19th Hole Media Top 10 of 2017 – The Best in Golf for 2017


Corey, Lacey and I sat down to go over an amazing year for 19th Hole Media. And we wanted to share the top 10 things that happened in 19th Hole Media in 2017. Thank you for being a part of it.

Here is our top ten from 2017!

#10 Palm Springs Golf Trip

We made several trips to Palm Springs in 2017, but Zeb got the chance to spend three days in Palm Springs, playing and visiting some great golf courses including Indian Wells Golf Resort, PGA West, Desert Willow Golf Resort, Monterey Country Club, Shadow Mountain Golf Club, Indian Springs Golf Club and several others. It’s never a bad thing to play three rounds of golf in three days in Palm Springs.

Desert Willow Golf Resort

 

#9 Great Players at Great Courses

Two of our clients have some golfers who have been making waves on the PGA tour and beyond.

This year we signed on Bernardo Heights Country Club who boasts Xander Schauffele, 2017 PGA Rookie of the Year, and winner of the 2017 PGA Tour Championship.

Xander Schauffele

Our longest tenured client, Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club is home to Michael Block who has been winning tournaments left and right getting the opportunity to play in numerous PGA Tour events including the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

Michael Block Golf

We also interviewed Michael Block several times throughout the year about his golfing successes and career. You can check those videos out on the video section of Arroyo Trabuco’s Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/pg/ArroyoTrabucoGolf/videos/

#8 Shooting GolfBoard Videos at Indian Wells Golf Resort

Indian Wells Golf Resort approached us just prior to 2017 to help them market GolfBoard via social media. One of my greatest golfing moments of the year was playing a round with Corey and shooting some GolfBoard videos which got some major traction throughout the year.

The golf season for Indian Wells lasts about six months during the winter. We did so well promoting the GolfBoard they doubled the size of their GolfBoard fleet and brought us on this season to do Facebook posting for their golf course, restaurant and wedding venue.

Check out one of their most popular GolfBoard videos here – https://www.facebook.com/IndianWellsGolfResort/videos/10155673915042366/

GolfBoard at Indian Wells Golf Resort

#7 GolfChat

A few years ago Zeb Welborn started #GolfChat, a twitter chat for golf fans and golfers.Who knew it would grow on to become its own wonderful little corner of the internet. #GolfChat took place every Tuesday on Twitter at 5PM PST with the help of @golfbandwagoner and @ConnectGolf. If you’re invested in golf, you should join us in 2018.

The chat has sparked some great conversations and debates prompting the establishment of #GolfChat Authors. #GolfChat Authors have contributed articles on golf to give their thoughts and opinions on ways to improve golf. #GolfChat is the place for knowledgable and thoughtful golf experts to share their insights on the golf industry. Check out GolfChat Authors, Click Here.

One of the highlights of the year was having Ron Sirak, award winning golf writer and, Brandel Chamblee, analyst at the Golf Channel, jump into the chat. Looking to make 2018 another great year for #GolfChat.

#6 The Social Golf Course in Scotland

No one has been more supportive of us and this business than our parents. They are the best! This year they had some wonderful adventures including a trip to the very heart and soul of golf, Scotland. They brought copies of the book The Social Golf Course written by Zeb Welborn and delivered the book to key individuals at St. Andrews, Royal Dornack, Brora and Elie.

It’s great to see The Social Golf Course at the Home of Golf.

The Social Golf Course at St. Andrews

#5 Working with NextLinks

We started working with NextLinks when they first began as REALiTEE Golf in the beginning of 2015. We have been fortunate enough to be involved with a company leading the pack on integrating technology and golf.

NextLinks is providing technology solutions for golf courses and venues to help incorporate golf and technology and are doing in a variety of unique ways.

Early in 2018, the Indian Wells City Council approved a plan to have NextLinks design a one-of-a-kind putting experience at Indian Wells Golf Resort. Their plan is to use lasers to create a nighttime experience for golfers and non-golfers in the Indian Wells area.

To see their plan watch their video – NextLinks – The Future of Indoor Golf – Goes Outdoors.

Indian Wells Golf Resort and NextLinks

NextLinks is also working with the Silver Reef Casino in Washington to develop a unique golf experience and with the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. It’s going to be a great year for one of our favorite customers.

