Five Good Questions with Stacy Solomon, Golf For Beginners

Recently I was emailed a few golf questions from Sean Mysel, Co-owner and operator at CrossGolfPros.com. Since he was concerned with how to get more women involved in the sport and has a wife who is a left-handed golfer, I was interested in helping out. I have reposted a few of the blog's questions below. Read the entire interview by clicking on the link below....enjoy :-)

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Five Good Questions w/Stacy Solomon, Golf For Beginners

by Sean Mysel

Hello all, one of my very great interests in the game of golf is how we as professionals can service a highly underrepresented segment of our market. That segment is women. Women are not coming to the game and in many ways are not being helped by golf establishments as a whole. For instance, in the Bay Area it's rare to find a course that offers organizations, leagues or otherwise for women. I had the great honor and privilege of conducting a Q&A with Stacy Solomon who authors a terrific blog called Golf For Beginners Link and shared her thoughts on five questions I asked her. Here are the responses:

SM: When did you start playing golf?

Stacy: I learned and practiced on a driving range for two years although occasionally, my husband and I would head over to Saxon Woods or Maple Moor (publinks) and play nine holes of twilight golf, dropping several balls at once for target and sand practice. I thought twilight golf was the perfect way to practice because it didn't take up too much time, it wasn't competitive (learn the basics first) and it was a very romantic way to spend an evening!

SM: I wanted to get right into a topic that I find fascinating. Overall the number of rounds played is down, membership to golf courses is down and the participation of women playing golf is down. What could the golf community do to increase the rounds of golf overall and especially with respect to participation by women?

Stacy: Reach out to women beyond the scope of the sport and bring them in, making golf less intimidating and more fun. Group events are always fun. Find women in other sports that might not have thought golf was "right" for them and show them the benefits, from fresh air and sunshine to the challenge it offers. Give free beginner lessons, have putting contests...ANYONE can be a good putter!

I belong to the Westchester, NY Executive Womens Golf Association which has (more than) a few great ideas to reach out to women including nine and wine, get-togethers and a fun bowling night during the off-season so that women can meet off of the golf course and then, when the time comes, they can feel more comfortable playing with a group that matches their handicap level. The EWGA has mentors and instructors on and off the golf course as well, to bring women into the fold.

SM: As a person who lived in the Northeast for four years, my golf game virtually shut down. How do you stay sharp during cold months?

Stacy: I regularly swing my (left-handed) Kallassy's Swing Magic, lift weights and walk on my treadmill several times a week. I used to go to my local outdoor heated driving range but, during the cold winter months I usually just putt on my carpet.

 

For more information on the CrossGolfPros visit www.crossgolfpros.com.


Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook.


Read Stacy Solomon's bio!

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Twitter makes media social for New York golf bloggers in Putnam

It is unusual and exciting to meet up with Twitter users whom you follow and chat with regularly but that is exactly what happened when three of the most recognizable golf bloggers in New York converged last week at the lovely Putnam National Golf Club for a fun game.


Social media jumped out of the computer and met face-to-face on the golf course!


Patricia Hannigan, President of Golf Girl Media and writer of the fun and flirty golf blog "Golf Girl's Diary" joined Mike Wolfe, President of WAM Marketing Solutions and myself (with my husband Barry), putting away our smart phones in order to explore Putnam National as a foursome.


Mike had recently played golf at Putnam National and in his review appreciated the "scenic views", "elevation changes" and "undulating greens" of this once private golf course. Patricia enjoyed this Mahopac golf course only once before on an autumn day. "What I remembered most was how the brilliant fall foliage extended up the surrounding hills to provide a colorful vista at almost every hole."

Putnam National Golf Club


I took pleasure in being enveloped by the natural beauty of my surroundings and the feel of calm joy being out on a beautiful day with a friendly group. A few solid bunker shots and a receptive driver didn't hurt either!


Jason Peck, in an article entitled, "How Social Media is changing golf"  mentioned that, "One of social media’s strengths is being able to compliment real-life events and extend their reach and interactivity."



This idea tends to work both ways in golf: being one of the most social sports, golf is ripe for converting internet conversations into friendships on the course and also for players to be able to find others in cyberspace interested in discussion and meet-up.


"I think the more golf can utilize social media to help make the sport and golfers more accessible and interesting to casual fans, the more the game will grow,"  said Peck.


Our foursome's face-to-face golf experience concluded on the 19th hole at Putnam National's pub with a few beers and a chat about our respective games. We took pictures and vowed to play golf again in the near future. Until we meet again, we can still be social!

Golf4Beginners, WAMGolfs and GolfGirl at Putnam National...in the flesh!


