would have on a little child. You can teach the golf swing, just like you can teach anything else, through this gamification process.

What do you think about this gamification process?

Find out more about gamification of the golf swing, Nancy, and SwingPlay

Visit SwingPlay.com or email Nancy at Nancy@SwingPlay.com

Quotes

“It was really frustrating. I never wanted anyone to feel that way. I believed in my heart that I could find a way to make it much more easy for other people.”
“Golf has been made too hard to understand and it doesn’t have to be that way; it could be easier.”
“I love teaching teachers.”
“They’re learning and they don’t even know their learning. That’s the fun part.”
“I really really wanted to create something different.”
“People helping people and using golf as a way to get the community together.”
“I just wanted to make something that makes the world a little better.”

More From the Interview

Nancy got involved in golf in college when a couple cute guys invited her to play at Torrey Pines. She borrowed a pair of clubs that morning and finished the day with a couple pars. When she told her golf buddies it was her first day, they were impressed. She checked out the golf scene and had the idea to become a pro in one year. She found a golf instructor, worked hard and reached her goal in a year and a half. She made several mini tours and was on the top ten list.

After her swing, put a coke can on her pitching wedge and she had to balance it, that was the start of all the games she began creating. It was about finding a way to make it fun after the lesson so she could understand it.

“When we were on the mini tour, none of us could afford golf lessons. So whoever would go get a golf lesson they would come and teach us what they learned.”

She got to train with Derek Hardy, who taught her a lot, she could have gone on and qualified for the tour, but she wanted to get better and shoot under par more often, but that wasn’t happening. She changed her path.

She wanted to become a teacher, so she could understand why the lessons were so confusing. “I would cry in front of Derek Hardy all the time, because I couldn’t understand what he was saying. It was really frustrating. I never wanted anyone to feel that way. I believed in my heart that I could find a way to make it much more easy for other people.”

She joined the LPGA, started as an apprentice, and was able to move up. She was lucky to be able to study under Chuck Hogan. He was part of the LPGA teaching them how to become better teachers. He was all about making things fun, and to do it through games. When she asked him how to be a better teacher, he said don’t just tell people what to do, they need to know why they should do it.

She started on a path where I broke down the whole game.

“It’s just taking old terminologies and making everything easier and something that people can put their thoughts around and understand really quickly and it’s kind of amazing if you can use games or sensory perceptive play, which is what I love to do.”

What is SwingPlay?
She took every part of the game and separated it into modules. Then broke it down into simple understandable sensory perception with a skill game, a sound game or anything with the senses. She uses story telling. With young kids she teaches them how to make rainbows and their club is the paint brush; there’s all kinds of different rainbows for the different golf swings. She is telling them how to make rainbows, but they’re learning about a golf swing.

Kids have hands-on experiences and they become more self aware. They get to experiment all through play and self discovery. The kids have a great time. They’re learning and they don’t even know they’re learning. That’s the fun part.

She says, the educators of the world, they get it. It’s the 21st century of learning; it’s more hands on and discovery, let the people figure it out for themselves.

I’ve had high school kids and college kids help mentor these younger kids with table top projects. These kids get to be mentors and as they are helping the younger kids they are learning too.

What do you enjoy most about teaching golf?
Watching people’s reaction when they get it.

What life lessons and values do you think golf teaches?
Patience, love, respect. One thing about a golf course is, it’s like a park, it’s green and beautiful. Teach them to pick up trash and take care of the golf green. It’s a place where kids can go and be in nature.

Her book, Golf Greenland, is a 4 hour lesson all about putting, through story-telling and games. The fundamentals you learn in putting just go larger as you go up the game.

She wants to find a good home for her program. She’s really excited that Newport Beach YMCA is excited about it. She’d like to see it at more places libraries, schools, and places like restaurants. Maybe even try to standardize golf using everything she has created, make it more fun and get more people involved.

Episode 74: How A Job Can Allow You to Pursue Your Passion | Danielle Tucker Host of The Golf Club Radio Show

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Danielle Tucker’s Golf Club Radio Show has been broadcasting from Hawaii since 1999. Danielle interviews PGA, LPGA and International Golf Professionals, Young Rising Stars, Teaching Pros, Sports Shrinks, Authors, Mental Coaches, Golf Equipment Companies, Club Designers and Golf Broadcasters. Danielle Tucker is the host of Radio Golf Club. It’s a live radio golf show that takes place in Hawaii. One of the things that came up in the interview that I thought was interesting, because it’s a different point of view from other guests of our podcast. She’s doing this as a side job. This radio show, she does it on a saturday. She has her normal work week and then she goes in and does this podcast on a Saturday because it’s something she really loves and she has the opportunity to do it.

Zeb’s Take

She has a lot of energy and excitement. She’s professional and the way she carried herself, and that extra energy she put into the interview, not to mention the insights that she gave. One thing that I thought was unique was that she encouraged people not to leave their job to pursue something like what she is doing. She is doing her golf club radio show because she loves it and for no other reason. She works her regular job, which I’m sure she enjoys, but maybe not to the full extent that she’s living her passion in that sense. But, it creates the opportunity that she can do something that she loves. What I’m doing right now in my business I know is my passion. I know that I’m working hard and making things happen, I think it’s going to be good in that sense. For Danielle, I think she is doing exactly what it is that she wants to. You can tell that she loves and enjoys what she does, just like I love and enjoy what I do. I think there are opportunities out there for people. You have to choose the path that’s right for you. Some people think they have to leave their regular job and become an entrepreneur to find success not really thinking about their passion is. Think about what it is you enjoy and that experience and how can you make that happen. Sometimes that will mean extra sacrifices. Working a 9 to 5 job to do that stuff that she loves on the weekends. It’s really up to you to determine what that sacrifice is.

Listen to Danielle Tucker’s Golf Club

Visit RadioGolfClub.com hear all Danielle Tucker’s episodes from 2005 and live streaming episodes every Saturday.

Quotes

“The best thing I can tell you about growth is never being satisfied with the work you’re doing.”
“The key to a successful interview is making someone comfortable.”
“To me every piece of work that I do, I’m working and I’m playing at the same time.”
“It’s up to me to keep it moving, keep it bright, tight and outta site!”
“We all learn differently, we all hear differently.”
“It’s always asking yourself, how could I have done that better.”
“The hardest thing to do in the business of radio is to listen to yourself.”

