Sponsorship permeates American sports and is arguably most ubiquitous in golf. Corporate America loves golf, so much in fact that the PGA Tour has raised more money for charity in the past year than the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL combined. While some may contest the ability to perform legitimate business on the links, the appetite for premium brands to pony up for logos, hospitality tents and commercials remains undeniable. 

So when did it become commonplace for brands to throw millions of dollars at golfers to wear their logos? It all began with an appliance manufacturer, Amana, that began offering PGA Tour players $50 to wear their hats during tournaments. Among the early pioneers in golf business was Fred Corcoran, who “raised the men’s annual purses from $150,000 to $750,000 within 10 years” according to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Sprinkle in the likes of golf’s transcendent characters such as Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods and suddenly it’s understandable why Rickie Fowler has been dubbed today’s most “marketable golfer.” Let’s examine some of the more intriguing recent millennial golf marketing plays.

Rickie Holes out for Red Bull

[youtube id=”DeLwDNo2tMg” width=”620″ height=”360″]

I’ll never forget wandering around Demo Day at my first PGA Show, hearing Red Bull’s blaring techno music and thinking to myself well this isn’t what I expected, but I like it! Be it Rickie’s former flow, “golfstasche”, Cali-BMX roots or buzzing of USA onto his head for the Ryder Cup, he gives wings to the millennial golfers Red Bull seeks to capture. Red Bull practices an experiential form of marketing that I’ll be watching closely as Rickie continues to rise in popularity.

Furyk & 5 Hour Energy

[youtube id=”lQxKycLLCm8″ width=”620″ height=”360″]

Finding a gas station without 5 Hour is like finding a golf shop without Titleist golf balls. While I can’t say that I’ve seen many 5 Hours at green grass facilities myself, sponsoring Furyk makes sense in theory given the demographic of 40-to-60-year-old white male golfers that the company is seeking to break into. Part of me thinks that 5 Hour should have gone younger for their marquee golf sponsor as I believe millennial golfers are more likely than their parents to pound down a 5 Hour before a round of golf.

AJGA, Titleist and the Pyramid of Influence

I had the great pleasure of teeing it up last week with Fran Kelly, former CEO of Arnold Worldwide, the agency suppling the creative genius behind Titleist’s Pyramid of Influence marketing scheme. Fran explained to me that Titleist wants the top golf influencers — be it guys on Tour, students in the AJGA, or club champions — to play the #1 ball in golf. It makes sense, therefore, why Titleist signed a 10-year National Sponsorship Agreement with the AJGA back in 2005 to target the future NCAA college golf stars.

Whether Titleist will re-up with AJGA currently remains a question. If I were Wally Uihlein, I wouldn’t think twice about paying up for the AJGA deal. Titleist won 69% of green grass facility golf ball sales in the past year. While it’s difficult to directly quantify an ROI on a large sum paid to the AJGA, I’d do everything in my power to stay at the top of the pyramid.

Srixon and The NCCGA

Given Fran’s Titleist roots, I shouldn’t have been surprised when he tossed me back the sleeve of NCCGA logo’d Srixon Z-Stars I encouraged him to try. Getting someone to switch from Titleist is like prying a mother away from her newborn. I too know the feeling; as a junior and college golfer that was handed school-logo’d Pro V1’s for free, I never thought I’d make the switch.

Enter Mike Dunphy, Director of Player Development for Cleveland Srixon Golf, who asked if he could attend our spring 2013 National Championship. Mike explained that Srixon was making a push to recruit younger players and saw collegiate club golf teams as an avenue to target millennial golf influencers. Fast forward to the fall 2013 championship, our first semester with Srixon at our National Championship, and a whopping 7 golfers competed with a Srixon. In the spring 2014 championship, 49 golfers teed up with a Srixon.

A 7-time increase in players using Srixon seems good, but I’d be lying if I said that most of our players prefer Srixon over Titleist despite the bountiful support they have provided our student leaders. It amazes me how comparable the quality of the premium golf balls are despite the seemingly insurmountable stranglehold that Titleist has in golf’s most profitable space. But don’t take my inherently biased perspective, check out GolfWRX’s review of the Srixon Z-Star and Z-Star XV Golf Balls by Kane Cochrane.

The Future of Golf Marketing

Experiential marketing plays such as Callaway’s U.S. Open Uber campaign are the wave of the future. Millennial golfers don’t click banner ads, won’t notice the CEO interviews with Jim Nantz and value outstanding customer service. Time will tell how brands evolve to engage with millennial golfers.

The ensuing attire battle between Nike and Under Armor will be fun to watch over the next few years. As I see it, the field is open for the next dominant millennial golf brand.