Rory McIlroy and John McDermott - the 2011 and the 1911 US Open Champions
Johnny McDermott - the 19 year old 1911 US Open Champion from Atlantic City CC, still the youngest to have ever won the US Open, which he also won in 1912.
Using History to promote the Jersey Shore as a golf destination resort.
When comparing the Jersey Shore golf scene with that of Ocean City, Maryland, you have a lot of numbers – an almost equal number of golf courses, around two dozen, but a radical difference in the amount spent to market golf - $600,000 spent in Maryland verses $70,000 spent to promote Jersey Shore golf.
As detailed in the recent Press of AC article, the comparable bottom line is equally contrasted by the $48.5 million spent in one year by golfers visiting Ocean City, Maryland and the $8.4 million earned by Jersey Shore’s golf courses in the same time period.
Although you can’t argue with numbers, it is the bottom line that you are most interested in, and that number can be increased significantly without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising.
It can be significantly increased not only by advertising the right message, but by proper promotion - by promoting the one asset that the Jersey Shore golf courses have that Ocean City, Maryland and most other golf destinations don’t have, and that’s a deep and engaging golf history as well as historic, classic and some totally unique courses.
Atlantic City is where “resort golf” originated, and while OC Md, might be more popular now, the Jersey Shore was the first to introduce golf as a vacation sport. They’ve been playing golf at Atlantic City Country Club for over a century, and at Seaview for nearly as long, while Greate Bay’s course was originally laid out by the legendary Scotsman Willie Parks, Jr. Harry Vardon played an exhibition at Atlantic City, but I’ll bet Parks and Vardon never played anywhere in Ocean City, Md.
Atlantic City CC was the “mother club” for many other historic and classic courses, including Wildwood, Brigantine, Mays Landing, Pine Valley, Oakmont, and even the Tokyo Golf Club, whose founder was inspired after first playing golf at the “Northfield Links,” as ACCC was called.
Atlantic City, Seaview Bay, Cape May National and Wildwood are traditional links courses, with some holes linked to the water, while others like Seaview Pines, Sand Barrens and Harbor Pines, have many of the same sandy scrub pine forest attributes as the legendary Pine Valley. You won’t find any golf course in Ocean City, Maryland that come close to these pine courses or the uniqueness of Twisted Dune, Sand Barrons or Galloway National.
Twisted Dune was laid out by former Pine Valley caddy Archie Struthers, and Galloway National was built by banker Vernon Hill when he couldn’t get a membership in Pine Valley, so now he has his own, equally exclusive golf club.
Atlantic City Country Club and Seaview have a history that cannot be matched by any club in Ocean City, Maryland, but it is a history that is not promoted and marketed so it will attract those golfers who really appreciate the history of the game, and that’s most golfers.
They say, “play a round of history” at Atlantic City, but they should say, come to the Jersey Shore, “where golf history is made,” not only yesterday, but today.
And it’s not just a matter of throwing money at the problem, and spending advertising dollars, it’s also a question of how to get the right publicity when the situation arises.
For instance, when Rory McIlroy won the US Open at Congressional in Maryland by record scores, they frequently flashed a list of the six young twenty year olds who have won the US Open since World War II. When the National Public Radio reported on his victory, they mentioned that McIlroy was the youngest player to win the Open since 22 year old Bobby Jones in 1923. The AP writer Doug Ferguson had to stretch things a bit when he wrote, “McIlroy became the second youngest player to win a major since the Masters began in 1934.”
Why stop at World War II? Why stop at Bobby Jones? Why mix it in with the Masters?
Why not just go back to John McDermott, still the youngest to have ever won the US Open?
McDermott was not mentioned in any cacse, and he was the youngest to ever win the US Open when he did it at the age of 19 in 1911, almost one hundred years to the day McIlroy won the championship.
But you wouldn’t know that following NBC, NPR or AP.
Although there were three, national mainstream media articles about McDermott that were published during the week of the Open, McDermott should have been officially acknowledged and remembered as one of the greatest champions ever. Not only was he the youngest, but after British and Scottish pros won the first 16 in a row, McDermott was the first American to win the US national championship, and he did it twice, back-to-back in 1911 and 1912.
The next US Open will be in San Francisco in June, and there should be a concerted effort made to call attention to McDermott, his association with Atlantic City, and the sense of history that permeates the entire South Jersey Shore golf scene.
Getting journalists, especially beat reporters to write articles that mention McDermott, the Atlantic City Country Club and Jersey Shore golf is not advertising, its good publicity, promotion and public relations, which when successful, is something you just can’t buy at any price.
Atlantic City was not only the home of John McDermott, it is also where the term “birdie” and “eagle” were coined, and where many great golfers have played over the years. It has a deep history that is also reflected in the stories of Seaview, Greate Bay, Wildwood and Mays Landing clubs. And South Jersey must boast many championship courses where great tournaments have been held, including USGA, LPGA, PGA and the first PGA Senior’s tournament. Presidents Warren G. Harding and Eisenhower have played Seaview, where Sam Snead won a PGA in 1941.
Doesn’t this great history count for something more than the many beautifully manicured courses that Ocean City, Maryland has to offer?
History should be the theme, and the goal should be set to get people to come play at the Jersey Shore – “where golf history is made,” where there are real links courses, classic scrub pines courses as well as some totally unique ones that you can’t experience anywhere else.
You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising, but its just words and pictures without a simple and enticing message, and the message should be to come appreciate where resort golf originated and what makes Jersey Shore golf special – it’s history.
The Jersey Shore – Where Golf History Is Made.
http://kopublicrelations.blogspot.com/
http://kellysgolfhistory.blogspot.com/
Bill Kelly
Billkelly3@gmail.com
609-425-6297
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