Committee Meeting
There is a committee meeting scheduled for Thursday 19th March. A key item on the agenda is the awards for this year. If you have a suggestion or would like anything else discussed, please contact me.
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Meeting with the DP World Tour media team
At the start of March AGW chairman Philip Reid, myself, Ewan Murray and Martin Dempster met with the DP World Tour media team to discuss a series of issues, including ones sent in by members.
Scott Crockett kicked the meeting off with an acknowledgement of the long-standing relationship between the Tour and the AGW. He introduced Isobel Tickle who is the new Media Relations and Operations Manager. As such she will be the first point of contact when we contact the media team. Scott also expressed sympathy for the recent deaths of Jeremy Chapman and Jim Mossop – their passing will be recognised at the Masters in April.
First item on the agenda was the difficulty caused by video of interviews being immediately available to media not on-site at events. The standout example of this was a Tyrrell Hatton interview at Wentworth. His words were dramatic but the impact for those who heard them first hand was rather devalued when they whizzed around the world before a few sentences could be typed. The Tour acknowledged this problem and has already set in motion new rules and regulations which tighten up what they accepted were grey areas regarding access and use of video.
A related issue came up next: the lack of a time embargo on transcripts. This is something that is rather more difficult for the Tour to deal with, they explained. In the case of the Scottish Open the tournament has its own hub. In the case of ASAP, adding a time delay is not possible. But while those technicalities represent a problem, the Tour were keen to add value to media on-site and suggested those who are should liaise with the team to request off-mic questions. It cannot be guaranteed but they will definitely endeavour to enable it. We agreed that when members are on-site they should initially team together and then one of that number approach the Tour team to set it up.
We then looked ahead to the 2027 Ryder Cup. Unlike the 2025 event, the accreditation process will open early in the year (end Jan/early Feb) and the media centre will resemble Rome rather than the rather pared down facility (and facilities) in New York. Springboard Communications in Ireland will help with the functioning of media relations and Isobel will also have a key role. Accommodation will go live when the accreditation process does so. There will also be a Year to Go event, with AGW involvement, which has been so valuable in the past.
Members had asked us to discuss the possibility of more subsidised trips to events given the difficulty for many of getting funding/expenses. This is something the Tour endeavours to promote with event organisers and recently the Bahrain Championship, Austrian Alpine Open and BMW International Open are examples of it happening – they hope more will do so and certainly want them to happen.
It was also noted that there had been discussion at the DP World Tour Championship of subsidised trips to that event. Briony Carlyon said that there was also the possibility of a trip including both the Abu Dhabi Championship and the DP World Tour Championship or two different trips. This is in discussion and the Tour requested feedback on preferred options so if you have an opinion, please contact me. (Also note that this discussion obviously took place before the current Middle Eastern conflict.)
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The Loop Journal
AGW members Mike Harris and Alex Narey at The Loop are doing their bit for the written word on paper with the introduction of a new long-form print publication – ‘Loop Journal’.
Alex says: “The Loop team’s foundation in golf media comes from print, with myself, Mike Harris and Paul O’Hagan all having worked together, for many years, at Golf Monthly magazine. When we launched The Loop we always wanted to do things a little different from other agencies and our ability to create something like this was a key part of that thinking.
“In what is now a digital-first media landscape, we do still believe print can still flourish, and there are many examples – especially in the golf industry – of print titles that are thriving because they cater for a market that still wants to be enlightened and educated with long-form reading.”
“In the opening edition, there has been a big focus on courses, because in all honesty, we are all connected by our love and appreciation for them – from the iconic links that dominate global ranking lists to the hidden gems that rely on people to pay a ‘green fee’ into an honesty box. Courses are a real passion of The Loop’s and we would like to think that shines through in this Journal.”
You can purchase The Journal here: https://theloopgc.myshopify.com/
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