More from the Interview

Danielle has been in the broadcast business for a long time. Her past as a News Director, Co-Host, all built her experience working in a live radio environment. Her dad encouraged her to do a golf radio show, even though her station didn’t have any sports programming. Years later, someone approached her about doing a golf talk show. It was weird and perfect. At first, she was worried about running an hour long talk show, her experience had not prepared her for that. She was very nervous, but went ahead anyways. The person at the radio station loved it. She was able to expand it, find other radio stations that wanted to have the show. She started streaming it, and here she is today. Her dad came from England. He saw America as a land of opportunity. His proficient golf abilities allowed him to create great business contacts. He ended up in LA where he heard a radio show about golf. He knew golf was growing in the United States and that’s when he began encouraging his daughter to pursue a radio show talking about golf. Danielle used to work at an indoor golf facility. Over the years she has played lots of golf. She does traffic reports in the mornings and afternoons for five radio stations and on television. On Saturdays, she does her radio golf show. On Sundays she tries to get on the course, but all her work keeps her busy. She stays up to date on the game. she is engrossed in the game; but she needs work to carve out time for, if not 18 holes, at least nine. When she’s on the course, she just wants to stay out there forever. Danielle began her radio show about 1999 when Hawaii had a lot of impressive golf events going on. Pacific Golf Academy, Danielle’s workplace, was approached by a radio station to see if they wanted some advertising time on their station. Instead, The Pacific Golf Academy asked about doing a radio show for the station about golf and they were able to find sponsors to help pay for the air-time. I am paid to do what I do for a living. I work for a corporation that owns radio stations. I’ve worked in the business for a long time and my credibility is very good. People respect and listen to me and trust that what I tell them is accurate and fact. I have my credibility. The Golf Club Radio Show: The radio show is live 10am on Saturday mornings streaming online at RadioGolfClub.com. After each episode the programs are uploaded as podcasts to listen to any time. She has callers from around the world, all involved in the golf industry. Some of her impressive guests include Peter Alice, Arnold Palmer, Alice Cooper, Bubba Watson, Ben Rice, plus people who either do broadcast or architectural work and a lot more. If you’re going to listen to one episode, Arnold Palmer and Bubba Watson were great interviews. The most irreverant and the most honest interviews were Peter Alice and Ben Rice. They talk about golf as they see it. They weren’t afraid of saying things that might make waves, or rock the institutional world of golf. Usually her older guests are not as worried about saying things that might be disruptive. For me to look back at myself and what I’ve done in the past. I’d probably be very uncomfortable listening to myself. Because as I’ve gotten more comfortable I became better at making other people be comfortable being on air. The show allows her to get outside of the ever-confining radio tactics. She remembers the business of radio used to be free flowing; for the people on the radio they were deciding and doing things instataneously. It was art. Then corporations took over and now things are much more controlled. There is no spontaneity left in the business. Doing my golf show is a constant spontaneous moment. Advice: Her advice for someone who wants to start a radio show or a podcast would be: be willing to work for no money, hope that you learn a whole lot in a very short period of time, keep your ears open and your mouth closed, and practice. Talk, read out loud, express yourself, do the show for your family, friends, or dog. You can’t be afraid to say what you think. It’s a passion that you may not be rewarded for financially. She says, “I don’t recommend that anyone give up their job and look for a gig in radio or do a podcast and expect to actually feed themselves. You have to want it so bad that you’re willing to keep the job that you don’t necessarily like. Find a place where you can become successful inside yourself by expressing through a podcast the thing that you like to talk about. So when you go to work, at least you have a place where on the other side, that part of you that needs desperately to be fulfilled is being fulfilled through this additional outlet.” It’s a hobby. From her experiences she’s learned confidence, to be comfortable with herself, and to laugh in the face of almost anything. Different people gravitate to different personalities. “We all learn differently, we all hear differently.” Insight: Most successful people don’t think they’re successful, because to be successful you have to be pushing yourself to be successful. There comes a point where you might have an off day, and your audience will allow you that, but they won’t all multiple off days in a row. You have to be striving and making yourself – reinvent yourself, it’s the biggest cliche ever. To me that means, I want to learn something new today, I want to challenge my brain today, I want to bring something new to the table today, I don’t even know what that is, but I’m going to open myself up to find it. That to me, I think I’m successful. I’m never satisfied with what I’ve created. I might be happy with it, it might be rewarding, but I know I could have done it better. The hardest thing to do in the business of radio is to listen to yourself. I don’t know anyone in this business of radio who likes the sound of their own voice. When you’re listening to yourself you’re not hearing yourself, you’re hearing the tape in your brain. You’re hearing the moment in your head and that’s what makes you uncomfortable. I’m am a sum of being a mother a grandmonther, having supported myself through college without any help from my parents, paying off my college loans by myself, finding a job, working three jobs while going to school, working for free for two jobs, then having to find a job to keep another job. To me right now success would be to be able to retire and say “yo, let’s play a round of golf, the sun’s out.” My son says I was the best mom. My grandson misses me. Hearing my son and grandson say that, it doesn’t get any better. Now go out there and find your success!

Episode 72: The Social Golf Course Part 2

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The Social Golf Course was written by Zeb Welborn and John Hakim.

The Social Golf Course

In Episode 72 of the Defining Success Podcast we go through our book chapter by chapter and discuss the ideas presented in the book. At the end of each chapter we present a question in our book, which we encourage readers to engage with on our website, SocialGolfCourse.com.

In Part 2, we discuss Chapters 9 – 14.

‘The Social Golf Course’ with John Hakim, Part 2

Chapter 9: How to Become a Social Golf Course
Basically, in this chapter we walk through each platform and the basics of how to use each platform. Create a social culture and reflect that culture online through your website, email list/newsletter, Facebook, Blog, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Social media is constantly evolving and each platform will offer different ways to reach out and encourage golfers to play your course.

Which platform is the most important for golf courses to utilize to reach more customers?

Chapter 10: Greenskeeper.org Golf’s Social Network
In this chapter we discuss how golf courses can leverage Greenskeeper.org. How they can use it for free, and why Greenskeeper.org is a media buy.

