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Day 7: Saturday

Round 3 is complete. And while nothing is ever certain on the golf course, it appears that Parker McLachlin has the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic in the bag. The fat lady might not be singing, but from all appearances she should certainly start warming up.

As the day began Parker was 13-under. As the round progressed he built upon that lead and ended the day 17-under for the tournament. Each day as the rounds begin to come to a close the PGA TOUR Media Official and I discuss which golfers we’re going to bring to the media room for interviews for the Nationwide Tour, local, regional, national and international media (I get a call from Australia’s version of ESPN every day).

Since Thursday I’ve met Parker at his finishing hole with the cart. We’re on a first name basis now. Yesterday when I picked him up he said, “I guess I’m still in the lead, Jim.” After three days of talking to him, I felt comfortable enough in my response, “The other guys are walking.” We both laughed.

Back in the media room Parker and all the other interviews all basically said the same thing when asked how they would prepare for the competition on the final round – they’re 'playing against the course.' It reminded me of a Sam Snead quote. “Forget your opponents; always play against par.”

It got me thinking about a follow up to yesterday’s post about a layered approach to marketing. While we certainly can’t forget our opponents (competition) we are to some extent playing against par. When Sam Snead said that he was talking about playing against the course – his environment week after week. In the world of marketing we’re playing against the environment, responding to a number of factors and developing the appropriate strategies for success in that environment.

In the world of golf the goal is under par; in the world of marketing we strive to be above par. In either case, no matter how you define it, success is determined by the how we respond to the environment.