Fresh Ideas Aren’t Hatched In Your Fiefdom

The term “thinking outside the box” has quickly become an overused cliché and anybody who uses it seems to be going against its original intent and that is to come up with new, fresh ideas instead of resorting to strategies (or in this case, terms) that have been used over and over again.

Let’s go beyond the original term and suggest that, in order to think outside the box, you have to step outside the box in the first place and see what the people you are selling a product to actually want, instead of just assuming you know.

Either by design or crazy schedules or both, many of us planted at the grassroots level of golf stay confined within our own fiefdoms, often content with the banter and business of people who are already sold on the game.

Core golfers are the foundation of any operation, but drawing new people to the game will be a challenge going forward, if it isn’t already, due to economics and changing demographics. Read More »

Bravo B.C. On Your HST Fight

For all the jokes I make to GNN blogger Kyle German and other friends of mine from the Wet Coast, I must come clean and admit that I admire the folks in British Columbia who are fighting the HST. You can...  Read More »

Tendinitis Is Limiting DeLaet’s Swing

Graham DeLaet missed the cut at The Barclays last week and will be out for a month as the playoffs wind down on the PGA Tour, not a great thing to happen when you’re a rookie trying to keep your card. However,...  Read More »

Do Outsiders See Golf As Stifling?

As I mentioned in Thursday’s blog here, the outside world looking in at golf may not be as accepting of its traditions as those who have played or worked within the game for years. That statement may...  Read More »

Golf Needs To Listen, Not Talk

The consensus among hockey folks who I knew when I was closer to that game than now is that this week’s World Hockey Summit in Toronto will accomplish little, if anything of consequence. That’s not...  Read More »

Confessions Of An Instant Info Junkie

In the past couple of months, I’ve gotten more into … oh, hang on a sec – just let me check this. Sorry, as I was saying, in the past couple of months, I’ve gotten more into the Facebook account...  Read More »

Would You Divulge Your Numbers?

As discussed in a blog here last week, the main challenge facing the Rounds Played Program being run by the National Golf Course Owners Association and the Canadian PGA in a joint partnership is trust. The...  Read More »

Vegas Attendance Up. How About Orders?

Here’s an example of the mixed messages we’re getting on the economy. Reed Exhibitions is reporting a 16 per cent increase in attendance at the PGA Fall Expo, which was held this week in Las Vegas. The...  Read More »

Data Program Promises Confidentiality

In this era when even having your e-mail address fall into the wrong hands results in an unwanted barrage of solicitations, there is an understandable reluctance to dish out information, especially with...  Read More »

Are You Ready To Go For It In 2011?

As I mentioned in a blog here last week, there are some economic storm clouds on the horizon lately, which may or may not mean a slip back into recession after just emerging from the one that hit late...  Read More »