How do I get more GK’ers playing my golf course? More ideas!

Chapter 11: Creating Content to Build a Golf Community
Creating content for social media is not easy. In this chapter we have lots of ideas and examples for creating content that will resonate with your golfers. Macro content is larger pieces of content designed to educate, entertain, or help tell the story of a golf course. Including 19th Hole Stories, the golf stories you share in the clubhouse before and after a round of golf. Micro Content can be posted more frequently. It is smaller pieces of content that are designed to build engagement.

What is your favorite 19th hole story?

Chapter 12: Implementing Social Media: Getting Your Staff Involved
To transform your course into a social golf course it’s important to have several members of your staff contributing. Staff members from marketing, top level management, turf management, the pro shop, tournament organization, event planning, and outside services can all be a part of your course’s social media presence.

What ideas do you have to get golf course staff more involved in the social media presence at your golf course?

Chapter 13: Managing Your Reputation
Today, customers naturally filter sales messages because the internet, search engines and social media provide a more accurate representation of your golf course. Properly handling negative and positive reviews on your social networks can not only bring more golfers to your course, they can help you make your business better.

How do you handle positive or negative reviews at your golf course? Have any examples?

Chapter 14: The Social Golf Course
Creating the social golf course will take hard work commitment and dedication. The social golf course is proud of their product. They strive to give the best golfing experience to every golfer that visits the course and then work to share that experience with as many people as possible.

Use social media effectively and turn your golf course into The Social Golf Course.

Do you have questions about how to turn your golf course into a social golf course?

Visit www.SocialGolfCourse.com!

Check out the book on Amazon.com, The Social Golf Course: Increasing Rounds with Social Media. Available for Kindle (you can download the kindle app for free on most smart phones, tablets, and computers!) and as a paperback.

Episode 70: Don’t Let Your Ego Get in the Way | Virgil Herring Author of The Golf Journal

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Don’t let your ego get in the way. Virgil Herring is one of the top teaching professionals in golf and when one of his best players, Brandt Snedeker became the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year, Virgil expected recognition. Brandt recognized another golf coach for his success and Virgil’s ego got in the way. Learn from Virgil in Episode 70 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Virgil Herring

Best-selling author Virgil Herring is Director of Instruction at the acclaimed Westhaven Golf Club and is founder of Higher Performance Golf Academy. Virgil received the 2003 Tennessee Section PGA Teacher of the Year Award and was named 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 Middle TN Chapter PGA Teacher of the Year. He was named a 2009 U.S. Kids Golf Top 50 Instructor (source) by U.S. Kids Golf. And he also worked with PGA Tour player Brandt Snedeker.

Virgil got involved in golf after he injured his shoulder as a baseball pitcher at 16 years old. He then turned to golf. Virgil took up the sport by playing with his best friend at a young age. He knew that he wanted to be involved in sports in his entire life.

He went to college to learn how to become a part of golf management. Today, he plays as much as he possibly can, but he became an instructor at an early age. His first 1,000 hours of golf instruction were working with over-achieving collegiate golfers. Everyone who worked with him told him that he had a knack for teaching.

Virgil likes to help others. When he’s competing he’s too concerned about other people’s games. He says he’s coached about 22,000 golf lessons, and coached 1,500 to 1,600 people.

The most compelling story Virgil has working with students was a young female golfer who Virgil took from a golfer who was quitting and three months later, she became a professional golfer. And now, Megan Grehan is now a professional golfer.

Brandt Snedeker was another student of Virgil Herring’s who went on to do great things in golf. Virgil was Brandt’s golf instructor for eight years where he went from an unranked junior, to the #1 player in college golf, to the #1 amateur in the world, to a two-time Nationwide Tour Winner, to the PGA Rookie of the Year. He won the US Public Links and made the cut in the Masters as an amateur.

Brandt was never the best hitter of the golf ball, but he always ended up winning. Virgil remembers the first time playing with him and one thing that Brandt had was confidence. He knew how to hit the shot when he needed to hit it. Virgil has taught more than 20 people who hit the golf ball better than Brandt, but he’s been the best putter 3 out of the last 5 years.

When Virgil began teaching golf, he was a big believer in getting people to perform their best. He saw the little differences between the average golfers and the exceptional golfers. Virgil knew he wanted to be a competitive golf coach and his brand was helping golfers achieve their personal greatness.

When Brandt won his PGA Tour Event in 2007, he went on national TV and thanked another teacher. Virgil reacted in disbelief and shock. And they didn’t handle the situation very well and Virgil wish it hadn’t had bothered him as much as it did. They’re both members of the same club, but their relationship is nothing like what it used to be.

Virgil wrote The Golf Journal and Virgil believes this is the year for statistical data to help people track their statistics to help people understand what they need to do to get better. His book helps people understand their golfing trends and how they can make those trends better. Golf teaches honesty, and integrity.

Virgil likes the creativity of golf. There are a lot of different golf swings out there. Golf is a long contest that trains focus, concentration and how to re-focus.

Another story Virgil re-tells is the time when Brandt asked Davis Love III about how he could stay on the tour and Davis told him that if he thought he should be out on the PGA Tour than he shouldn’t worry about it. The guys who can miss a cut are ok, but those who treat it as life and death are in trouble.

The Golf Journal

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Name a time when your ego got in the way?
Have you ever worked with someone who was a world-class athlete or business person? What traits did they possess that others did not?

Success Quotes:

“Success is choosing what you’re life’s mission is and chasing after it with all of your zest.”
“Golf mirrors life … how you handle adversity on the golf course shows how you handle adversity in live.
“There’s no such think as perfect.”
“When your ego gets in the way, sometimes bad things happen.”
“I get the chance to do exactly what I wanted to do since I was 21 years old and I get to do it every day.”
“Brandt Snedeker has a killer instinct that most people don’t have.”

Links to Great Stuff:

Virgil Herring – Virgil worked with PGA Tour player Brandt Snedeker from 2000-2007 and Tour players Harry Taylor, Brad Fabel, Cliff Kresge, Vance Veazey, Garrett Willis, Bob Wolcott & Kim Williams. He works with 52 Division-1 College Players and 22 top TN Junior Players. In Nashville, hear Virgil 7-8 a.m. Saturday on 104.5 The Zone.

