Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Secret Handicap Committee

My friend Mark Stephens used to host a charity golf outing every year. He called it the "Smokey Golf Classic," and the event benefited Cystic Fibrosis research. On the entry form, alongside the blank asking for a player's handicap, Mark included a disclaimer that "all handicaps will be reviewed by the Secret Handicap Committee," which really was only Mark eye-balling what guys submitted as handicaps and adjusting them according to what he thought they SHOULD be.

Anyway, I loved the phrase, and I've used it ever since, adopting it as my own whenever I needed to adjust a group's games and stroke differentials.

Now I'm using the phrase, "Secret Handicap Committee," in a new way. I've pulled together a core list of golf contacts I have and asked them to participate in a series of brief surveys I'll distribute using SurveyMonkey. Questions on the first survey are pretty straightforward, crystal ball-like things about golf business in 2006. The feedback I'll report here (and elsewhere) in a few days.

Information is key for golfers, whether it's weather, wind conditions, yardage to carry a hazard or the status of the bets. My "Secret Handicap Committee" will help me supply you with more data, more "golfology."

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