He wasn't on my fantasy team, but in the end, I was definitely pulling for Geoff Ogilvy last night as he valiantly defended his SBS Championship title on the lush fairways of Kapalua. Though I've long been impressed with his quiet consistency, prior to last night I've never been a huge Geoff Ogilvy fan. It's probably fair to say that Geoff Ogilvy doesn't inspire a lot of "huge fans". After all, he's not prone to on-course theatrics and his personal style tends to be monochromatic and understated. Even the awesome, urban edginess of PUMA... his sponsor for four years... didn't quite rub off on Mr. Ogilvy, and he recently moved his talented toes to FootJoy. I think we can bet Mr. Ogilvy's MyJoys will be black on black on black.
I've long felt that social media could play an important role in engaging golf fans... particularly casual golf fans, and my sudden "engagement" with Geoff Ogilvy yesterday is an excellent example, because what made it happen was a rather spontaneous social media event put together by a Twitter friend of mine. Early in the day @PureGolfJourney emailed me to say that Geoff Ogilvy's coach Dale Lynch, one of the stellar coaches behind Pure Golf Training, would be broadcasting LIVE on UStream during the SBS Championship's final round. He encouraged me to log in to UStream or Twitter to follow Mr. Lynch's broadcast, ask questions and chat with him and other followers... in real time... about what was taking place on the Plantation Course.
I did log in, and at 7:45PM ET, as promised, there was Dale Lynch sitting on his couch at his home in South Carolina watching the tournament from from his living room. ~ It was an exciting round, and as it progressed it was awesome to be able to chat with the esteemed coach and ask him questions directly via Twitter or UStream. How Geoff had practiced for a particular hole... what techniques he used to stay so calm... and the myriad other questions arose as we watched. Dale Lynch was easy-going and informative, and before long I was "engaged" on a much deeper level, not only with the awesome Geoff Ogilvy, but also with the tournament.The technology that allowed this to happen is fairly new and getting better all the time. I can only imagine it'll be used in the future in new and exciting ways. In the meantime kudos to PureGolfJourney and Dale Lynch for being pioneers. And to Geoff Ogilvy for making us all proud.
The cool thing about golf is that in a lot of ways, it leads all sport in the integration of the new online media into the fan experience. This is yet another example in what's becoming a long line of firsts. It's very cool and I for one welcome it with open arms.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post Golf Girl. I think we are on the edge of a whole new wave of social media involvement in golf ...and the great thing is that we all felt a part of it. It was all very spontaneous. Thanks for your great coverage of what took place - love the line about black on black on black...I am sure Geoff will have a wry smile over that one. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat must have been so exciting...stressful...fun!!! Hope they do this more. Let me know.
ReplyDeleteI think anyone/everyone in the golf industry, in any capacity should be considering this type of thing. Not only does it provide the more avid fans with an enhanced experience it's also a way for casual fans to connect to golf beyond Tiger Woods.
ReplyDeleteGeoff Olgilvy has always been underrated. He clearly doesn't have a flamboyant bone in his body. How refreshing is that.
ReplyDeleteA great post Patricia...I'm so happy to see everyone embracing what we did yesterday. Honestly, I was a bit concerned as to how it would all pan out.However, you asked some great questions, as did JohnRaser and a bunch of other people and Dale to his credit looked so chilled out and into it that it worked out great! He told me on Skype after the broadcast that he really enjoyed it and would love to do something like this in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'm flattered that you called us "pioneers" and couldn't be happier that you were part of this experience.
I love this idea too. I ran into some trouble logging on, but was able to enjoy the conversation nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely added a very cool personal level to the tourney.
Yes Golf Girl. This seems to be the future. Especially with more and more people either watching broadcasts on their P.C. or sitting with a laptop in front of their T.V. This will most likely take off and become common place. I has potential to engage many more people at a deeper level than ever before.
ReplyDeleteGood Stuff.
FootJoy has been around for almost 150 years is steeped in tradition, comfort, and performance when it comes to their golf shoes.
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