Virgil Herring

Episode 60: Golf is Social | Kevin Flanagan President of USGLL

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Golf is social. Kevin Flanagan is the President of the USGLL which is a golf league for juniors. Kevin talks about the social aspects of golf and how golfing can help bring people together. Learn how Kevin is helping to grow golf by listening to Episode 60 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Kevin Flanagan

USGLL, Inc, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing national team competition for young golfers. Since 2008, their Team Match Play format offers boys and girls, ages 6 to 18, the opportunity to compete at all levels. Players receive instruction in the etiquette and rules of golf, learn mutual respect and teamwork and develop important social skills. These relationships and sense of integrity are a solid platform that will last them the rest of their lives.

Kevin was in the trade show and transportation industry for over 20 years. Once he retired he decided to get involved in golf and became a teaching professional. He realized that a lot of young golfers were leaving the game. He approached the city and said he wanted to start a golf little league and they worked on a way to figure out how to manage it.

The USGLL opened in April 2008 and now Kevin is running the business and the USGLL is growing rapidly.

The USGLL is trying to get more and keep more kids in the game of golf. We’re targeting the 85 – 95% of the kids who haven’t had the opportunity to expose kids to the game. The matchplay format helps young kids and parents understand the game.

One of Kevin’s mentors, Tom Addis, the president of the Southern California PGA and a former president of the PGA. And he asked “What are you going to do to grow the game?” Kevin really took that to heart and he decided to start this junior program.

The biggest obstacle Kevin faced was missing out on money that was promised to him before the economy tanked in 2008 for the USGLL. He then committed to multiple programs and faced a lot of roadblocks due the economy. Currently, other programs have started up which are similar to Kevin’s, but they’re taking away from the focus of the USGLL.

Kevin is always looking for sponsors to see how they can make golf affordable for some of the parents. Some companies realize if they get a kid interested in golfing when they are young that there is a lot of potential for their businesses.

When Kevin was in business, you could decide on the golf course whether you wanted a guy to go in business with. It’s a sport that all ages and all groups can play together.

The first child that teed off in the USGLL program in 2008. He made multiple All-Star teams and lost his father last year. They mentored him in the program and the child is going to be their first inductee into the USGLL Hall of Fame. Another girl, who’s a freshman is playing in the finals in High School.

The national website is being changed over so it will be a lot easier for golfers to get in. Parents can go to the USGLL.org to work to set up a golfing program for younger golfers.

Kevin Flanagan

Engaging Discussion Questions:

How important do you think being social can help a business?
Do you think golf is social?

Links to Great Stuff:

USGLL – “Our national strategy endeavors to increase our footprint from coast to coast, in all 50 states. Along with the USGA, PGA, LPGA and the NGCOA, we are committed to increasing youth involvement in the game of golf throughout the U.S., its territories, and, eventually, internationally.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is finding something and someone that you love to do and be with all the time.”
“The motto of the USGLL is teamwork, respect and integrity.”
“Girls can now compete with the boys at this level.”
“(The USGLL) started on a paper napkin after a golf lesson.”
Between golf courses and golf players, we’re losing (golfers) left and right.

USGLL

Board of Advisors for EZeeGolf

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As listeners of the Defining Success Podcast, you may remember Steve Fluke (Episode 45: Listen to Your Market). Steve was the owner of EZeeGolf. EZeeGolf is a golf club that can propel the ball without a traditional golf swing. The club acts more like a gun where you press a button and can hit your ball between 50 and 225 yards down the fairway.

The main goal of EZeeGolf is to help golfers who can no longer enjoy the game because of their physical limitations enjoy the great game of golf. By using this tool golfers who can no longer swing because of shoulder problems, disabilities, or old age can now still get out on the golf course and enjoy a round with their friends and family.

After our interview on the Defining Success Podcast, Steve and I have gotten to know each other much better, so much so that Steve invited me to be on the Board of Advisors for EZeeGolf. In my current position, I’ll be working with Steve to help increase and enhance the online and social media presence of EZeeGolf in a consulting role. If you haven’t checked out EZeeGolf, please do. You can visit their the EZeeGolf website, Facebook page, and/or YouTube page.

EZeeGolf

I’m really looking forward to working with Steve and EZeeGolf to help those individuals who enjoy the game continue to get out on the golf course and enjoy the experience with their families and friends.

If you have any ideas about how we can market and promote EZeeGolf, please let us know on the Defining Success Podcast Facebook page. We’d love to hear your thoughts about this new golf club!

Episode 49: Just Show Up! | Photographer Chris Carlson from the Associated Press

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Chris Carlson has done photography in more than 40 different countries covering some of the world’s greatest sporting and political events. He’s been involved in the business a long time but attributes his consistency and reliability to be one of the keys to his success. Learn how to just show up in Episode 49 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Chris Carlson has been a staff photographer at the AP in Southern California for the past 6 years, Prior to that, he has been on the staff of the Orange County Register where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage. During his career, he has been on assignment in over 40 countries.

Chris’s family was in the newspaper business. Early on he realized his spelling was so bad that the only way he could stay in the newspaper business was by becoming a photographer. Like any field you get into, you have to hone your craft. Chris was very lucky to work with people who were very skilled. Many people took Chris under his wing and helped develop him into a world class photographer.

When Chris started in photography, there was a huge delay between the time he took a picture and the time he had it developed. In some cases it was several hours. Now, photographers know very quickly whether or not they have shot something great or not and they have the ability to take more if they are not happy with what they’ve shot. Twenty years ago photographers were not as lucky because if they took bad shots, they would not be able to recognize this until hours later and in some cases this meant the opportunity was gone for good.

In photojournalism, they have deadlines and now the deadlines have sped up excessively.

One thing that Chris thinks many people in photography may not realize is the way that professional photographers are able to effectively use lighting to create a better picture. The average person would be able to look at a picture and say it’s beautiful, but the professional photographer would be able to understand why the picture looks beautiful. A good photographer can take any situation and make it look like it was shot with photo studio lighting.

Some people get into journalism because they want to get into the world. Chris got into journalism because he wanted to see the world. Being a photographer has given Chris the opportunity to see how the world has unfolded before him.

