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Sven Nilsen

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #75 on: April 19, 2012, 04:06:50 PM »
And more. 

                                 
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

George Freeman

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #76 on: April 19, 2012, 05:40:02 PM »
Sven,

David had a clear objective when starting this thread, however it appears that you have completely overlooked this by randomly posting many club logos.

However, I like seeing all the logos, so keep them coming!  ;)
Mayhugh is my hero!!

"I love creating great golf courses.  I love shaping earth...it's a canvas." - Donald J. Trump

David Cronheim

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #77 on: April 19, 2012, 05:45:28 PM »
Sven,

David had a clear objective when starting this thread, however it appears that you have completely overlooked this by randomly posting many club logos.

However, I like seeing all the logos, so keep them coming!  ;)

HAHA - I'd hardly complain. It's great seeing so many interesting logos!
Check out my golf law blog - Tee, Esq.

Howard Riefs

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #78 on: April 19, 2012, 06:03:25 PM »
Sven,

David had a clear objective when starting this thread, however it appears that you have completely overlooked this by randomly posting many club logos.

However, I like seeing all the logos, so keep them coming!  ;)


So, Golf Ranch isn't the "most widely recognizable club logo in golf?"

"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Sven Nilsen

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #79 on: April 19, 2012, 06:35:05 PM »
Howard,

Since the name is actually 93 Golf Ranch, I'm guessing not.  Only course where I've ever had a ball get deflected by a tumbleweed.

"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

Mac Plumart

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #80 on: April 19, 2012, 06:57:43 PM »
Only in the South...



Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

Matthew Petersen

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #81 on: April 20, 2012, 01:45:25 PM »
Almost forgot!  One of my favorites:



Landmark Golf uses their corporate logo for many of their courses.  Maybe it saves money because they can print merchandise with one logo and embroider whatever course name underneath (or just omit the course name).
       
     

Well that's a disappointment!

The story I'm familiar with is that the tree in questions is the large oak tree that you must drive over on #5 at Oak Tree (now Oak Tree National). The logo seems rather out of place for many of the other clubs it's applied to.

Matthew Petersen

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #82 on: April 20, 2012, 01:49:57 PM »
A few from the area ...



Not generally a fan of logos that are primarily text, but I think this one works. It's a unique script.







Maybe my favorite from AZ:


Jason Topp

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #83 on: April 20, 2012, 01:55:10 PM »
One I like:


PCCraig

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #84 on: April 20, 2012, 02:04:03 PM »
H.P.S.

Michael George

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #85 on: April 20, 2012, 02:09:56 PM »
What this exercise has shown me is that too many clubs have very little creatives skills when it comes to their logos.  Being that clubs are trying to look for sources of revenue anywhere they can find it, you would think that they would come up with creative logos that would make merchandise more attractive.  

Bandon certainly recognizes it and their logos are really good and look great on merchandise (except the Bandon Trails Butterfly - yellow and black doesn't go with anything unless you are a Steelers fan - who should never be considered fashion leaders).

My favorites in the US (of the 100s listed here) are:  Merion, NGLA, Fishers Island, Sebonack (simple but cool), Sand Hills, Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Colorado GC, White Bear Yacht Club, Boston GC, Garden City, Pinehurst, Laurel Valley with Black Sheep as my darkhorse (it is so different, I like it).

Anyone interested in a new logo, I offer my ideas free of charge  ::)

PS - I like that one Jason.  Add Big Fish to my list.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2012, 02:11:38 PM by Michael George »
"First come my wife and children.  Next comes my profession--the law. Finally, and never as a life in itself, comes golf" - Bob Jones

rjsimper

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #86 on: April 20, 2012, 02:45:14 PM »
As a marketing guy, I love logos. A good logo is one of three major factors I consider in how much merchandise I buy from a course.

But I don't think it's fair to compare publics against privates in this vein, since their goals are often at opposite ends of the spectrum. The initial question of this thread was a good one...which is the most memorable/famous and all those named were public courses...That's the goal - establish a brand. So you have Pebble. You have Pinehurst. You have Sawgrass. Three of the most expensive public courses in all the land. Bandon Dunes too.

The high-end public courses that I think have done a poor job of branding themselves are Kiawah and Whistling Straits...I doubt many people would recognize the blowing Herb logo...and they've had a major.

But these are all courses that are selling $1000 dollar days on their golf course (lodging, food, golf, caddie, etc)

Shoreacres, NGLA, Fishers, Merion - they're not selling this. So for them it's more about the exclusivity, the status, the "in the know" factor.

I think the litmus test for what a course's goals are is text. Is there text in the logo? More importantly, is there text on the merchandise?

2 of my favorite golf shirts are from Shoreacres, and most people will never know it.

Certain private courses that are still "Brands" still put the text in. I don't know that you can find anything in the Bay Hill shop that doesn not have the italic Bay Hill accompanying the umbrella. Most of the Cypress Point stuff has the club name under the tree logo.

