The Back 9 Network and Stupid Political Statements about Golf

[Anthony Butler]

This guy decided that after making $35 million at Morgan Stanley doesn't get you onto the USGA committee at age 35 that golf was ready to be 'democratized'

http://youtu.be/B56BOK57gOI

Golf does not need a political consultant to change it's image... whatever ails golf is not due to it's 'image'. It's simply a matter of economics... it costs a certain amount of money to present it as a recreation option in different formats and setting. And it takes a certain amount of time to master the sport to a level where you'll enjoy it... like anything worthwhile in life. Aren't we better off encouraging people who understand that's was golf is, instead of marketing as a replacement for an afternoon at the skateboard park?

Yes, not everyone can buy a new Mercedes but most people can afford a car... this video is the equivalent of saying driving a car is an 'elitist' activity. If someone forced me to watch this POS launch video 5 times in a row, I'd probably vote Republican out of spite.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Ban the cart and distance aids, but I fear that if they do that then they will have no followers.  Just another bunch who are out to rape the game for their own ends - why the Hell can't people just play the Royal & Ancient Game of Golf.

Melvyn

[Anthony Butler]

Ban the cart and distance aids, but I fear that if they do that then they will have no followers.  Just another bunch who are out to rape the game for their own ends - why the Hell can't people just play the Royal & Ancient Game of Golf.

Melvyn

I knew we'd eventually agree on something, Melvyn...

This is why my Generation X wife alternates between calling me 'old school' and a 'cranky old bastard".

[RJ_Daley]

Just a consortium of marketing idiots trying to spin the game into a niche of phony images and projected vapid values that are anathema to the actual values and spirit of the real game.  It is sickening sophistry to have this punk psuedo" master of the universe" project the sophistry of using the real and palpable great economic issue of our day (the wealth and income divide) and all the serious questions that raises for our society going forward, as a sophist tool to MARKET products to idiot consumers hypnotized by the sort of slick phony and artificial marketing images projected in the launch video.  It is disgusting on so many levels that I'm disappointed in my own damn self to comment.  This is the very reason golf will die a death of decadent marketing to advanced decay of their soul consumers, who apparently have been dumbed down by this assault of schlock media.  If golf as a supporting activity of a healthy lifestyle turned into just this sort of soulless autonomaton orgy of vapid values consumers, I'd never swing a club again.  

[Tim Gavrich]

I'd like to be able to play golf with my grandkids someday, so anything that piques the interest of younger generations, on whom the health of the game will increasingly depend, has merit to me.  The Back 9 Network seems very raw at this point, and it's no surprise that they seem to be coming out with guns blazing, trying to be edgy and eye-catching.  My guess is that if the network actually does catch on, they'll be a little milder.  Obviously their proposed sitcoms will leave much to be desired, but I think whatever travel-related stuff they produce should be interesting.  I'll check it out when it comes on the air.

[Terry Lavin]

Ban the cart and distance aids, but I fear that if they do that then they will have no followers.  Just another bunch who are out to rape the game for their own ends - why the Hell can't people just play the Royal & Ancient Game of Golf.

Melvyn

The final month of tilting at windmills. Almost nostalgic.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Terry

Ran is persuading me to stay

Melvyn

[Terry Lavin]

Terry

Ran is persuading me to stay

Melvyn

More's the pity.

[David_Elvins]

The back9 network isn't about getting rid of elitism. It is just a different type of elitism. attacking the stuffiness of the golfing tradition and replacing it with new money brashness and crassness is not democratic.  It's just craptastic.

[Colin Macqueen]

The devil incarnate.....Back9 that is.....not Terry...not Melvyn!!!!

Cheers Colin

[Mike_Young]

Don't laugh at this guy.  He can do more than something like First Tee or Play it Forward....watch....it's where it's going whether you like it or not...

[RJ_Daley]

Mike, let me know when the phony culture of the target market portrayed in the promo imagery becomes the the new face and style at Athens CC.  Take lots of  pictures to post for me too.  I know that homey don't play that game at the country clubs I've been able to visit.  Even my everyday muni isn't going to welcome that cult and style. 

[jeffwarne]

I thought golf WAS fun.

Do we really want to falsely promise something (again) and have droves quitting again in 5 years?
Golf is very rewarding yet quite difficult, only certain people have the discipline, dedication, and desire to develop  enough competence to learn, enjoy, and appreciate it.
I'm OK with that.
Those who don't I'm OK with "excluding".

If you can't enjoy the satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from exercise, self improvement, being outdoors in beautiful places, and associating with people with a common determination and interest, there are plenty of other entertainment and recreation options.
I'm not really keen to try to satisfy the instant gratification/video game crowd.

Golf IS fun-I'm OK with spreading that message.
I'm happy to include those who want to embrace golf.

[John Kirk]

Just a consortium of marketing idiots trying to spin the game into a niche of phony images and projected vapid values that are anathema to the actual values and spirit of the real game.  It is sickening sophistry to have this punk psuedo" master of the universe" project the sophistry of using the real and palpable great economic issue of our day (the wealth and income divide) and all the serious questions that raises for our society going forward, as a sophist tool to MARKET products to idiot consumers hypnotized by the sort of slick phony and artificial marketing images projected in the launch video.  It is disgusting on so many levels that I'm disappointed in my own damn self to comment.  This is the very reason golf will die a death of decadent marketing to advanced decay of their soul consumers, who apparently have been dumbed down by this assault of schlock media.  If golf as a supporting activity of a healthy lifestyle turned into just this sort of soulless automaton orgy of vapid values consumers, I'd never swing a club again.  

Exactly right.  The world has gone mad.