#4 Wedding Video Promotion for Riverwalk Golf Club

At Riverwalk Golf Club we helped identify and reach out to a wedding videographer who allowed us to use a wedding video to promote the Riverwalk Wedding Venue. With paid advertising, the post itself had:

  • 179,247 impressions
  • 80,286 people reached
  • 28,000+ video views
  • 3,016 clicks
  • 251 likes
  • 21 shares
  • 37 comments

Riverwalk Golf Course Wedding Video

But the best part about the video was the shares and comments. Commenters suggested the wedding venue to friends, expressed their desire to have a wedding there and, probably most importantly, received social proof from commenters who used the venue before and loved it. These comments can then be used to continually market the wedding venue at the golf course.

Here are some examples of the comments left by Facebook users who saw the video ad we identified, posted and advertised for on behalf of Riverwalk Golf Club:

I have to get married there Facebook comment for golf course weddings

Golf Course Wedding Recommendation

golf course wedding venue discovery

 

golf course wedding testimonial

We are creating a package specifically for wedding golf course venues. If you’d like to learn more about our golf course wedding venue marketing packages sign up for our email list here – http://eepurl.com/OTrhf

#3 19th Hole Media Clients Win CGCOA Awards

Sometimes businesses think social media is just a marketing tool, but it’s so much more than that. It helps with customer service, customer retention, customer feedback, develops new business opportunities, creates PR opportunities, etc.

We are proud to announce that the California Golf Course Owner’s Association’s Awards were won by several organizations involved with 19th Hole Media. You can watch videos of these CGCOA Award Winners here:

#2 Viral Golf Videos

Several golf videos we created this year went viral. One was a video of Zeb Welborn interviewing John Powell, from Los Serranos Country Club, about his world record-breaking round of golf where he shot 22 strokes under his age.

John Powell’s video was picked up by several major golf publishers throughout the country and he got lots more publicity for his remarkable accomplishment.

It was great helping get John Powell be recognized, he loved the attention he got from our video.

The second viral video was an interview I had with Bruce Loman, one of the first members of the Callaway Golf team. He’s seen Callaway become one of the biggest brands in golf and he shared the story regarding his experience with the company.

The interview came about purely by chance as Bruce recognized me coming off the 18th Hole at Strawberry Farms Golf Club. He was open to doing an interview right then and there.

Want 19th Hole Media to shoot and promote videos like these for your golf course? Sign up for our email list here and we’ll be in touch – http://eepurl.com/OTrhf

#1 Southern California Charity Golf Classic

The 3rd Annual Southern California Charity Golf Classic was held at Los Serranos Golf Club on July 29.

This year we had 132 golfers play in our golf tournament and raised $14,401.87. Combined, we have raised more than $33,000 in the three years we’ve hosted the Southern California Charity Golf Classic. Thank you to everyone who organized, sponsored, donated and played in the SCCGC!

Southern California Charity Golf Classic Organizers 2017 Anthony Verches, Ron Capps, Jan Edwards, Lynnette Brown, Karon Mulligan

 


 

In more exciting news, we wanted to share some new things that happened in our personal lives in 2017 too.

Birth of Our Darling Niece

Just about a year ago our brother Rocky became a father and we got to meet our niece. She is simply amazing. An animal lover who enjoys food, she is already very good at sharing. We are so excited to see her grow and to be a part of her life!

New Baby Coming in 2018

We’re happy to announce that Cindy, Zeb’s wife, is pregnant with their second child – a girl. 2018 is going to be another great year full of joy, laughter and excitement. Sebastian is super excited to become a big brother.

Sebastian's Getting a Little Sister

Sebastian’s Getting a Little Sister


It is not lost on us how fortunate we are to be able to do the work we do with people who never fail to be interesting and passionate. So many people have helped us get to where we are.

We have a lot of plans for 2018 and are looking forward to another memorable year. We hope you all have an absolutely amazing 2018!

Thank you all for everything!

Zeb & Lacey Welborn

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Social Media for Golf Courses

How Donald Trump Won the Presidency with Social Media

Regardless of how you feel about the election results, you witnessed a drastic shift in the way politics will be handled in the future. Golf courses and businesses should take note of the power and influence Donald Trump was able to yield through social media.

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde

Our President-Elect, Donald Trump, made controversial statement after controversial statement throughout the campaign and – every time – our political pundits said he was done. He would not recover.

But, he did recover.

Not only did he recover, but he continued to make more and more controversial statements and each time his influence grew.

His campaign is a testament to the new age of marketing – the power of social media.

Donald Trump’s strategy was to make sure eyes, ears and minds were on him and only him.

