PGA Hits the Links with TaylorMade on Twitter

Before Tiger Woods came on the golf circuit and livened things up on and off the course, professional golf was decidedly unhip. The Professional Golf Association wasn’t exactly known for getting involved in anything that might have been labeled “young” or “cool.”

Times have changed, of course. Tiger’s star may be fading, but the PGA isn’t planning to give up all those new markets that Woods and friends opened up for the organization. The PGA wants to keep that young, vibrant beat going. And it’s using social media to help. This week, the PGA Tour got its first branded Twitter hashtag, #driverlove, which is being worn on the hats of players at the Northern Trust Open in California, as Mashable notes.

#driverlove tees off on golf gear manufacturer TaylorMade’s “larger campaign that plays off the special connection that some players feel with their clubs.” The brand's driverlove.taylormadegolf.com microsite is showcasing fans' tweets and twitpics of their beloved Taylor drivers using the #driverlove hashtag.

“For our sport as whole, the social media space has really been a slow-moving river,” TaylorMade chief marketing officer Bob Maggiore told Mashable. “So it’s interesting for us, because we’ve kind of given up on doing certain things the old way. We like to get out in front and try different things.” (Maggiore, by the way, can be found on Twitter at @bmaggiore2.)

Maggiore tells the site that the hashtag has created a cult following of sorts in the past few days and is glad to be informing people of where they can get more info on the brand rather than simply placing a logo on the hat. “Versus just directing people to these brand homes, we’re able to get people engaged with these bigger, great ideas, like here that it’s okay to love your golf equipment,” he added. “The hashtag has been really powerful in our TV spots, but once we activate it with live athletes it’s going to be that much more powerful.”

It's certainly one way to drive awareness!