The rolling green is like the calmest of ponds, swishing its blades of grass in a summer breeze to replicate the unceasing, rhythmic motion of the tide. It is over this calm field that balls fly, holes are filled and names are scribbled into the annals of history. No doubt, the practice of golf is like meditation for both the body and soul.
At least, until the competitive aspect of the sport is introduced. Then it’s all adrenaline-soaked cliffhangers, nail-biting tension stretched across 18 holes of mentally exhausting strategy and cold, clinical precision. It is the adrenaline, the competitive spirit that drives hockey and football crowds to riot after championship-clinching games, that allows the automotive industry to coast through the valet stand of corporate sponsorship like a high-profile guest who’s invitation got lost in the mail. In a sport over expanses of land without roads, this unlikely partner to the game hovers over the playing field like a storm cloud with no chance of dissipation.
So what makes the relationship between the automotive industry and the game of professional golf so tight-knit? The answer may seem like a puzzle wrapped in an enigma within a mystery, but the reality of it is quite simple. Listed below are three variables that make the relationship between the two industries as natural as peanut butter and jelly.
- REVENUE THROUGH SALES
The most obvious benefit from this partnership comes in the form of increased revenue for both parties. Automotive sponsors have found a sharp boost in sales with their products prominently on display, and the PGA benefits heavily from all of the financial sponsorship packages. In the end, everyone wins and everyone makes a relatively equal amount of profit for the same amount of work.
- CLIENT PERKS
In addition to being paid handsomely by the PGA, professionals on the field have found that automotive sponsorship comes with some rather interesting selling points. In one devious instance, Acura pledged to award any golfer that could sink a hole in one on hole 14 would win a brand new NSX. Car companies have upped the ante on a larger scale by sponsoring athletes directly, the most famous of which being Tiger Woods who secured a series of six-figure sponsorships from auto giant Buick. From fringe benefits to direct benefits, the automotive industry has worked over time to engrain itself into the lives of its client’s talent.
- SPONSOR PERKS
Of course, one must remember that while most companies operate like soulless, faceless entities intent on securing the dollar, blood-stained as it may be, daily operations are carried out by actual people with independent goals and personalities. While these goals and personalities may be of extremely varied quality, no corporate drone could turn their nose down at a comped game of golf on a sponsored range. Automotive employees have been able to enjoy rousing games of golf at courses like the one in Mirasol, home to the PGA.