One of the best assignments Chris ever had was the 2007 U.S. Open where Tiger Woods won in a 19 hole playoff and watching him make a put on the 18th hole to force a playoff was probably the most exciting thing he had ever seen. Watching the crowd react and watching Tiger’s reaction and seeing how competitive that day was was amazing. And he felt very fortunate that photography was the vehicle that gave him the opportunity to witness the experience in person.

A lot of pressure comes from being a photographer. Chris works hard to capture special moments, but sometimes many factors can contribute to the missing of a moment which can be lost and gone forever if he doesn’t capture it as it’s happening. The stress of capturing these events can be a burden. Over time the stress of having to capture that one moment can weigh on you a bit.

Chris attributes his success to luck, good decisions, hard work and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, something happens that you couldn’t plan for and in his case he feels very lucky. Somebody once told Chris that a key to success is just showing up. If you show up and do work you’re already ahead of your competition. He looks at his colleagues that are very successful, he sees that it’s because they have a very strong work ethic.

One of the biggest mistake Chris has made was that he didn’t know if he enjoyed it enough in his time. He wonders if when he retires if he’s going to say that he enjoyed it enough while he was doing it.

Working at the Associated Press, Chris feels fortunate that they cover big stories and the one event Chris wants to go to that he hasn’t yet is the Masters Golf Tournament. Every year Chris covers the Kraft-Nabisco women’s golf tournament events which conflicts with the Masters, but he hopes he can make it to the Masters.

Chris has done countless brush fires, earthquakes, civil unrest. He was on the presidential campaign with President Obama and he’s done the Iowa Caucus and recommends that if anyone has an interest in politics that they should visit Iowa during that time because they are all very knowledgeable about politics.

If you’re interested in becoming a photographer you need to decide what kind of photography you’d like to do and then position yourself to be able to do that. Sometimes it means starting at the high school level and hone your skills to build up to the big time. Photography is incredibly competitive and in order to be successful you must love photography and if you have a good work-ethic, you’ll have a chance to be a good photographer.

When they started introducing digital cameras, your competition grew and the ability to make a living in photography is a lot tougher than it used to be.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What does it take to make a great picture?
How important do you think being reliable is to business?
Would people say you just show up?

Links to Great Stuff:

AP Images – “AP Images gives you access to the world’s largest collections of historical and contemporary photographs, so you have all the imagery you need, right when you need it. AP’s timely, powerful and informative images cover topics ranging from breaking news and sports to business, entertainment, weather, fashion, travel, royalty-free, rights-managed, microstock and more. You can purchase the images you need immediately on our site or set up a subscription service with your sales representative. And with our new API delivery method, you get images in a more flexible, fast and reliable way, within your own interface. AP’s Assignment & Publicity Services is also ready to assist you with start-to-finish planning, execution and distribution for all your promotional needs.”

The International Center of Photography – “The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to the practice and understanding of photography and the reproduced image in all its forms. Through our exhibitions, educational programs, and community outreach, we offer an open forum for dialogue about the role images play in our culture. Since our founding, we have presented more than 500 exhibitions and offered thousands of classes, providing instruction at every level. ICP is a center where photographers and artists, students and scholars can create and interpret the world of the image within our comprehensive educational facilities and archive.”

MSNBC – Pictures of the Week – “NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and visually engaging stories on your platform of choice. NBC News Digital features world-class brands including NBCNews.com, tv.msnbc.com, TODAY.com, theGrio.com, NBCLatino.com, NBCPolitics.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Rock Center, Dateline, Newsvine, Breaking News, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We provide something for every news consumer with our comprehensive offerings that deliver the best in breaking news, segments from your favorite NBC News shows, live video coverage, original journalism, lifestyle features, commentary and local updates. NBC News Digital reaches an audience of more than 58 million unique visitors who generate more than 1.2 billion page views and 140 million online video streams each month.”

New York Times – Lens Blog – “Photography, Visual and Video Journalism.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is balancing my career, my family life, my social life and my future.”
“I got into journalism because I wanted to see the world.”
“The one thing that separates amateur photographers from professional photographers is the way they handle light.”
“Photography is about capturing the moment.”

Special Requests:

Engage with us on Facebook, Twitter and leave reviews on the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes.

Episode 26: Breaking Out of Your Shell | Kate Hughes from Vision FORE Success

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Kate Hughes

Teaser:

Kate Hughes was unbelievably shy when she was younger, but grew up into an amazingly charismatic woman who was able to succeed on the LPGA Tour and help youth golfers develop a strong mental game. Learn more about Kate and how you can break out of your shell in Episode 26 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Recap:

Kate Hughes is a former LPGA Tour Player with 2 top 10 finishes and 1 victory in Japan. She’s now mentoring, counseling, and guiding young men and women golfers to become great High School players, top student/athletes at all collegiate levels and by those who want to become Tour Professionals.

Kate Hughes picked up golf at an early love for sports. Her parents would often bring home sports equipment for her brother and she would always end up playing with those. Her first experience golfing, she took a swing and connected and fell in love with the game at an early age.

She used to be a professional LPGA player, and could have been a lot better but had to have five surgeries during her time as a player. She played golf in Minnesota at the collegiate level and broke several records while she was there and they encouraged her to go out on tour and she made it in her first try. As a result of making the tour she gained self-confidence, maturity, friendship and camaraderie.

In golf, you’re your own business and in the end you’re the one that’s responsible for your own destiny and it’s a great mind game.

In college, Kate was playing in the NCAA Championship and on her last shot everything just stopped. It was an uphill shot and Kate visualized herself shanking the shot. For whatever reason, she turned her back on the hole and took five steps away and looked up at the sky and saw a plane flying through the clouds and it calmed her. She told herself she was going to knock it next to the pin and make the putt for a birdie and she did and finished in third place. To her, it didn’t feel like anything.

Kate is the owner of Vision Fore Success. Vision Fore Success helps younger players with their mental game to help them improve their golf game. Kate has been on the journey from High School, to College, to the Professional tour and she wants to help young players make the transition from High School to College to the Pros as well. She helps players get in touch with their anger, frustration and get them into a better frame of mind.

Kate Hughes and Ken Venturi

Kate also does a lot of networking to help her golfers get more exposure and she also shares every bit of knowledge she has to help them “play from inside out.”

