The Portland Golf Show has come and gone. And before I get too deep into a smear campaign on symposiums, trade shows and mass gatherings of like minded people I was wondering what the point of it all was. Not “all” of it but maybe a more narrow all of it. An industry gets together to show off the latest and greatest that has probably been gushed over online forever. You can make business contacts or maybe a friend if you’re lucky. Maybe you aren’t in technology. So what are you selling? Clothing, niche items, lifestyle?
In the 90s the Gotcha surf company exploded onto the scene and portrayed what some would call the “bad boys” of surfing. With tag lines like “If you don’t surf, never start” and “If you do surf, never stop.” This was inhaled across America, especially in land locked states where there was technically no surf. Now how did we get from golf to surfing? I’m going to lean on the hypothesis that they are more similar than it seems. You are out in nature, you are performing or attempting to do something that only you control, in the blink of an eye everything can go splendid or to hell, at the same time there are factors that are so far out of your control that you have to let them go or you might snap. And of course, there is the tribalism. We’ve seen the Brads and Chads on Instagram selling swill. Sipping Coors lattes, huffing Parliaments and blasting bad music through a speaker that looks like a club cover. There isn’t anything wrong with it. It’s just not for me. But they’ve cornered the market of golf douchebagerie. We are priced out, split apart and targeted. All for the clout. What does clout get you? Most likely more contact with people who like the style and steez that you do. And we build each other up, as long as we agree.
So where do we fit in? What are we going for? A way in to the inner circle with the big dogs? Or is this more a side project to stay entertained. The industry has topped off when it comes to technology. So what is the next step? I don’t view myself as rad, I don’t post 18 holes. I haven’t found nor taken the time to actually improve. At least improve the way Harvey or Ernest Jones would refer to it. But we get out there, paddle around a bit. Tee it high, let it fly. Chances make champions. You don’t know if you don’t go. Blah blah blah. All I do know, is that the best surfer out there is the one having the most fun.
