Kick Back and Relax This Holiday Season

Star Tech dropped by for the GolfNewsNow company lunch on Friday, which means it was just him and me at the table and what usually happens in that situation is the discussion quickly turns to business, even when it should be about holiday plans, etc.

Star Tech has nothing to do with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock or beam me up, Scotty. It’s an appropriate nickname for Steve Woods, who doesn’t get his mug shot on blogs, but plays a key role in the design and operation of GNN, despite his anonymity with most readers.

Keep an open mind with techie guy and he’ll offer some valuable insights into the Internet, which admittedly, I didn’t have just over three months ago when GNN first launched.

Those first three months were a learning experience for both of us with GNN being the first of its kind in the Canadian golf industry, but through it all, the important thing is that the number of daily hits and subscribers to our regular e-mail blasts is steadily and exponentially growing.

It goes without saying that we would welcome more pros, owners, superintendents, buyers, company reps and anyone involved in the golf industry to sign up for those blasts, which inform readers about what’s new at GNN.

There are two ways for that to happen – just type your e-mail address into the “Be An Insider” box on the top right of our home page, or shoot me a request at hutch@golfnewsnow.ca and we will take care of it.

The early months of GNN were only part of the discussion with Steve over lunch. The new year will start quickly with a flood of product introductions befor the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. Of course, GNN will be at the show and we will file blogs and stories from the Orange Country Convention Center.

One of the biggest topics to be discussed in Orlando is the struggling economy and how it will affect golf. Of course, a big part of it will be focused on the United States, but there will be several lessons and ideas that Canadians can take back home, where our economy is also limping along.

There are no doubt challenges ahead for the golf industry and GNN will be there to cover them in its first full year, but there are more immediate and pressing matters to concern ourselves with first.

According to the latest GNN poll, the majority of the golf industry plans to take two weeks or more off over the holidays. Good for you. After a long 2008 and with an uncertain year ahead, your first priority should be quality time off with family and friends over the holidays.

Steve and I will be doing the same thing, so if you e-mail blasts aren’t coming as regularly as they have been, don’t think we’ve gone out of business. We’ll be ready to react if a news story breaks and I might even file the odd blog over the next two weeks, but mostly, it’s chill time and I don’t mean the weather.

We’ll get things back into high gear on Monday, Jan. 5.

As our Christmas lunch ended and we walked out into the snow, we continued to talk business, but that soon ended when  Elizabeth called Steve and he departed, while I scooted off to see my daughter Vanessa who, as she quite often does, let me have it for being late.

She won’t have to worry about that for the next couple of weeks — at least not in theory.
On behalf of Star Tech, we at GNN wish you quality time with family and friends this holiday season.

Make it count and enjoy your time off.

See you in the new year.

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