Do I think the Kiawah script logo is the best thing out there? No, but if they changed to the Maidstone whale and nothing else, they might be worse off.

I think Bandon stuff is somewhat obnoxious because it ends up being a huge printable area with the course/resort name very large. But they still did a good job with the Puffin and having an identity. Same goes for Pinehurst and the putterboy, which is actually my favorite big-brand logo.

And the new Pebble logo is way better than the 80s version, which I can't find online, but it's a big improvement.

I rarely buy merchandise from public courses just because I think the logos tend more to be obnoxious. I prefer the subtlety. But the goal of the public courses ain't always "make the coolest logo" - it's get the word out.


rjsimper

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #87 on: April 20, 2012, 02:47:32 PM »
Michael, I think you're right.  Just look at that Big Fish logo....it'd be a million times better if they just got rid of all the words.  I have no idea why clubs always want to litter otherwise really neat logos with so many words.  I think we need the minimalist movement in golf to make its way over to the logos!


Branding branding branding.

David Cronheim

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #88 on: April 20, 2012, 02:59:33 PM »
As a marketing guy, I love logos. A good logo is one of three major factors I consider in how much merchandise I buy from a course.

But I don't think it's fair to compare publics against privates in this vein, since their goals are often at opposite ends of the spectrum. The initial question of this thread was a good one...which is the most memorable/famous and all those named were public courses...That's the goal - establish a brand. So you have Pebble. You have Pinehurst. You have Sawgrass. Three of the most expensive public courses in all the land. Bandon Dunes too.

The high-end public courses that I think have done a poor job of branding themselves are Kiawah and Whistling Straits...I doubt many people would recognize the blowing Herb logo...and they've had a major.

But these are all courses that are selling $1000 dollar days on their golf course (lodging, food, golf, caddie, etc)

Shoreacres, NGLA, Fishers, Merion - they're not selling this. So for them it's more about the exclusivity, the status, the "in the know" factor.

I think the litmus test for what a course's goals are is text. Is there text in the logo? More importantly, is there text on the merchandise?

2 of my favorite golf shirts are from Shoreacres, and most people will never know it.

Certain private courses that are still "Brands" still put the text in. I don't know that you can find anything in the Bay Hill shop that doesn not have the italic Bay Hill accompanying the umbrella. Most of the Cypress Point stuff has the club name under the tree logo.

Do I think the Kiawah script logo is the best thing out there? No, but if they changed to the Maidstone whale and nothing else, they might be worse off.

I think Bandon stuff is somewhat obnoxious because it ends up being a huge printable area with the course/resort name very large. But they still did a good job with the Puffin and having an identity. Same goes for Pinehurst and the putterboy, which is actually my favorite big-brand logo.

And the new Pebble logo is way better than the 80s version, which I can't find online, but it's a big improvement.

I rarely buy merchandise from public courses just because I think the logos tend more to be obnoxious. I prefer the subtlety. But the goal of the public courses ain't always "make the coolest logo" - it's get the word out.



Ryan,

Great to have input from someone who's business is marketing. I think the observations you make are absolutely correct. I've always thought that the public golf courses favored having text in their logos specifically for marketing purposes. Look at some of the great public courses out there that often just use a stylized script logo - Sea Island, Greenbriar, etc. I'm ok with text so long as it's a unique font, but it's never my favorite.

Agreed 100% on how little I buy from public course pro shops.

One of the reasons I started this thread was about a year ago, I spearheaded efforts at my club to revamp our logo. We went from

OLD



to this NEW one



It was well-received by the membership and we've found having a nice clean looking logo makes a huge difference for branding purposes.
Check out my golf law blog - Tee, Esq.

KBanks

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #89 on: April 20, 2012, 04:53:38 PM »
I love the Kittansett logo with the scallop shell. Panmure's is the same. I wish someone would post the very cool Lookout Mountain logo. It is minimalist, just an outline of mountains like the ones behind the Alps green, and the year the club opened.

Ken

PThomas

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #90 on: April 20, 2012, 05:01:06 PM »
others I like which i dont think have been mentioned

Dunes CLub in MI

Olympia Fields (

Congressional

Patriot

Dormie CLub

Lookout Mtn

Liberty Nat

Cherry Hills

Strawberry Creek

Ekwanok

Creek Club

Harbour Town

Essex Cty

Indian logos:  Sunnehanna, Cuscowilla, N SHore, Minikada, Pueblo de Cochi
199 played, only Augusta National left to play!

John McCarthy

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #91 on: April 20, 2012, 05:29:46 PM »
We have heard from the marketing goons, but are there any graphic designers out tthere?
The only way of really finding out a man's true character is to play golf with him. In no other walk of life does the cloven hoof so quickly display itself.
 PG Wodehouse

Howard Riefs

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #92 on: April 20, 2012, 05:51:52 PM »
What this exercise has shown me is that too many clubs have very little creatives skills when it comes to their logos.  Being that clubs are trying to look for sources of revenue anywhere they can find it, you would think that they would come up with creative logos that would make merchandise more attractive.  