His strategy worked and it will work for your golf course.

Trump’s campaign relied on one simple premise:

“There is no such thing as bad publicity…” – Brendan Behan

If you’ve ever thought to yourself social media doesn’t work, it’s a waste of time, or it can’t help to get more golfers playing golf, Trump just proved you wrong. Trump used social media to persuade our country.

In a traditional campaign, any number of Trump’s controversial remarks would have doomed his run for the presidency, yet he thrived.

With each tweet, Trump defied conventional thinking and the reason it worked is because his statements dominated the headlines nearly every day of the campaign election cycle. Every late night talk show host, news anchor, newspaper, magazine and media outlet mentioned Trump on an almost daily basis.

The free press Trump received far surpassed the mentions of Hillary Clinton throughout the entire election. Whether good, or bad, Trump was on the minds of the American people and we have social media to thank.

As the results were being read, many pointed to the fact that this election would “rewrite the history books.” Its ramifications will reverberate throughout the future of political campaigns.

Trump was able to activate an untapped voter base. In the same way, golf courses can use social media to tap into golfers who have considered taking up the game, but haven’t yet.

In every debate, Facebook and Twitter were mentioned – they even had a selfie spot at my polling place.

Donald Trump Social Media for Golf Courses

Those engaging in discussions on Facebook and Twitter permeated news feeds and those who proactively supported or endorsed either candidate influenced our election.

If you’re active on social media you’re an influencer. You have the ability to persuade others to your way of thinking in today’s connected age. If your golf course is active on social media, you have the ability to persuade golfers to choose you over another golf course – OR – to choose golf over another recreational activity.

And when they choose you, you have the ability to generate a “base” of followers who will overwhelmingly support you and your brand. So much so, that they’ll take to Twitter, to Facebook and other social channels to tell everyone just how great your golf course is.

Trump demonstrated the power and appeal of reaching the masses. If you’re not using social media you have zero influence on those people using it. If you use social media, you have the potential to tap into thousands of people on a daily basis to convince them to play golf at your golf course.

Sign up for the 19th Hole Media newsletter for tips and tactics on social media marketing for golf courses.

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How We Generated at Least $936 from One Golf Course Facebook Post

In November, we ran a golf course Facebook contest at a client golf course which we highlighted in a blog post we wrote titled, How to Run a Facebook Contest for Golf Courses: A Case Study.  The contest, which reached 2,976 golfers and had 409 people engage in the post, was won by Art Franco, who said he never played our clients golf course before.

Facebook Marketing for Golf Courses

Fast forward to April when Art Franco won another contest at our client golf course.

Facebook Golf Marketing

In five months, Art Franco said he’d played golf nine times at our client course.  Our client charges $52 per round during the week, so Art brought an additional (9 x $52) $468 in increased revenue.

I continued to follow up with Art via the Facebook messaging service and here’s what Art had to say:

Facebook Marketing for Golf Courses

According to Art, every time he played our client course he brought someone different, who had never played the golf course before.  Assuming he only brought one other person each time our one Facebook post can account for (9 x $52 x 2) $936 in increased revenue.  If he brought a foursome each time he played golf, our one golf course Facebook post can account for (9 x $52 x 4) $1,872 in increased revenue.

The Recap

Art had never played our clients’ golf course before.

Art brought at least nine golfers who had never played our clients’ golf course before.

At the minimum, 10 new golfers had been exposed to this “hidden gem.”

Our client course, at the very least, made $936 in increased revenue in a five-month span from one golf course Facebook post.  It’s likely that the actual number of increased revenue from rounds of golf was closer to $1,872 and that’s not even including food and beverage and purchases in the golf shop.

But, it still doesn’t even tell the full story.

The Full Story

Ten new golfers were exposed to this “hidden gem,” if they’re all as enthusiastic about golf as Art is then at least ($936 x 10) $9,360, or if they all brought foursomes, $18,720 could be attributed to this one golf course Facebook post.

In addition to Art’s involvement at our client course, our two contests reached more than 4,299 golfers and had more than 832 people respond to them.

Lastly, all of this happened within a span of five months.  When you calculate the lifetime value of these new customers from this one golf course Facebook post, what would that number be?  Could you do this daily?  How much revenue could you generate from using Facebook effectively?

Sign up now for our Social Media Scorecard to see if your golf course’s social media presence is up to par – http://19thholemedia.com/socialmediascorecard

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