Kate belongs to the Aliso Viejo golf club and a lot of her friends at the club recommended she pursue this path. A young person at the course continually lost her cool on the golf course and she sat down and chatted with her and her handicapped dropped and she become very successful. That student then began telling others and word of mouth helped her decide to turn Vision Fore Success into a business.

Word of mouth and social media have really helped her grow her business.

Young golfers have a lot of pressure. They often have a lot of external pressure from parents and the parents want their kids to achieve certain things that their kids don’t wan them to achieve. The pressure and stress are huge for students competing to make teams. At times, Kate has had to sit down with parents to teach them how they can help their young player. Sometimes they get so frustrated that they start to give up.

If you look at scholarships there are six scholarships for women and four for men, because there are more scholarships available for football. The pressure, intensity and stress they put on themselves early on is too much. One experience Kate had was with a player who could have been a top 10 player in the world, but her father would stand behind her and yell at her for not being able to execute a shot that he wanted her to take. She left the game because it wasn’t fun for her.

Kate used to be very, very shy. She could not speak in high school and college classes. And to graduate she needed to take a speaking class and getting inside the ropes and helping to find her own person she was able to blossom. She learned self-respect and confidence. She learned that people can literally do anything they put their minds to.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

How important is the mental game in business?
How do you think you can help others “break out of their shell?”

Links to Great Stuff:

Vision Fore Success – “Kate’s experience and success enables her to provide real world expertise to the next generation of World Class golfers. She utilizes her knowledge and Mental Training Certification to assist her players in developing skills sets to optimize their playing potential into the collegiate golf arena and beyond.”
Bunkers Paradise – “To provide a community to give golfers the ability to learn from other golfers who enjoy and love the greatest game in the world!”

Success Quotes:

“Success is something that you make on your own, you can have help, but it’s really up to you.”
“Being successful is going to bed every night knowing that you’ve done everything you can to achieve your goals.”
“Building the confidence with younger players from the inside and projecting it outwards so they can be and do anything they want.”
“With the iPhone or the Androids . . . we can continue to stay connected, but we’ve got to shut it off at some point.”
“Social media is where this world is going and it’s going to continue to grow.”
About golf – “I just love the fact that everything you do comes from inside of you.”

Special Requests:

Download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @DSuccessPodcast
Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.

Episode 20: The Importance of Youth in Golf and in Business | Jay Miller from Golf Card International

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Jay Miller Golf

Jay Miller loves the game of golf. He’s passionate and has great ideas on how to grow the game for the future. A big push Jay says that needs to be made in golf is to encourage more young people to take up the game. By giving youth golfers more opportunities, Jay says, we can help grow the game. Attracting the youth is also valuable in business because in order to maintain the longevity of a business you have to be willing to attract younger generations that will one day fill the role of different age groups. By learning how to build a business focusing on the youth, we can help build better businesses overall.

Recap:

Jay Miller was the past President of the California Golf Course Owner’s Association, Founder and past-CEO of one of the most successful non-profit golf foundations in America,past General Manager of the National Golf Course of the Year, Golfer’s Association’s “Man of the Year” and is currently the Director of Business Development for Golf Card International and Fairway Rewards.

Jay got started in golf at Edgewood Country Club when his parents let him hit his first shot at a young age and knocked it close. His parents immediately got him a set of clubs and got in touch with some golf teaching professionals who taught him the game. He eventually gave up all the other sports he played to become a golfer. He started working at a local course and he went to Purdue University on a golf scholarship where they won the Big 10 Championship in his senior year.

Jay tried to become a professional golfer but realized he wasn’t good enough to make it and so he quit playing professionally but started his own business. The man who sponsored him on tour owned the largest manufacturing facility of plaques and he jumped into the business. The first year he did the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs and got to play golf with Gerald Ford. Betty Ford went on Good Morning America where she talked about Jay and his business which gave his beginning company a huge boost.

He was doing donor recognition wall displays across the country and offered a bunch of new products until 2001. He was playing 160 rounds of golf. In 1986 he had a dream about changing children’s lives and he wrote a 72 page thesis on how to grow the game. A good, wealthy friend of Jay took him golfing and asked Jay what he would do with money if his friend were willing to give it to him and Jay said he would start an organization to teach young people the game of golf. A couple years later his friend gave him $3 million dollars to start Jay’s project.

His wife named the project “Get a Grip.” Get a Grip on your life, education, the golf club and the Lord.” They were named three-times the National Junior Golf Education Foundation of America. They had one location called Cresta Verde Golf Club in Corona California. They built an education center at Hidden Valley Golf Club.

Jay took over Hidden Valley Golf Club in 2007 and became the National Golf Course of the Year in 2011. Jay went down to Florida where he managed a few clubs and did some consulting for other golf courses.

Golf Jay Miller

Jay is addicted to the game of golf and has probably played over 16,000 rounds of golf at 700 golf courses. He got hooked on hitting the cool shots. He loves the camaraderie the fellowship, and talking smack with your buddies.

His purpose is working in a program called Mulligan, connecting golfers to God. The famous Wally Armstrong, Jim Hiskey who invented Bible study on the PGA Tour. He loves helping golfers enjoy the game and grow the game.

Jay says we’re losing 100,000 golfers a year meaning that more people are quitting the game than are starting the game. In 1957, 88.6% of all children had a father at home. In 2007, 44.4% of the children born had a father at home. Around 90% of the golfers were introduced to the game by their father or by a sibling of their fathers.

Single mothers don’t have the time, energy or resources to introduce their children to the game. Some parents are spending $20,000 a summer in an effort to get their children a golfing scholarship.

According to Jay, $100 million has been spent on the First Tee Program which offers money to inner city youth to take up the game and the program is failing. Because many inner city youth do not go on to college and therefore can not afford to pay for golf at a later age. Jay suggests we raise $10 million a year to get students started playing the game in preschool. They get preschool teachers to learn how to teach golf and the instructors can teach preschool teachers in around 5 hours.

If you love golf then you should introduce others to the game. Donate clubs and balls to juniors. Glen Ivy in south Corona gave Jay close to 12,000 golf balls to give to young players. Jay encourages golf courses to give youth the opportunity to play the game in any way they can. If all golfers could have a philanthropic attitude we can all help grow the game.

I interviewed 1,500 real golfers and I found out that 68 to 78% of golfers don’t have a handicap.

