AMA GOLF 2017

Golfers with golf towels from Sneller Creative featuring AMA logo are Ted Ruzicka, Derek Sauer, Brian Barnett, John W, Probst, Tim Nenninger, John Fortner, Mark Bretz, Dave Cox, Bob Mogley, Wes Morgan, Randy Niederer, Bob Mogley,Tom Shaughnessy,  Perry Drake, John Grizzell   

I started organizing the annual golf outing for the American Marketing Association twenty years ago when the chapter president at the time told me it was just too much trouble to successfully run such an event. Well, she was right (at first). That first year, I had a handful of friends and associates show up at my chosen venue – the 9-hole municipal facility in Creve Coeur. We had two foursomes. The second year was kind of hard to measure as the weather prevented all except my group (which was a threesome by the time the weather cleared enough to finish).

Over the years, we gained some traction with as many as 40+ golfers. We had cash and in-kind sponsorships from the likes of Geile-Leon Marketing Communications, Creatives on Call, iDream Solutions, MarketVolt, Xtreme Exhibits, Bender Graphics, Kent Precision Foods, DiCom Media, Sandbox Creative, Group 360, Kolbeco and Anheuser-Busch. We had teams comprised of personnel from Enterprise-rent-a-car, Sante Fitness, The St. Louis College of Pharmacy, Thermadyne, Adamson Advertising, Wamhoff Financial & Accounting and The University of Missouri/Saint Louis.

We created a traveling trophy for the low-net score winner. The winners of that prestigious award included some pretty fine golfers such as Tom Shaughnessy, Dave Cox, Mike Malloy, Marco Tocco, Steve Pona, Tim Nenninger, and Creve Coeur city councilman Ted Ruzicka (this year’s winner). Some players made cameos and others made multiple appearances like Perry Drake, Pat Hawn, Bob Mastis, Bob Mogley, Dan Diveley, Jeff Kirtley, Rowdy Jones, Bethany Kellogg, John Grizzell, John Lewington, Annie McBride, Michelle Yates, Tony Tatar, Mark Bretz, Randy Neiderer, Jim Stewart, Mary Sawyer, Jon Fulmer, Doug Walters, Jim Nagel, DeVere Shoop, Wes Morgan (naturally) and many others.

This year we lowered the cost and relied on word-of-mouth communication almost exclusively. Tim Brinks at Creve Coeur Golf Course treated us well with a package that included cart, greens fees, lunch and attendance prizes (all for $25.00 per person). Despite weather projections for a high probability of rain on our Monday date, the skies were clear and the course was looking better than ever.

Congratulations to our low-net winner Ted Ruzicka, our long-drive champion John W. Probst, closest to the pin on hole #9 Randy Niederer. Special thanks to Jeff Snell and Sneller Creative for the golf towels, UMSL for the swag-bags and eclipseeker.com for the Eclipse Viewing glasses. We will be looking skyward as we anticipate a total eclipse of the sun in our region on August 21. Marketing (Sheesh).