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Adversity

Monday, January 25th, 2010

My good friend and sports psychologist, Dr. Gio Valiante, emailed this little reminder to me earlier this week. I wanted to share it with you.

“People who want to resist and avoid adversity are cheating themselves. It is how you handle adversity that defines you as a person, as a golfer, and as a champion. I see guys out here all the time who let the littlest things undo them, undo their confidence, undo their motivation. I say, “Get in there and play the game with some courage, man! It is a part of the game to have bad times. It is built into it, I think, to weed the weak people out. Nobody has good times all the time, so get up and fight! Show me some courage! Show me some patience. Show me some determination, for goodness sake!”

– Gary Player

adversity

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Related Category: Encouragement, Golf, sports psychology

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Top 10 Personal Branding Rock Stars of the PGA Tour

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

10. Boo Weekley – Branding is effective when it is real and authentic. Boo doesn’t fake anything for the cameras. He is not shy about admitting that he just wants to make enough money on the PGA Tour to be able to retire and do nothing but hunt and fish for the rest of his life. You gotta love the honesty. He embraces his true self all the way down to his camo gear. He is raw and incredibly endearing. Cleveland Golf has completely embraced Boo’s personal brand and incorporated his camoflauge and orange hats and clothes into an entire collection. He has even been able to cross marketing lines by representing companies like Mossy Oak, traditionally worn by hunters and fishermen. He has truly built a memorable brand around himself.

9. Gary Player – Ah, the Dark Knight, himself. Gary set himself apart as a true athlete in a time when golfers didn’t train to keep their bodies in peak physical shape. He really revolutionized the way professional golfers thought about strength and conditioning. He was the first to put as much into his training off the course as he did on the course. He built his brand around his energy and spunk. And all black, all the time… love it!

8. Adam Scott – Adam is a daper fellow. He has aligned himself with companies like Burberry and Rolex which compliment his suave, easy going, ladies’ man persona. He dresses the part and acts the part. He looks like a statue when we stands up to the ball. His polished swing reflects his debonaire persona. Follow Adam’s group at any PGA Tour event if you want to hunt for the prettiest girls at the party. It’s a known fact. This guy knows how to market himself and downplay it all at once!

7. Camilo Villegas – Mr. Scott may be the suave ladies’ man, but Camilo is the sex symbol of the PGA Tour. He is bold and fashionable; freakishly athletic and utterly jacked. He’s got style and swagger. He has catapulted into International stardom in a relatively short period of time. It’s easy to spot Camilo amongst the plethora of “Duffy Waldorfs” out there.

6. Fred Couples – The women want him and the men want to be him. Hmmm… that seems to be a consistent theme here. Sex sells, but these guys have the games to back it up. Freddy Couples just exudes cool. His quiet confidence is his brand and it’s incredibly endearing. He is relatable; a tremendous marketing quality. There’s nothing phony or fake about Freddy and that’s why fans worldwide feel like they know him. He plays like he doesn’t care, yet seems to come through at the most clutch moments. It’s like the less he tries, the better he plays. He knows it too, and he plays off it.

5. John Daly – If this surprises you… it shouldn’t. John Daly’s troubled past and rollercoaster personality is his brand. He’s blown millions in casinos, has a gut that would make Budda jealous, drinks beer and Jack (often while playing), chain smokes, cusses, gets divorced as a hobby (I believe the tally is 3… maybe 4), and swings out of his shoes. He’s got more logos plastered on him than Jimmy Johnson and he plays to the “NASCAR crowd”. How many guys can get away with selling branded merchandise out of an RV at PGA Tour stops? He is the everyman. Plain and simple. That’s why companies like Hooters and 84 Lumber throw boat loads of cash at him. He’s got his niche. In my opinion, he’s borderline genius (minus the blowing all the money your tremendous branding and marketing brings you part…).

4. Payne Stewart – Payne Stewart is one of my greatest idols in golf, business, fashion, manhood and life in general. Talk about being able to spot a guy on the course! Payne will forever be remembered for his classic plus fours and tam o’shanter cap. He was truly original (aside from the fact that he wore outfits that were the norm years ago ) He reeled people in with his humor and antics. He was a practical joker and always the life of the party. People liked Payne and Payne liked people. You know who else liked Payne? Corporate America. I can only imagine the bidding wars that took place in his agent’s office throughout the 90′s. He even struck up a deal with the NFL for an extended point in his career. He would wear NFL team colors and logos on his outfit correlating with whichever city/state he was playing in. Brilliant! He will always be one of the most recognizable faces in golf.

3. Ian Poulter – Ian Poulter is the closest thing to the “Sports 2.0 Total Package” in golf. I say this because he has spread his tentacles into many waters. He has a style all his own (including his own clothing line) and matches his flashy style with his flashy game. Ian was the first guy on the PGA Tour to really lock into and embrace the power of social media. He truly “gets it”. Ian gives his online audience a real sneak peak into life on tour through his Twitter feed. He engages with people, shares interesting video clips, and hosts giveaways regularly. He is open, honest, real and innovative. His branding is consistent and authentic. I draw a great deal of inspiration from Ian. He has set himself up to become a multidimensional, multimedia brand.

2. Tiger Woods – This is about the only list you won’t see Tiger at the top of. But, in this case, it’s only right. Tiger’s brand is a worldwide phenomenon. Anything he touches turns to gold. End of story. He is charming and charismatic. He has a smile made of pearls and isn’t shy about showing it off. Aside from his obvious brilliance and domination on the course, Tiger does something no one else on the PGA Tour can; he represents all of us. Errr… almost all of us. He is Caucasian, Black, Asian, and Native American. He calls himself “Cablanasian”. Seriously. This is a marker’s dream. His reach and impact is limitless. Even his famous first pumps are part of his brand. There is a tremendous amount of power associated with putting Tiger’s name next to your brand’s and he’s got plenty of A-Listers. Tiger represents powerhouse brands like Nike, Gillette, Tag Heuer, AT&T, EA Sports, Accenture, Netjets, Gatorade, and Golf Digest. Hell, he even has a church named after him. Oh, and last time I checked he’s the only guy on the PGA Tour with his own video game (excluding Peter Jacobsen’s bar golf). Consider Tiger my Personal Branding Rockstar 1B.

1. Arnold Palmer – The cake has to go to the man who started it all. Arnold Palmer was a marketing visionary. He was a fan favorite from the get-go because he played without fear and made himself accessible to fans. He learned to harness the power of his personal brand to fully monetize his efforts. He was the first guy on Tour to become the darling of corporate America. I will personally never forget his classic Valvoline and Cadillac ads. He was the face for so many giant American companies and vaulted many of them into new statospheres of brand credibility, success and ultimate longevity. On top of that, he has displayed incredible branding by incorporating his signature into all of his company logos. He is consistent and reliable. Arnie was actually the first guy on the PGA Tour to mentor fellow players about the importance of signing your name legibly so people could read it. He was adamant about making your signature a reflection of you. To this day, Arnie takes his time to carefully sign each autograph. I can personally attest to this having been around him several times. He was nice enough to sign several pieces of memorabilia for me and each of them nearly look machine stamped. This is nothing short of marketing and branding genius. I don’t know of anyone else on earth that has a drink named after them, either. The Arnold Palmer is now a national staple. Long live the King!