Jay has gotten to play with two U.S. Presidents, many celebrities, many professional golfers at hundreds of courses. Jay feels he was created to change childrens lives through the game. He wants to improve their game, make them feel important and give them a product that was a good value for their money.

The top golf stories Jay ever had was when he played golf with Keith Jackson and Frank Boyles, Bob, the friend who funded the get a grip foundation on a golf trip. They spent four days at Augusta National and and Shoal Creek. The opportunity Jay had to spend the trip with two legends in the game of football was one of Jay’s most memorable golfing stories.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

How can we help grow the game of golf?
How would you get more people to play golf?

Links to Great Stuff:

California Golf Course Owner’s Association – “The California Golf Course Owners Association (CGCOA) is dedicated to the stimulation of market growth for California’s golf course industry. We promote collaborative advertising and promotional advertising programs encouraging more rounds of golf throughout California.”
Golf Card International – “Golf Card International was founded in 1974 with a simple idea: find a way to help golfers save money on the high cost of green fees. To do this, we formed a club for avid golfers and built a network of affiliated golf courses that would provide savings to our members. After 38 years, our membership is still strong, and Golf Card is now accepted at nearly 3,000 courses in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.”
Fairway Rewards – “Fairway Rewards is a venture–funded startup now located in Sonora, California. For eight years, we’ve strived to provide innovative customer loyalty, incentive marketing, and media solutions for golf courses.”
The Mulligan Golf Club – The “Mulligan Golf Club” is a metaphor that describes the largest golf club membership in the world (golfers who have been invited to follow Jesus!)
The Golf Club at Glen Ivy – “Glen Ivy Golf Club is a unique golf experience, with scenic views and creativley placed fairways, tees and greens.”
PGA Tour – “The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. The mission of the PGA TOUR is to expand domestically and internationally to substantially increase player financial benefits while maintaining its commitment to the integrity of the game. The PGA TOUR events are also committed to generating revenue for charitable causes in their communities.”
Wally Armstrong – “Wally Armstrong competed in more than 300 PGA Tour events, including numerous US & British Opens, Masters, PGA and Tournament Player’s Championships. In his first Master’s tournament, Wally finished fifth, setting a rookie scoring record of eight under par at Augusta. He is a Lifetime Member of the PGA Tour and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Florida, where he also achieved All-American Honors in Golf.”
Augusta National – Home of the Master Golf Tournament located in Augusta, Georgia.
The Esteban Toledo Family Foundation – “For fifteen years it has been my dream to establish a Giving Foundation that will put efforts into helping children around the world, and I am proud to announce that my dream has become a reality. With the assistance of my family, friends, fans, and supporters, I am proud to introduce The Esteban Toledo Family Foundation. A foundation focused on helping others, especially children. Our purpose is to supply basic needs such as shelter, clothing, food, education, love, and an introduction to the Lord.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is using your blessings and your purpose.”
“You show me somebody that wakes up in the morning with a purpose and can’t wait to go to work no matter what they do.”
“Women golfers on average play faster than men ever dreamed about playing.”
“If you don’t have four hours three to four times a month to enjoy a game of golf with your friends than your life is not balanced.”
“The father is a key component to introducing your children to golf.”
“You hit one shot equivalent to somebody on T.V.”

Special Requests:

Connect with us at 19th Hole Media if you’re in the golf industry or if you know someone who is, please send them our way. We can help golf courses grow by reaching out to more customers and encouraging them to play more often at any golf course.
Download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @DSuccessPodcast
Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.

Episode #14: Build Your Business with Friendliness and Hospitality | David Kramer from Los Serranos Country Club

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Teaser: David Kramer discusses the importance of friendliness and hospitality to help build your business. His passion and devotion to his craft shine through as he’s able to demonstrate how being kind and hospital has helped his business grow.

Thank you for visiting the Defining Success Podcast. Please download, subscribe and rate our podcast on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909 Thanks for listening!

David Kramer from Los Serranos Country Club

Recap:

The son of tennis legend, Jack Kramer, David is the Senior Vice President of Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, CA which recently won the 2012 Golf Course of the Year by the California Golf Course Owner’s Association. He’s a lover of golf, tennis, sports, and recreation, but most importantly, he’s a lover of people.

David got his first set of golf clubs when he was 10 or 11 and he was fortunate enough to play golf 3 or 4 times a week when he accompanied his father on a trip to play in the Davis Cup in Australia. His father then got involved with Los Serranos Country Club of which David became a part in.

As a young man, David was interested in all kinds of sports and he was able to play any sport he wanted to. David worked at Los Serranos Country Club when he was 13 and 14 years old. He became General Manager in 1997 and was Assistant General Manager in 1992. He worked as a tennis professional and helped manage some tennis colleges and schools and has been very fortunate to be involved in recreation his entire life.

David talked about his dad, Jack who was a great father and a great parent. Jack lived a charmed life and he did what he loved to do and he became the top tennis player from 1947 to 1954 and after that he gave back to the game in a variety of different capacities. But his greatest accomplishment was that he wanted to make tennis more available to the public.

The best place to transfer values is through the family where there is love for that tradition or profession.

David still communicates with friends that he met in the second grade and his group of friends still have a large impact in his life today. In 1965, there were 51 people who graduated in his class and he still communicates on a regular basis with close to 25 of them. He’s been able to share a lot of experiences, stories and ideals with his childhood friends.

The advice David would give to someone who wanted to start a goal would be to work hard to become a better person and to grow as a person. And if you work hard at becoming a better person you will become better in business.

David and Andrew Kramer at St. Andrews Golf Course.

David loved working at Los Serranos Country Club because, as he says, “People come happy,” and he was just happy sharing and participating with the people who visited his golf course. He feels very fortunate doing something that he really enjoys and he truly feels that he’s living his passion.

You really have to find out what your duty is and what your skills are that you can use to deliver the goods. If you’re struggling at work then you’re probably not doing what you’re supposed to do.

Golfers have been coming to Los Serranos since 1925 and in 2012, Los Serranos Country Club was recognized as the Golf Course of the Year by the California Golf Course Owner’s Association for their contribution to the game. They are very involved in the community, youth, service organizations and their ability to manage a golf course to provide championship conditions at reasonable prices and provide valuable services to the members.

