Golf Advertising Innovator Direct Fairways Hits a Hole in One for Golf Course Clients

With golf’s meteoric rise as not only an athletic staple but as a casual hobby for play and community engagement, it’s also become a platform ripe for advertising. The expansion of interest in golf, both on and off official courses, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a large, stable audience of consumers spending large amounts of time in a shared location. Entertainment golf options like Topgolf and Drive Shack attract and retain millions of people every year. It’s clear: the cultural market share of golf in the United States represents a unique and powerful opportunity for business advertising.

Direct Fairways, the premier nationwide golf advertising and print solutions provider, knows this better than anyone. Since their founding in 2015, they’ve been dedicated to helping golf courses and their local businesses thrive via innovative and cost-effective materials to advertise and improve the golfing experience. From golf kiosks and scorecards to yardage and course guides, they deliver various goods meant to enhance the experience for attendees and businesses alike.

They aren’t the only company to see the potential in the golf space, but Direct Fairways consistently works to stay at the cutting edge of innovation in advertising and productivity while also building up their team internally. Their internal policies and their consistent drive for improvement keep them at the forefront of their business niche, and they work hard to maintain that edge through research and internal development.

Mission, Core Values, and Success

Connection and empowerment have long been core to Direct Fairways’ mission and core values, both internally and externally. Direct Fairways was founded with the vision to support golf courses and local businesses across the United States, using these vibrant community gathering points to connect those communities’ businesses. Internally, Direct Fairways works hard to inspire their team members and help them grow to meet their highest potential with a family-like culture. Direct Fairways’ operating philosophy, both in business and with its employees, is rooted in collaboration and dedicated to continuous improvement.

The opportunity to make a meaningful, positive impact on local economies while also enhancing the golfing experience is a consistent motivating factor for the team at Direct Fairways. In assisting golf courses in finding business sponsors and partners, Direct Fairways is able to facilitate new connections, binding the disparate economic pillars of a community together for the benefit of all, to great success.

Direct Fairways measures success with a number of different metrics beyond simple financial stability and growth statistics. By tracking customer and employee satisfaction with regular feedback collection and internal surveys and by measuring retention rates and referral metrics, they’re able to gauge how well they’re meeting the expectations of their clients and employees. By tracking their operational efficiency, Direct Fairways is able to judge their success by not only financial stability and revenue but also by overall engagement and satisfaction.

Training, Mentorship, and Internal Culture

A significant contributor to the success of Direct Fairways comes from their dedication to developing and supporting their employees. Training and ongoing mentorship are critical pillars of their professional development strategy and contribute greatly to their retention rate. Direct Fairways pairs less experienced employees with seasoned members for mentorship to facilitate knowledge transfer and professional growth, which gives the employees the guidance needed to advance their careers within the company.

Direct Fairways understands the strength of a diverse group of passionate people working in concert to achieve a goal. It is the basic structure of success in any corporate endeavor and is even more important when the business model involves connecting golf courses and local businesses for the benefit of all. Direct Fairways is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and socially responsible work environment as well. They do so through several internal policies and actions, including:

• Second-chance opportunities for job-seekers who have faced challenges in the past and are driven to rebuild their careers and contribute positively to society.
• Entry-level positions regularly provide new pathways for people to build a career with Direct Fairways regardless of experience or background.
• Actively diverse hiring practices are designed to consider a broad range of candidates from various backgrounds and perspectives, which enriches workplace culture and enables Direct Fairways to better serve its diverse customer base.
• Regular community engagement initiatives and partnerships like charity drives and volunteer activities to promote social responsibility

To manage and ensure performance, Direct Fairways uses a number of different tools and strategies, including regular performance reviews, goal-setting sessions, and continuous feedback. By leveraging sales and productivity data alongside qualitative assessments and peer/supervisor reviews, the company can effectively track performance, identify areas of improvement, and recognize employee achievements. Employees are supported with additional training, clear communication, and strong leadership support, encouraging them to develop, creatively solve problems, and manage their workload effectively.

A Culture of Innovation and Creativity

Direct Fairways maintains its competitive advantage in part through continuous innovation and the application of creative solutions to the various challenges and opportunities found in golf courses and golf-related establishments. The company’s creative drive is baked into its culture, as it encourages employees to experiment with and explore new ideas and approaches collaboratively, leveraging its open communication policy to take advantage of the various perspectives on their team.

Pairing creativity with technological innovation has been a time-proven strategy for success in the business world, and that is more true for advertising than perhaps any other industry. Direct Fairways is specifically interested in technologies and strategies that will allow them to further integrate digital solutions into their traditional marketing practices. Products like digital scorecards and interactive course maps represent unique, dynamic advertising opportunities while also enhancing the golfing experience at the given location.

With these things in mind, Direct Fairways is currently pursuing several innovation initiatives to maintain its leading position in its space, including:

• Innovation in product offerings to develop and refine course materials to incorporate the latest design trends and technologies
• Enhancements digital platforms and tools to improve their service delivery and enhance customer engagement
• Expansions in partnerships and collaborations to broaden their reach and offer additional value to clients and advertisers

Planning Ahead

Direct Fairways is well-positioned to maintain, or expand, their lead in cooperative advertising solutions in the United States. From their robust, growth- and creativity-focused internal culture to their operational efficiency to their broader, community-minded goals, Direct Fairways has established itself as a company of ambition and unique value.