Golf Unfiltered: A New Direction (And You Are Invited)
A special announcement from our site's Editor on the future of Golf Unfiltered and the Golf Unfiltered Podcast.
One of the hardest parts about being a blogger in a niche sport like golf is continuously finding the motivation to compete against the big guys. It can be a grind to find new ways to offer opinions on the same things we all see when we watch pro tournaments on TV (or attend in person). It's an even bigger challenge to review golf equipment when you 1) don't have access to high-quality analytical equipment or 2) live in a climate where there's snow on the ground for three months. There are many sites that excel at both of the above, and it is foolish of me to try and compete against them.
Over time, writing becomes less fun when you're spinning your wheels in the shadows of the golf news elite, hoping to get noticed. So how do you turn the corner and start having fun again?
You take a hard look at what is directly in front of you: the people who have stuck with you along the way.
I've been neglecting you, loyal reader and podcast listener. You have been sharing...no, screaming your golf stories at me every day on Twitter, over email and on Facebook. We've chatted on the phone, over beers, and even face-to-face... and every time the stories you share are light years more entertaining than anything we see on television.
This is why golf communities like what Ricky Potts runs on Google+ are so successful. This is why Zeb Welborn's #GolfChat group on Twitter is so popular. That's why Matt Castonguay's #HacktoHero Challenge will be a must-watch production.
They are created about us, written by us, and we are their subjects.
I want to hear from YOU, cart barn employees. I want to know YOUR stories, ex-caddies and pro shop staffers. YOU are the people who make this sport great.
Why am I so sure? Because I was once a bag room boy, too.
From this point forward, Golf Unfiltered and the Golf Unfiltered Podcast will be dedicated to telling YOUR stories. We may touch on professional golf, but only as a complement to those of us who keep this sport alive and fun. We'll try out new equipment, but only from the perspective of people who might actually buy it.
I'm turning Golf Unfiltered over to you, loyal readers.
Where will you take us?