David feels success is a culmination of factors that basically comes in to finding the “sweet spot.” Meaning that when you’re doing great things and helping others a person can be successful. He advises others to use friendliness and hospitality in order to build your business.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

How can being friendly and hospitable help your business?
Do you think family has a role in the professions we choose?

Links to Great Stuff:

Los Serranos Country Club – “Set amidst 300 lush acres on the historic Don Lugo Spanish Land Grant and convenient to Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, Los Serranos Country Club offers an unparalleled Country Club experience at affordable prices. The two 18 hole golf courses are certain to appeal to players of all levels and ages. The world class facilities include championship golf, full practice areas, golf school and lessons, new Kids Course, and an award winning Clubhouse that features our elegant Montebello Ballroom, restaurant & lounge in the Racquet Room, locker room ammenities and Golf Shop. Los Serranos Golf & Country Club is the perfect complete Country Club experience for the entire family.”
19th Hole Media – With 19th Hole Media, we’re trying to grow the game of golf. Many golf courses are behind the times when it comes to marketing the game and we’re trying to build it at a grass roots level by helping golf courses develop a strong online presence for their business in order to attract more customers and encourage more golfers to visit their golf course and to do so more often.
Welborn Social Media

Success Quotes:

“Hospitality and friendliness comes from within.”
“The world is my family.”
“It’s good to know who you are. It’s good to know where you’ve come from. And it’s good to know where you’d like to go.”
“If you learn to love something as much as your mother and father loved something, that’s a great place to start.”

Special Requests:

Connect with us at 19th Hole Media if you’re in the golf industry or if you know someone who is, please send them our way. We can help golf courses grow by reaching out to more customers and encouraging them to play more often at any golf course.
Download, review and subscribe to the Defining Success Podcast on iTunes.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @DSuccessPodcast
Sign up for the Defining Success Podcast Newsletter.

Episode 9: Building an Online Golfing Community | Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise

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Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief and Director of Social Media at Bunkers Paradise. Ken talks about how sometimes he tried to do too much too quickly and the importance of quality of quantity when posting on Facebook and Twitter. Learn how to build an online golfing community in Episode 9 of the Defining Success Podcast with Zeb Welborn.

Ken Lee from Bunkers Paradise

Recap:

Ken Lee has been involved in sports his entire life. Golf was something that his granparents got him into. They played golf together for 40 years and he watched them play as a young child. Ken loved playing all types of sports and while personally using social media he established contact with Gary Lee from Lakers Nation who had established Bunkers Paradise as a place for used golf clubs reviews. In 2012, Ken came aboard and changed the direction of Bunkers Paradise to make it an online golfing community and they use social media as a platform to build a strong social media community.

Ken’s vision for Bunkers Paradise was to create an online golfing community for anything and everything golf. “We live, learn, and love everything golf.” Any golfer from beginner to pro can connect and interact with us. They will learn news, the newest golf club releases, and they make it fun. They also want to help grow and appreciate the game.

Facebook and Twitter work well for Ken Lee to reach customers and clientele. Ken likes Twitter because there is quick and fast feedback. Facebook, to Ken, is an avenue to expose people to different articles, fun photos and an opportunity for other golfers to engage with one another.

One tip Ken would give for Facebook is to encourage people to interact with Facebook posts. If you write an article don’t just submit it, encourage people to discuss the article that you’ve written. That interaction will give you an opportunity to connect with other golfers.

On Twitter, Ken recommends implementing a strategy and they use it as a gateway for everything. Use introduction tweets to start discussions and then through the interaction start to develop relationships that can bring people to their Facebook page or to their website.

Social media is the reason why Ken Lee came on board with Bunkers Paradise and he says that it’s been the catalyst for the success of his business. What people don’t realize is that nowadays, people want instant feedback and any company can do that now. Anybody can utilize social media in a positive way.

As a result of social media, Bunkers Paradise has been in contact with hundreds of companies including Callaway Golf. Callaway golf has figured out that social media is huge for the game of golf. And they have struck up a strong relationship with Callaway through the social media presence Bunkers Paradise has established.

Ken feels he is a good communicator who interacts with people well in the community and people enjoy talking with him and engaging with Bunkers Paradise. They’re just a bunch of golfers who love this game. He interacts with people well and has fun while he’s doing it.

Sometimes, in the social media world you can push to fast and sometimes pushing too fast hurts your growth in terms of what you’re trying to accomplish. Ken’s trying to get Bunkers Paradise too big, too fast and he tends to think he should slow down sometimes and just enjoy the ride.

To Ken, success is different for each individual, but for the most part it’s setting up a goal and it’s not necessarily reaching a goal, but it’s a journey along the way that help people get to that goal. And whether you have failures or successes along the way, as long as you’re learning the entire time you’ll be successful. Ken considers himself successful because of the people he works and connects with on a daily basis.

Bunkers Paradise

Please connect with their Twitter @BunkersPGolf, search for Bunkers Paradise on Facebook and Instagram. You can also connect with Ken at @GolfingwithLee on Twitter. They will be giving away some prizes as they reach 6,000 Twitter followers.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What is better to use for businesses, Facebook or Twitter?
Do you think moving too fast is a problem for some businesses?
How do you know how good a post is when you’re creating a Facebook or Twitter post?

Links to Great Stuff:

Bunkers Paradise – Bunkers Paradise is an online community for anything and everything golf. Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief and Director of Social Media for Bunkers Paradise.
Callaway Golf – Callaway Golf has figured out the importance of social media. Visit their website.
19th Hole Media – Although not mentioned in this podcast, I, Zeb Welborn have experienced a lot of success using social media at golf courses here in Southern California and recently started a new website with that goal, 19th Hole Media. Let us show you how we’ve been able to help golf courses grow using social media to build stronger relationships with current golfers and reach out to new golfers.
Welborn Media – Located in Chino, CA learn how we can use Internet marketing and social media to reach more customers.

Success Quotes:

“Social media has been our forum for success.”
“To get people to follow you, you have to tweet things that matter.”
“It’s not about quantity, it’s about the quality of the tweets.”

Special Requests:

Please tell anyone you know in the golf industry to visit – www.19thholemedia.com and contact me if they have any questions regarding how social media can help bring golfers to their golf course.
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