The Future of MyGolfSpy

MyGolfSpy…Dedicated To The Consumer

2009 was a massive year for MyGolfSpy.  And I am honestly proud of it’s growth…but it does not surprise me…and that is because there was a need that was met.  Which generally leads to growth like MGS has seen.  This need being met I am speaking of are the need for websites like MGS and others dedicated solely to the consumer and not ones driven by the major manufacturers ad revenue…which always leads to a shift in control of the content you are allowed to post because of the power they have over the media outlets…money is a powerful thing.  They want total control of every piece of content that is published about their company if they are paying your bills.  And while I do understand it from their perspective…it is not best for the consumer and it is not what MyGolfSpy is or will ever be about.  And this need is true for all industries…consumers are tired of being fed one marketing pitch after another about products that are rarely improvements over their predecessors. And yes we do have sponsors on MyGolfSpy as well…and you will see us highlight products on MyGolfSpy from time to time but these are for companies and products we truly believe in and we feel are doing something worth highlighting. Our main focus will always be on smaller companies putting out great product that also and just as importantly put the customer first.  Believe me we have been approached by almost every major golf manufacturer in one way or another about them wanting to have some kind of presence on MyGolfSpy although after explaining our philosophy of being 100% unbiased in our opinions about their products to our readers they seem to lose interest fairly quickly.

A PRIME EXAMPLE OF BIG BUSINESS INFLUENCE & POWER

An email came in today from a fellow writer at another major online golf media outlet that many of you have probably visited which might explain a little bit better about what I am talking about and show you how this industry really works. It might shock you!  I will not use his name or the company he was speaking about because I told him I would not.

This friend that was a writer for a major online golf media outlet which was writing about a major golf company who was a key advertiser on their site.  Basically he said he felt like a sellout all the time..he was always writing stuff about their equipment to keep them happy and keep them as an advertiser…even though he thought their product was not at all worthy of his praise (this happens in almost every major golf publication).  Well…one day he went on to a popular golf forum that he was a member of which was separate from his online golf media outlet and posted his actual feelings about the product.  Well the next day he received a violently angry email from a representative from the major golf company telling him NEVER to do anything like that again.  And this is the kicker…they then told him to always remember…THEY HAVE PEOPLE WATCHING EVERYWHERE!

Or just the other day I was talking to a high up at another golf company…and he was telling me about his unhappiness with treatment their MAJOR golf company got for the millions of dollars they spent on ads in Golf Digest which also included the “Hot List” Edition.  He had received a proof for the article they had written about their product that was to be published in the “Hot List” article and let’s just say it was not to his liking.  Well they called the writer and said if he didn’t make some drastic changes to his opinion and their placing in the list that they would pull all the ad spending from their publication.  And guess what….he made the changes.

* (THIS IS JUST ONE PERSONS OPINION AND NOT STATED AS A FACT – GOLF DIGEST CONTACTED US AND DISAGREED WITH THIS ABOVE OPINION FROM OUR EXTREMELY RELIABLE SOURCE)

Hopefully Just The Beginning at MGS

Listen…commercials and advertisements now take up more time of our day then ever before…and people are getting fed up with it.  And the majority of these high dollar ads are being done by just a handful of companies which consume smaller companies that are typically the actual technology pioneers in their fields and also the ones more devoted to the consumers happiness and satisfaction.  The bottomline is the ONLY thing big business concerns itself with. And there buying power and influences in their respective industries allow them to get away with this and still prosper in the process.  This is why we often find ourselves dealing with being put on hold for hours or being transferred from one rep to another to deal with something as small as a return or a phone bill and in the meantime getting nothing resolved or finding ourselves listening to a dial tone on the other end because they accidentally hung up on us.  They are basically saying to you, “What are you going do about it?  You have no other choice but to deal with it because we are the only ones left to deal with.”

And the same is happening in the golf industry…and that is why I started MyGolfSpy.  I wanted to have a golf site 100% dedicated to the consumer.  My goal is a lofty one and one that might never be reached but it is my passion and I am dedicated to it for the rest of my career.  That goal is to change the way an entire industry works when it comes to how golf equipment is perceived by the consumer in the media. Like I said I am proud of our growth but I feel like I have just begun my body of work for my career and there is lots more to do before I will even be slightly content.  I have reached many of my goals for 2009 with MGS but I hope this is just the beginning for where it and all the other sites I have planned will go.  This is something that has never been done successfully in the industry but I feel the time is right and I hope you all can help spread the word in 2010.

I look forward to getting to know you all better and hearing all your comments and opinions in 2010!