Greatness? Why not?

House ad is the publishing term for print or digital placements promoting the brand readers are consuming. House ads reside on pages 30, 39 and 49 of this issue. The placements are part of a strategic campaign positioning the “greatness” of Golf Course Industry to existing and potential audiences and partners.

Humility makes this industry … well … great. So, why aren’t we emulating the audience we serve and humbly conducting our business in 2025 and beyond? Greatness, we acknowledge, can be interpreted as braggadocious.

For starters, we think we have a desirable thing going. Publishing is a brutally competitive and cutthroat industry. Not everybody can afford to build a golf course, but anybody with a phone and a computer can start a media company, either as a full-time gig or a side hustle.

The media business of the 2020s resembles the golf industry of the 1990s: overcrowded with dreamers more concerned with the next 20 minutes instead of the next 20 years. Very few enduring and impactful stories to help somebody’s business, career or life are being told. And many media brands that once told these stories are teetering because they are slow to adapt and fail to understand how their brands resonate with modern audiences. Unfortunately, some of these brands are hanging around, telling the same stories, in the same ways, about the same topics, as they hope for a double eagle to ignite a turnaround. The days, months and years on their mastheads represent their lone displays of evolution.

Greatness means doing something you’re not supposed to do. It requires a mission — we state ours on this page — and forward-pointing tactics to meet and hopefully exceed stakeholders’ expectations.

Are we great? That’s for you to decide. Our bold house ads and messaging reflect our mindset.

A few years ago, an industry professional who left a position at a world-class golf course for a job at another course explained his decision by saying, “I didn’t come this far to come this far.” His point? There’s always another level to take your career or business. That’s how we feel about storytelling.

We’ve been honored multiple times in places where B2B and industry publications never imagined being lauded and have assembled a collection of immense writing and thought leadership talent generating impactful content presented to help you in the next 20 minutes and the next 20 years. Our house ads are internal reminders of what we are trying to achieve and maintain.

We also hope they remind audiences where else they can find our work. For as much time, effort and attention as we devote to telling the golf maintenance story, we sometimes struggle telling our own story. Enter a targeted internal marketing campaign.

Our brand connects the golf industry via multiple platforms. Judging by the metrics, thousands of industry professionals know where else to consume us, but we can’t be certain the entire industry knows about our Superintendent Radio Network podcasts, Fast & Firm newsletters, and X, Facebook and LinkedIn presence. Telling your own story should never stop. Thoughtful marketing isn’t bragging; it’s an enduring business practice.

Greatness also shouldn’t have a ceiling. We know bigger non-industry golf media brands boast larger teams and budgets. But we strive to match them word for word, post for post and podcast for podcast.

Following college wrestling is one of my winter passions. A reporter recently asked University of Northern Iowa coach Doug Schwab after his team’s triumph in the Division I bracket of the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals about the event’s format, which brought together programs from outside the sport’s three major conferences. Mid-major is the term the reporter used in referring to tournament participants.

“I’d like to get rid of mid-major,” Schwab snapped. “I don’t know what mid-major means. Just because we don’t have as many funds. Is that what it is? Is it the size of our school? We don’t think mid-major, whatever the hell that means. It kind of actually pisses me off a little bit, I’m not going to lie. I feel like that’s a downgrade to what we are as a team. I feel like we are one of the best teams in the country. We don’t put anything next to our team besides University of Northern Iowa.”

Replace mid-major with B2B and/or industry publication, and Schwab’s words summarize how we feel about Golf Course Industry.

Do you feel the same way about your course or business?