The Golf Watch

Golf Digest ad follow-up

I received a number of responses to the post "Golf Digest ad showing up everywhere," and I thought I would publish this comment from reader Brian.  He writes:

It is sad that Golf Digest believes this is the way to get a new and refreshed readership.  Golf Digest, which purportedly was going to pick up where Golf for Women left off (have you seen any content even remotely similar to the GFW target), is so tired it's insulting.  I do not believe that they can gain a new, younger audience without a content facelift to go with it.  Golf Digest is viewed as old school and traditional, however the game is changing, but I really don't think their view of it has.  Golf players are getting younger, we have more women playing everyday, minorities now have many more opportunities to get involved and the golf community is now Global not just US and British centric.  In order to speak to this ever changing community magazines like Golf Digest need to change WITH them, not try and keep things the same.  Having an advertisement on Twitter, Facebook and other places that this new audience lives will not mean a hoot if the content that goes with it does not change as well.

Thanks for covering this topic.

Here's the question: Is Golf Digest doing enough to appeal to younger readers?  I'm sure we'll touch on this issue in the months to come...

Golf Digest ad showing up everywhere

I'm sure many of you have noticed the omnipresent Golf Digest banner advertisement that has surfaced on the Web.  It makes sense to me that it would be on a site like the New York Times above this Thomas Friedman piece (below)--but it never occurred to me that they would want to appeal to a MySpace audience (second picture below). 

It's clear that Condé Nast is attempting to appeal to a younger demographic.  I wonder though: How many of the millions of users who log on to MySpace each day are interested in fixing their slice?

 

   

Geoff Shackelford Interview

I had the opportunity to speak with renowned golf writer Geoff Shackelford earlier today about a number of topics.  I have divided the interview into three segments.

In part one, we discuss, among other things, the concept of "going green" in golf, the future of print journalism and being inside the ropes at golf tournaments.



In part two, we touch on the captaincy of the Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup 3.0.



In part three, Geoff talks about one of his favorite announcing crews, his dream foursome and what a typical blogging day is like for him.

Bonk sightings on Golfdigest.com

While perusing Goldigest.com, I noticed two contributions (here and here) from Thomas Bonk.  If you're not familiar with Bonk's situation, he recently took a buyout from the LA Times.  This was significant because Bonk was one of the few remaining full time American newspaper golf writers. 

I miss Bonk's weekly notes and I hope we will continue to see his writing for years to come. 

Golfweek and Golf World choose same cover picture

Did anyone else notice the covers of this week's Golf World and Golfweek magazines?  Apparently, the two rival weekly publications wanted to use the same Getty Image photograph from Stuart Franklin... 

   

Golf coverage dropping in U.S. dailies

Publications like Golf Digest and Golfweek aren't going away anytime soon.  But as more and more newspapers are laying off newsroom employees, there is less golf coverage in general.

Ryan Herrington notes in the July 11 edition of Golf World (sorry, couldn't find a link to the story online):

Two decades ago, there were about 30 full-time golf writers at U.S. dailies, now the number is less than 10 and dropping.

Sadly, as the actual newspaper size begins to shrink, Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune says the golf section is the first to go in the sports section...

I've already felt the squeeze and I know it is going to get much, much worse.  In our paper, what are they going to cut: Cubs' coverage or golf?

Atkinson doesn't break 100

If there's anything to be learned from the Golf Digest Open contest, it's don't doubt Tiger Woods.  Last year, the world's number one golfer said that a 10 handicap couldn't break 100 at this year's U.S. Open.  Well, amateur John Atkinson tried, and came up 15 strokes short of that mark.  Larry Dorman of the New York Times reports that "he did not par a hole, shooting a 43-over-par 114." 

Tony Romo, who also played in the group, managed a 13-over 84.  That's pretty spectacular.

Golf Digest announces winner for US Open contest

It looks like our pick, was pretty much everyone else's pick.  Golf Digest announced on Sunday that John Atkinson, an 8-handicapper from Omaha who is still battling cancer, won the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge, and will tee it up with Matt Lauer, Tony Romo, and Justin Timberlake at Torrey Pines several days before the US Open begins.  The goal is to see whether or not Atkinson can break 100. 

NBC will televise the taped round from 2 to 3 p.m. before the final round of the U.S. Open.  But with commercials, how much action are we really going to be able to see?

Voting up to see if average golfer can break 100 at US Open

Last year, Tiger Woods said that a 10 handicap couldn't break 100 at this year's U.S. Open.  Well, Golf Digest, NBC Sports, and the USGA decided to have a contest to see if an amateur golfer could do just that.  As a result, 56,000 people applied, and five finalists have been selected.  I was originally excited to see who was picked, but was generally disappointed when I read about the finalists.  I was hoping to read five inspiring biographies, but found only two that caught my eye...John Atkinson and Matt Rice.

Atkinson is my pick.  He was diagnosed with lung cancer last year, and has recovered.  He was worried when he was first diagnosed that he would never be able to play the game again.  But, as his friend Terry writes, "last summer he had a double treatment of chemo, walked 18 holes the next day and shot 76."  His regular foursome is his dad, grandfather, and brother.  I like this guy.

Harmon tops list of America's 50 Greatest Teachers

In the August 2007 edition of Golf Digest, America's 50 greatest teachers were listed, as ranked by their peers, and Butch Harmon topped the list.  Golf DIgest also asked tour professionals who they thought the best teachers were.  Harmon won again in this category and Stack and Tilt gurus Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett jumped to a tie for third.