PR and Marketing for the Golf Industry

18. 7. 2010

We know our next St Andrews Open Champion! Louis Oosthuizen from South Africa finished his fourth round on the Old Course with an excellent score of 16 under par. It was clear after the 12th hole that he was going to win so the finish lacked the drama St Andrews has witnessed so many times before. But what it definitely did not lack was emotion and the huge galleries witnessed a spectacular display of golf.

Personally, if could chose one from the leading players to win the Open Championship, it would have been Louis. He has been enthusiastic, polite and very humble throughout the four days. He seemed genuinely excited about having the opportunity to play in the Open Championship at St Andrews. His performance on the golf course today was not just a great sporting achievement but also a one full of camaraderie and fun so very pleasant to watch.

17. 7. 2010

It was a very long day yesterday. The heavy rain was replaced by beautiful sunshine later on which, however, brought strong winds with it. So strong in fact that play had to be suspended at 2:40pm for an hour. The decision was made by the R&A on the basis that the golf balls were moving on the greens. This resulted in the delay of play and the last group teed of as late as 5:30pm.

The day saw some really high scores and number of players coming off the course were really flabbergasted by the conditions. They have had it all from heavy rain over to wind and sunshine. It could not have been a pleasant experience out on the course but after all that’s what makes the St Andrews Links golfing experience unique and this Open Championship in particular incomparable to any other.

16. 7. 2010

The day started with a really heavy downpour. You can easily have four seasons in day but in St Andrews this week it can be in one hour! The rapidly changing weather did not put the visitors off however. The grandstands were pretty full yesterday afternoon with enthusiastic golf fans covered in waterproofs cheering on their favourite players.

I had a unique chance to be close to all the players yesterday when I was assisting with taking the golfers to their media interviews. It is an excellent experience and one most golf fans would love to have. Most people will think that when a player finishes his round, that´s it and they can just go back to their hotels. The reality is that they still have work to do before they can relax.

15. 7. 2010

Open Championship – day four. Despite the weather still playing tricks on us with rain, sun, rain and more sun again the real fun has started today. The first players were out on the Old Course as early as 6:30am and the last group teed off at 4:21pm. It is a big field of 156 players in total for the first two days before the cut for the weekend.

It was such a shame that the eagerly expected Champions´ Challenge was cancelled due to bad weather yesterday. Last night, at the Champions Dinner, the Past Champions agreed that the winning team would award the Open Champions Challenge prize fund of £50,000 to the Seve Ballesteros Foundation. The Foundation aims to channel funds into ongoing research, particularly into brain cancer, the condition with which Seve, who won the Open on the Old Course in 1984, was diagnosed in October 2008.

14. 7. 2010

It is day three of the Open week. It seems the sun has left St Andrews for the moment, it is considerably colder and the rain and wind have taken over. It might not be so pleasant but from the golf perspective it is not necessarily a bad thing.

At the press conference yesterday Tiger Woods was asked why the Old Course remains a relevant golfing challenge despite the players getting constantly better, the equipment becoming more and more sophisticated and the Old Course staying more or less the same. He thought it was exactly because of the weather. The conditions change constantly and at St Andrews you can get all four seasons in the course of one day. And since wind and rain impact heavily on the golf strategy it virtually feels like you are playing a different course every time. Here behind the scenes journalists are looking for a drama and exciting golf. And wind and rain seriously mixes the cards on the table.

13. 7. 2010

It was a fun night last night at St Andrews with two leading golf brands adidas-TaylorMade Golf and Callaway Golf throwing parties. It wasn’t easy to decide between them so the best option was to nip into both.

The adidas-TaylorMade event was held at 1 Golf Place and apart from glamorous hostesses, company representatives and staff players such as Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose I met the two finalists of the Adidas Wear-in–the-World Adventure. They are two guys from the USA, Steve Olsen and Chris Dukeminier, who are travelling to nine countries on three continents in 50 days to play some of the most extreme courses in the world for the chance to win a job at TaylorMade-Adidas Golf in California.

The Callaway party took place in the Kinkell Byre at The Castle Course. It made you wonder how a barn can make such a wonderful setting for a party but the ambiance proved to be truly spectacular. Dimmed lights and beautifully decorated tables made an amazing setting for a nice dinner in the company of the Callaway representatives, journalists and industry people.