Dick Stevens - Dave Krill - Portland Golf Show Preview
The Portland Golf Show, a premier event heralding the commencement of the golfing season, is set to take place from February 28th to March 2nd. In this episode, we engage with Dick Stevens from Varsity Communications, who provides an insightful overview of the show, detailing its significance as the longest-running consumer golf expo west of the Mississippi. The discussion delves into the diverse array of exhibitors, including renowned brands such as Cobra and Callaway, alongside new interactive experiences aimed at enhancing attendee engagement. Furthermore, we examine the evolving landscape of golf participation post-pandemic and the enduring enthusiasm for the sport, particularly as this year's show seeks to embrace a spirit of community and inclusivity. As we prepare for this notable gathering, we invite listeners to explore the myriad opportunities and innovations presented at the Portland Golf Show.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Varsity Communications
- Portland Golf Show
- Seattle Golf Show
- Kansas City Golf Show
- PXG
- Cobra
- Callaway
- Red Tail
- Michelob Ultra
- Westin
- Hood River Distillers
- G6
- Delta Putt
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
It's time for Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Join Jeff Tracy as he explores the golfing lifestyle and tries to keep it in the short grass.
Speaker A:For the hackers, new sweepers and turf spankers, here's Jeff.
Speaker A:Tomorrow's gonna be better than today.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to Grilling it in Green.
Speaker A:I'm jt.
Speaker A:We'd like to thank you all for listening this week.
Speaker A:And we've got a special, special idea for you for next weekend.
Speaker A:The February 28th, 1st and 2nd of March, the Portland Golf Show.
Speaker A:So if you live here locally, where I do and where we have our, our base radio station along with the other ones in Seattle and around the country, got the Portland Golf show coming up at the Expo.
Speaker A:And today we've got Dick Stevens from Varsity Communications.
Speaker A:Dick's been on the show before.
Speaker A:He's the guy.
Speaker A:Yeah, you deal with or one of them when you're going to go to the Portland Golf show.
Speaker A:As far as if you're an exhibitor and.
Speaker A:Or he makes things happen because he's the boss man.
Speaker A:Dick, welcome.
Speaker B:Hey, Jeff, it's great to see you.
Speaker B:I always feel like the.
Speaker B:The show gets kicked off once we do our interview with you.
Speaker B:So this is exciting.
Speaker A:Well, I hope so.
Speaker A:I certainly hope so.
Speaker A:I think it's going to be a good year.
Speaker A:Myself, speaking directly about the golf show, you know, it's spring.
Speaker A:The weather's not been too bad here in the Portland area.
Speaker A:We had a little snow last week.
Speaker A:Not like what you were in currently in Kansas City.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:But spring's kind of popping a little bit and I think people really look forward to the golf show.
Speaker B:Well, you know what's really cool about the Portland Golf Show?
Speaker B:I want to give a.
Speaker B:Pay a little homage to the, to the men that started it their 31st year.
Speaker B:So this will be our hunt.
Speaker B:By the time we get to the Portland show next week, It'll be our 146th golf show production.
Speaker B:And from everything we know, I think we're right on the money.
Speaker B:This is the longest running consumer golf expo west of the Mississippi.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker B:I didn't know that longer than Seattle, Denver, all these shows.
Speaker B:And those are good golf show markets too.
Speaker B:We do Seattle.
Speaker B:Another guy does Denver.
Speaker B:He does a great job.
Speaker B:Yeah, this is the one that has always endured.
Speaker B:And the guys that started at John Hines way back in the the 90s when he had an idea to raise some money for the Portland State golf team when he was the coach there, they let him do a little, A little kind of like a sidewalk sale back in the gym there at Portland State just to make some money to pay for the kids travel.
Speaker B:And they did it and thousand people showed up, bought all the stuff off the little card tables.
Speaker B:And then it got bigger and became the Portland Golf show.
Speaker B:And we took it over 20 years ago.
Speaker B:And it's just a great production.
Speaker B:It is Portland's golf show.
Speaker B:I can't say that about every other market, but the town owns this.
Speaker B:This is their.
Speaker B:This is their market.
Speaker B:This is their show.
Speaker A:This is a more.
Speaker A:Would you say this is a more consumer driven show than others?
Speaker B:All our shows are consumer driven.
Speaker B:What I'll say is this.
Speaker B:It feels the most homey.
Speaker B:That's a hell of a thing for me to say because I own the Seattle Golf show too, and I live in Seattle.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Portland's people, they're very like, everybody pulls for everybody else.
Speaker B:It's not competitive.
Speaker B:You know, they're not trying to edge out another golf course.
Speaker B:And secondly, this is a fair thing.
Speaker B:Kind of tying into your question.
Speaker B:It's definitely has the most golf vibe in it.
Speaker B:Not that the other golf shows, we don't have a golf vibe, but it just oozes Pacific Northwest in this show.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think that there's two reasons for that.
Speaker B:One, it's been gone on a long time.
Speaker B:The fan base has always been there for this show.
Speaker B:So that means the exhibitors and sponsors with good work will be there too.
Speaker B:And secondly, it's an urban show and a suburban show, like the show I've been doing here this week in Kansas City.
Speaker B:It's a great show.
Speaker B:It's a great market.
Speaker B:It's very suburban.
