Golfing Legend John Daly Twitters Up a Storm

It was getting late in my neck of the woods. I checked my email one last time to see if there were any alligators lurking there, needing attention before I hit the hay.
Nothing too urgent, so time to put my laptop to bed.

Little did I realize that I was about to get the lesson of my life from golfing legend and 1991 US PGA and 1995 Open Champion, John Daly. Not a golf lesson - but a lesson in the masterful use of social media. Twitter in particular.

I glanced over to TwitRGolfers and there he was - holding court.

For the uninitiated, John Daly has become something of a Twitter phenomenon. He was not the first PGA Pro to get on board with Twitter but now he is playing it like it is another Golfing Major.

What amazed me was the way he was working the room. He must have been holding conversations with at least another half dozen tweeters before I decided to throw in my own comment. I recommended he "grab some fish and chips" from a place I knew around the corner from Wentworth, where he was practicing tomorrow. Yep, pretty silly suggestion - but small talk has never been one of my strengths.

I felt, if this was the best I could contribute to the banter, then my chances of cranking up a conversation with the golfing legend were pretty close to zero.

Not so, the subject of food seemed to grasp his attention.

Whilst this was going on, fellow tweeter and prominent blogger, Andy Brown from St Andrews in Scotland was lining up an encounter with John Daly at the London Club

Not only that, but a few other Tweeters were helping him upload photos to the Net. The tweets were flying back and forth in every direction. He was driving the conversations.

John Daly was having fun last night - we all were.

He was laughing out loud (LOL). At one stage he said "Send some more twitters my way I'm liking the new meets on here"

The Hog jumped in for a fashion discussion with the big man. More silliness.

Others were wishing him well on the European Tour. He is currently in exile from the US Tour after a a slight indiscretion which caused the powers that be to slap a 6 - month ban on him.

So, what was the big lesson in all of this?

For me it reinforced the assertion of wine entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, who said that Twitter is "word of mouth on steroids". He was dead right.

How many of us are today telling our friends about the one-on-one conversation(s) we had with John Daly? We all had a story to tell. We all touched the hem. We all felt that we had his personal attention - and we had, if only for a few fleeting tweets.

There is no doubt that John Daly used Twitter to grow his fan base last night. In fact he repeats the performance almost on a daily basis. The man is reinventing himself on so many levels. And twitter is one of the most potent, viral marketing weapons in his arsenal. More fans, more eyeballs, more value for the sponsors - everyone wins.

And then the hunger pangs kicked in. At last my inane fish and chip comment was given some context.

John Daly gave up on the camera and went off to grab some dinner.

Hope you enjoyed the steak John. He would no doubt have tweeted about the experience later but it was all too late for me.

Congratulations, John Daly. Your talent extends well beyond the golf course.

You can tweet with John Daly and other leading Tour Players at PGA Tour Player Tweets.

And for golfers who Twitter (and for those who don't :-) come join our dysfunctional little community at TwitRGolfers - Because We are Crazy About Golf.

Tags: aidan, daly, golf, hog, john, montague, the, twitrgolfers, twitter

Share This Page

Add a Comment

You need to be a member of StartUp to add comments!

Join this social network

Comment by AGUSTIN DIAZ SARAVIA on June 23, 2009 at 7:57pm: gracias por considerarme pero tengo problemas con el ingles

Comment by Lisa Stadtmueller on June 23, 2009 at 7:26pm: I twitter to promote causes that we help - hunger causes. Our latest tweet is about Beyonce's new campaign against hunger

Comment by ArtOnSilk on June 23, 2009 at 6:58pm: just started to twitter for a number of reasons - keep snippets of news current on my website and elsewhere, I hate writting letters and refuse to have a blog [echirpy sounds good, won't have to write that much . . .], also to gain more visits to my website and shop and last but not least to make me think/write something about what I'm doing as an artist I tend to get carried away with the latest painting . . . . www.artonsilk.co.uk www.twitter.com/PaulasArtOnSilk

Comment by Sandy Falagan on June 23, 2009 at 6:40pm: John Daley was always fun to watch when he was golfing. I haven't used Twitter yet, and it looks like I am missing out on some fun. I may get on board.

Comment by Rob Easley on June 23, 2009 at 6:37pm: Terri uses it, but I just don't have the time.

Comment by Fay on June 23, 2009 at 6:34pm: Has the world been taken over by budgies?

Comment by Matt on June 23, 2009 at 6:32pm: Great post Aidan. Twitter is a great way to connect with others. Those that use it as a sales tool are missing the point. It's to gain credibility and posture in whatever business you are in. Thanks for posting my friend. Take care!

Comment by Charles Larkin on June 23, 2009 at 6:00pm: I do not get the whole twitter thing. It just looks like a bunch of meaningless ramblings of complete strangers.

Comment by Lynne Walls on June 23, 2009 at 5:59pm: I see a lot of comments from people saying what they use Twitter for, but no one with any concrete data proving that it garners them any business. It takes a lot of time to read basically one of two things: random thoughts or activities being documented, or a blatant ad. I don't find either one interesting myself and cannot see how my target market has the time to sit and sift through all that drivel to find me. It obviously is a big hit with a lot of people, I just don't get it.

Comment by Charlene L. Ragsdale on June 23, 2009 at 5:49pm

I twitter for interactions and just a change of pace.

Please feel free to view my Profile Page and if you feel I can be of any assistance to you, just let me know.

All the Best,

Charlene L. Ragsdale - Las Vegas, NV
“Proper Business with a Purpose”