As "Barry Redick" (played by Adam Sandler) in the great SNL skit "Stand Up and Win" repeat several times...

"Who are the ad wizards who came with this one?"

Audio  --  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=581lumvyLLY

 

[Ben Sims]

This guy reminds me of a quote from a movie I saw when I was too young to understand it or who Tim Leary was.

That was the fatal flaw in Tim Leary's trip. He crashed around America selling conciousness expansion, without ever giving a thought to the grim meathook realities that were lying in wait for all those peoples who took him seriously. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy peace and understanding for three bucks a hit. but their loss, and failure, is ours too. What Leary took down with him was that the central illusion of a whole lifestyle that he helped create... a generation of permanent cripples, failed seekers, who never understood the essential old mystic fallacy of the acid culture. The desperate assumption that somebody, or at least some force, is tending the light at the end of the tunnel.

Who is tending golf's light?  This Back9 guy?  The USGA?  Mark King?  What about the core weekend golfer that is looking for a local place to play for a relatively smart amount of money?  His pay has been cut and he's never felt more disenfranchised in his life as a worker and a citizen.  Is Flavor Flav the savior for his golfing future?

[Mike Sweeney]

This guy decided that after making $35 million at Morgan Stanley.

He won't have $35 million in two years!

[Niall C]

I thought golf WAS fun.

Do we really want to falsely promise something (again) and have droves quitting again in 5 years?
Golf is very rewarding yet quite difficult, only certain people have the discipline, dedication, and desire to develop  enough competence to learn, enjoy, and appreciate it.
I'm OK with that.
Those who don't I'm OK with "excluding".

If you can't enjoy the satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from exercise, self improvement, being outdoors in beautiful places, and associating with people with a common determination and interest, there are plenty of other entertainment and recreation options.
I'm not really keen to try to satisfy the instant gratification/video game crowd.

Golf IS fun-I'm OK with spreading that message.
I'm happy to include those who want to embrace golf.

Jeff

Spot on. While there might be a lot of commercial ventures associated with the game, the game shouldn't be changed just to prop them up. The health of golf businesses shouldn't be confused with the health of the game.

Niall

[Mike_Young]

RJ,
I'm not saying I like what is happening but golf is shrinking and the core players you guys mention are not the numbers they were 5 years ago.  TIME is one of the biggest factors along with the learning curve.  And what people are trying to do is come up with ways in which NEW people will pay to use facilities whehter they have  a larger hole on one side of each green or whatever....but don't kid yourself.  It's not whether we agree or not....it's just gonna happen...JMO

[Carl Nichols]

This guy decided that after making $35 million at Morgan Stanley.

He won't have $35 million in two years!

At least he's not spending much on models.   

[Emile Bonfiglio]

Remember Schwing! Magazine from a few years back...I suspect they will meet the same fate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schwing-13-99-Ali-Landry-Miss-USA-1999-NEW-/170538624831?pt=Magazines&hash=item27b4e4e73f#ht_1900wt_952

[David Lott]

12 hole courses.

12 hole rounds on 18 hole courses.

So retro yet so now.

[Steve Salmen]

This guy reminds me of someone who thinks they're better qualified to spend my money than I am.

[Matt MacIver]

I watched the video and wasn't offended.  But I also laughed at Ben Crane's OhOhOh Boys.  Someone once said any publicity is good publicity, and Golf needs more players/viewers/lovers and less h8ters. 

[Lou_Duran]

Just a consortium of marketing idiots trying to spin the game into a niche of phony images and projected vapid values that are anathema to the actual values and spirit of the real game.  It is sickening sophistry to have this punk psuedo" master of the universe" project the sophistry of using the real and palpable great economic issue of our day (the wealth and income divide) and all the serious questions that raises for our society going forward, as a sophist tool to MARKET products to idiot consumers hypnotized by the sort of slick phony and artificial marketing images projected in the launch video.  It is disgusting on so many levels that I'm disappointed in my own damn self to comment.  This is the very reason golf will die a death of decadent marketing to advanced decay of their soul consumers, who apparently have been dumbed down by this assault of schlock media.  If golf as a supporting activity of a healthy lifestyle turned into just this sort of soulless autonomaton orgy of vapid values consumers, I'd never swing a club again.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r15nQw5EwE

[John Kirk]

Just a consortium of marketing idiots trying to spin the game into a niche of phony images and projected vapid values that are anathema to the actual values and spirit of the real game.  It is sickening sophistry to have this punk psuedo" master of the universe" project the sophistry of using the real and palpable great economic issue of our day (the wealth and income divide) and all the serious questions that raises for our society going forward, as a sophist tool to MARKET products to idiot consumers hypnotized by the sort of slick phony and artificial marketing images projected in the launch video.  It is disgusting on so many levels that I'm disappointed in my own damn self to comment.  This is the very reason golf will die a death of decadent marketing to advanced decay of their soul consumers, who apparently have been dumbed down by this assault of schlock media.  If golf as a supporting activity of a healthy lifestyle turned into just this sort of soulless autonomaton orgy of vapid values consumers, I'd never swing a club again.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r15nQw5EwE

Some of us are fed up with this type of marketing.

This marketing approach will appeal to the same guy who jumps up and down in his arena seat, hands up, hoping to get one of the precious t-shirts catapulted into the crowd.

"Me, me, me, throw it to me!"

That's the same guy who stands up and cheers when told, and loves the deafening five minute introduction to his home team.  Watch 'em salivate like a Pavlov dog.  Modern marketing techniques appeal to the lowest common denominator, which may mean the most people.  There are some things about modern society that I don't understand.  Maybe Grandma felt the same way about The Beatles.