For a few hundred dollars, these clubs can crowdsource a logo via crowdSpring or 99designs to see what they're missing. 

(Don't intend to get into a debate about the crowdsource model.)
"Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

John Crowley

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #93 on: April 20, 2012, 06:32:25 PM »
Most of my favorites are logos only without the name of the club spelled out. BTW RDGC has had two until this year when the round green logo (which was used on "nonmember" items) has been discontinued in favor of the yellow shield crest logo.

Mac Plumart

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #94 on: April 20, 2012, 06:39:24 PM »
I'm sticking with Pinehurst as most recognizable, The Golf Club as my favorite...but Chechessee might be my pick for dark horse.

Sportsman/Adventure loving golfer.

John Crowley

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #95 on: April 20, 2012, 06:40:47 PM »
Self correction - the RDGC logo is a green bordered shield with a golden tiger holding a horseshoe in the center.

rjsimper

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #96 on: April 20, 2012, 08:36:39 PM »
I agree that the public courses over-word their logos in the name of branding.  

My question is: why?  The last two posters on this thread - one who is in the marketing business - just specifically said that they DON'T buy stuff from public courses when the logos have too much branding on them (ie, too many words littering up the logo).  Make it 3.  I don't buy public (or even private) course shirts unless the wording is minimal.

Query: what good does all this supposed branding do if nobody buys the shirts because the logos are hideous?  In other words, if a brand falls in the forest, and there's nobody there to wear it, does it make an impact?

Wouldn't most of these public courses with the bawdy, over-worded logos be better off from a branding perspective to have a cool logo with LESS wording, so that people will actually BUY the shirts and wear them and serve as the walking billboards they're suppose to?  

Cost benefit analysis. I'm not saying they are right, but the thinking presumably would be this:

Would I rather sell twice as many shirts and hats, or would I rather sell half as many, but the ones I do sell get seen by every person that the buyer encounters whenever he wears said shirt or hat in the future.

If some guy goes and plays his weekly skins game with a hat with a giant steer skull on it, someone might think it was a ranching company or the local AA baseball team. But if it says TOBACCO ROAD in prominent print, then it's free advertising.

Friars Head, who we almost unanimously agree has a great logo, isn't really interested in advertising.

This thread is evidence that many of us are logo snobs. So using me as a barometer of whether or not a logo strategy is effective is probably unfair.

Just as a matter of unscientific research, I am going through my logo ball collection right now and of the 63 that have made the current cut to be on the wall, here is the breakdown:

18 of them have no club name or just initials - ALL 18 of these are private
13 of them have what I would call subtle or fringe text in them. Only 2 of these are public - Pinehurst, Grove Park, and Royal New Kent
32 have prominent text, 18 of which are public

And this is just what's on the wall. Naturally, I think we all tend to show off the stuff we like more (and that is often from private courses), so of the 200 or so balls in the basket, the majority are public.

There are only two out of all my collection, 250 or so balls, that are public and have no course name on the logo ball - Barona Creek and Hunter Ranch

One oddity was Pinon Hills (who includes their address on the thing, taking the marketing utility of the logo to the extreme)

I also think it's funny/shameless when you see courses that put "Golf Digest Best in South Carolina" or "Golfweek top 100 Modern" on their hats.

The other answer and possibility is that the people responsible for marketing decisions at public golf courses aren't that bright. But despite my design sensibilities I'd have to say that there probably is something to branding your course name.

Consider a parallel to reality television. There are tons of respectable producers and writers who work in reality television simply because it cashes the checks. Hollywood recycles a summer blockbuster for an unnecessary sequel and makes a killing, whereas genius independent fillmakers struggle to cover 5-figure budgets with excellent films.

At the end of the day, 99% of public golf facilities are in it to make money. So if they give up a little of the ideal in order to do so, I can't really blame them.

Maybe they sell a few more windshirts and hats with a better, more subtle logo, but they have probably concluded that it hinders their efforts at getting their name recognized.


Sean_A

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #97 on: April 20, 2012, 08:56:15 PM »
I think most folks who splash out for a trip to Kiawah or Pinehurst (etc) and are also splashing out to buy merchandise expect to see a logo with the name of the course included.  It is hard to show-off/brag if folks don't have a clue as to where the logo is from (and think this would be the case for a huge percentage of golfers).  All that said, I still don't have a clue as to what the most recognizable logo is and I would be very surprised if there is anything like one dominant logo.  For all the world becoming a smaller place, golf is still quite regional.

Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Wade Whitehead

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Re: Most Recognizeable Club Logos in Golf?
« Reply #98 on: April 20, 2012, 09:15:33 PM »
There is one dominant logo that EVERYONE knows.

WW

Tim Martin

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« Last Edit: April 20, 2012, 09:29:08 PM by Tim Martin »

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