Meet and follow us on Twitter:
Stacy Solomon @Golf4Beginners
Patricia Hannigan @GolfGirl
Mike Wolfe @WAMGolfs

Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous

 

Stacy Solomon, Golf for Beginners Bio

Stacy Solomon has been a student of the game of golf since 2000 and blogger for "Golf for Beginners, because we're always learning" since 2004. She has written hundreds of articles and blogs for well-known internet websites such as Worldgolf.com, AT&T and IBM and her work has been reprinted on thousands of sports websites.

Hi Friends,

Golf for Beginners started out as a way for me to keep my lessons in a format where anyone could see them and benefit from them. The website has grown to include PGA Tour and LPGA Tour commentary, equipment news and reviews of travel destinations. I am very proud to consider Golf for Beginners a worldwide blog, realizing that golf is growing on a global level!

An amateur golfer, my handicap stands at about a sixteen which drops as the year progresses and as my short game improves! As I always say, "the game is played from 100 yards and in!"

Although I began my writing career in 2004 working for various online media outlets, in 2006, I was asked to join the Worldgolf.com golf blogger team. In addition to a weekly column on their site which reached out to over 2.5 million golfers per month, my husband and I also produced the popular five-year long Golf for Beginners Podcast, a regular top-ten on iTunes amateur sports listings. We earned kudos as a pioneer of podcasting by several newspapers including New Jersey Jewish News, "Couple Uses Media Technology to Teach golf to beginners" and The Working Musician. Portions of the Golf for Beginners podcasts have been reproduced on radio stations as far-reaching as South Africa!

I am very proud that I have helped to make Golf for Beginners so recognizable: my blogs can found re-posted in the NY Daily News Sports Section online and in South Florida Golf Magazine. My editorial selections can be accessed via Riversip News app.

Golf Channel has scrolled my tweets on TV in order to highlight their 2012 U.S. Open rebroadcast, I have partnered with corporations as an "Influencer" for IBM in order to bring awareness to their vision of Smarter Commerce and with AT&T to introduce their latest smartphones as well as to bring visibility to the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

I am proud to have worked with Legends Invitational Golf Event to bring awareness and support to the National Navy UDT SEAL Museum, a patriotic and worthwhile charity which educates, enlightens and helps families of fallen SEALs - I am very honored to have been of service.

I have been invited as a guest on several radio shows such as AOL Sports Radio, the GolfClubRadio Show with Danielle Tucker and the Enlightened Golfer Radio Show. Ms. Tucker has mentioned that Golf for Beginners offers "positive and constructive feedback plus great blogs and insight." My most recent radio appearance was as a guest on the On Par Radio Show with Anthony Scorcia. 

Inciteful and instructive interviews have been conducted through email, podcasts and Twitter with some of the best-known golfers and thinkers in the industry including Hank Haney, John Daly, Morgan Pressel Jim Furyk and former PGA President Brian Whitcomb.


Golf4Beginners has taken flight on Twitter and, because of the thousands of friends I have made there, was recently asked to reveal some of my expert secrets in the premier issue of 914 Inc. Magazine.

I had initially chosen to keep Golf for Beginners on Facebook for personal communications but now, since many of my golf fans are friends, I publicized it to my many friends in the social media arena. Within six months of going public, I now have about 3,000 golf-loving friends and have just begun a Facebook page for Golf for Beginners so that all fans have a voice!

Dennis Allen, a twenty-five year golf industry veteran and Executive Vice President of the new Back9 Network stated, "she cares about the game of golf and is insightful. She has lots of ideas percolating in her head that she willingly shares."

Probably not even realized by many in the industry is that, because of both my husband Barry Solomon's and my continued fight for the rights of new media talent to be considered as knowledgeable and respected writers, we helped set the stage for bloggers to gain media credentials at professional golf events such as the 2010 Sybase Match Play Championship and the Puerto Rico Open.

My career has been as varied as a Party Planner for Billboard Magazine to Circulation Sales Director with magazines at Fairchild Publications. I accepted a volunteer position on the Steering Committee for The Club Cup, an inaugural social media event designed to help grow the game of golf among the masses with the assistance of PGA and LPGA Tour players. For the past several years, I have committed myself fully to internet media as a Digital Content, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Manager.

An honor graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, I chose to remain in my hometown attending New York University on a full four-year scholarship. I love new technology and to be able to explain and engage others with my passion. Combining my love of tech with golf has been a long-term goal for me.

Several years ago, I became a member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association and am very proud to be one of the few females in the group as well as one of the only golf writers exclusively serving the online community.

I have always promoted causes that are near and dear to my heart and will never compromise on my resolve to be the best person I can be. The message in golf is a good one and I live by the rules of the First Tee Program; be honest, have integrity, confidence, and respect, play by the rules, and persevere despite challenges!