FEATURE STORY

John Daly, golf course designer, no long shot in marketing muscle

By Chris Baldwin,
Senior Writer

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Nov. 20, 2004) - John Daly's name towers over Highway 17, drawing the converted, the curious and the concerned. No matter where you stand on the Daly fan spectrum, the owner of Wicked Stick figures you're going to be interested. This is why Daly's name is above even the course's name on the marquee.

Turns out advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi could not have concocted a more effective marketing plan.

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For Daly brings them in all right. In droves. The flawed big hitter remains a larger-than-life folk hero, as beloved for his anti-establishment ways as his monster drives. Whether it's Daly's fourth wife pleading guilty to drug charges or his own public battle with alcohol, this PGA player's story is more involved than FOX's most outlandish reality show. And it all adds up to money, money, money.

"We probably do more business than 95 percent of the pro shops and lot of that has to do with the John Daly link," Wicked Stick manager Bob Mott said. "We sell a lot of women's merchandise as well. John Daly's stuff is very popular with the ladies."

Four wives will tell you that Daly is a good bet for a woman's impulse purchase. Yet his persona as a hard-hitting, hard-living everyman is even more important for Wicked Stick. There is still a large segment of hackers who think they are John Daly minus the 350-yard drives. And much like rapper Eminem's Slim Shady clone following they want to dress like him, be like him...And in this case play where he's supposed to love to play.

They are guys like Randy Schwigen, an otherwise sane middle-aged claims adjustor from Cincinnati who came to Myrtle Beach to simply play the John Daly course as often as he can. Forget the fact there are oh, 120 other courses on the Grand Strand. Schwigen plans to stick to Wicked Stick for three days.

"If it's a John Daly course you know it's going to be fun to play," Schwigen said. "And that's what golf is supposed to be all about. I don't need to go anywhere else."

Wicked Stick owner Gary Schaal is well versed in the Daly denizens. Schaal was the tournament chairman at Crooked Stick when Daly burst onto the scene and won the PGA Championship as an out-of-nowhere rookie in 1991. So maybe it's not surprising that Schaal recognized the prime possibilities in a Daly designated course first. Wicked Stick (a Clyde Johnston design with Daly input) is just Daly's initial foray into the field. Daly's newly created design firm has already almost completed project No. 2, Thundering Waters Golf Club in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

When you've moved as many $69.95 full logo shirts as Daly has, you know how to strike while the driver's hot.

"His Lions' head (the Daly logo) merchandise is very popular," Mott said, showing off a $79.95 Daly windbreaker. "It's a classic look."

Daly is all about reaching out to the common man. His Wicked Stick course isn't geared for the big hitter (it is only 6,507 yards from the championship tees). Instead it's geared for the wayward hitter. There are large fairways and plenty of safe landing areas for Grip It & Rip It amateur style. If Jack Nicklaus is often accused of designing courses that only he and his PGA buddies can truly enjoy, Daly could be charged with playing down to the masses.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. It is just not what most golfers expect when they see Daly's name plastered all over a course.

"People hear it's a John Daly course and they get intimidated," Mott said. "They think they're going to have to drive the ball 300 yards. Especially the women players. They don't think it's a course for them. When actually it's one of the more playable courses in Myrtle Beach."

Thundering Waters is set to be more Daly like at 7,322 yards, including a 661-yard par-5. Still when Daly toured the course in October, he easily cleared the green on the par-4 11th with his drive, to the delight of the crowd. The man knows what the people want.

Even the mayor of Niagara Falls has been taken in by the Daly aura and shilled for the new course.

Back at Wicked Stick, Daly's course is causing some confusion.

"I like the design, but I'm surprised it's a John Daly," golfer John Mair of Montreal said.

That is probably because a John Daly design is a relative thing. Daly's firm comes up with some basic ideas for the course and some signature holes and then turns it over to an on-site architect. In Wicked Stick's case that was Clyde Johnston. In Thundering Waters, it's Toronto's Boris Danoff.

Of course, the Daly link stays strong in the clubhouse and marketing brochures.

The lobby of Wicked Stick is a virtual John Daly museum complete with trophies, Sports Illustrated covers and signed photos. Not that it is completely Daly-centric. In a silent auction of memorabilia, the minimum bid for the Daly signed photos are less than those requested for Phil Mickelson and Arnold Palmer pieces.

This is an equal opportunity money maker.

"My husband is going to love this," pro shop browser Shelly Piak said, a bundle of shirts already draped under her arms. Mott smiled.

Don't ever doubt an everyman Lion's roar.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.