Speaker B:You don't feel that.
Speaker B:You don't feel the urban part of the sport lives in the suburbs.
Speaker B:Where in Portland, man, we got people coming off the Max line.
Speaker B:I have a photo last year of a guy who had two bags in his shoulders full of new stuff jumping on the train going home after the show.
Speaker B:I mean, I love that.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Well, you know, and it is convenient.
Speaker A:Like you said, the Max line right there runs right up to the expo.
Speaker A:Boom.
Speaker C:We love it.
Speaker B:That's our friend.
Speaker A:And you're.
Speaker A:Boom.
Speaker A:What can people look for this year?
Speaker A:I mean, I'm sure you're going to have the, you know, the, the Cobras and the callaways and the PXGs.
Speaker A:You know, those folks, they're always there.
Speaker A:It wouldn't be a golf show without them.
Speaker A:But you've got other vendors, myself included there that have all kinds of cool things to do and see and buy.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, Red Tail does such a good job with the demo line, and I think sometimes people get mixed up that.
Speaker B:Okay, hey, this is.
Speaker B:Here's all the new equipment.
Speaker B:This stuff just got unveiled.
Speaker B:Some of the stuff at Red Tail's been there a couple of weeks only, so it's kind of a world release.
Speaker B:When we do these shows early on the west coast, it's the first time the public's seen that equipment.
Speaker B:We do have PXG coming back.
Speaker B:They're having a really cool fitting experience as well.
Speaker B:But the Women's Day is something we're just continuing to build.
Speaker B:And last year was our first step with doing a Women's Day program at the Portland Golf Show.
Speaker B:This is our second annual piece of that.
Speaker B:So we have a really cool traveling women's exhibit called Swing Sports that's been going with us at all the five shows.
Speaker B:The standard Portland Classic LPGA Tour event is really leaned into the Women's Day programming.
Speaker B:They're really playing kind of co producer of the women's programming with.
Speaker B:So we're excited about that.
Speaker B:They have a new sponsor on board now, so that's exciting energy.
Speaker B:And then it's just really kind of neat to see some of the courses and resorts kind of having to go back a little bit to what it was like before the pandemic.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:They have.
Speaker B:It's a little bit more competitive.
Speaker B:You know, golf was like Rock Ride during COVID and it's still.
Speaker B:It's still gliding along at a good clip, but it's starting to kind of settle back here.
Speaker B:This is my little expert opinion.
Speaker B:Here's golf before the pandemic.
Speaker B:Here's golf with the pandemic.
Speaker B:I think we're about here now, and I think golfers, golf courses, golf resorts, golf consumers are getting back to how they look at the sport now that things are settling down again a bit.
Speaker B:And I'm excited about that because I think it opens up a conversation between exhibitor and attendee, value and value points, and I think that's good for the sport.
Speaker A:I do, too.
Speaker A:And you know what I was just thinking while you were doing your little demonstration there, Nick, that I look like.
Speaker B:Richard Dreyfus there in Close Encounters for a second.
Speaker A:Yeah, you can do that.
Speaker A:I think, you know, you live up close to the University of Washington.
Speaker A:You could probably get a grant to do that, maybe if you could turn that into print somehow.
Speaker A:But I do think it's correct in the fact that, man, when we had this discussion, you know, and I had it with your Partner Kirk before.
Speaker A:But Covid, I live two blocks from my golf course and you couldn't get on it.
Speaker A:And a lot of times you couldn't get on it because people from across the river in Vancouver were trying to find any course they could get on because the state of Washington closed it down, but they could come down here.
Speaker A:And then we also saw a resurgence, and we see this at the golf show too.
Speaker A:I can tell you that from just talking to people, people that had put down the sticks 20, 30, 40 years ago or maybe had wanted to do it and never did it, the.
Speaker A:The pandemic prompted them to get involved.
Speaker A:Now the kind of, I won't say, like you, I would say we're still on an incline, but just not as steep.
Speaker A:But I think you're right.
Speaker A:People are living, leveling out.
Speaker A:They're trying to find the value.
Speaker A:Time versus money versus, you know, all kinds of things, whatever makes people tick.
Speaker A:And so I think the Portland Golf show is a good place for them to come see the courses, see the equipment, see the travel agents, see getting the ball in the putting contest.
Speaker A:And there's all kinds of things to kind of stimulate them and sometimes make them reevaluate their, their golf and what they're doing to.
Speaker C:In a good.
Speaker A:In a good way.
Speaker B:I think in general, I can't speak for everybody, I'm not an economist, but I, I live in the economy like you do, like everybody does.
Speaker B:I think things are probably a little tighter for some people's decisions.
Speaker B:If I have, let's say, 10 bucks to spend on my sport, this sport, this year, maybe during the pandemic, you had 15 or 18 to spend.
Speaker B:Now it's kind of getting back to normal.
Speaker B:So I think people are really making good decisions about where they want to spend their time, where they want to spend their money and both some of the new things of the show, though, we always try to bring in new elements.
Speaker B:We have this really cool traveling simulator company that's called Drivebox.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:And it's a trailer that is like a Transformer.
Speaker B:It opens up into a golf simulator.
Speaker B:And they're coming to three of our shows.
Speaker B:They're making their first stop at Portland.
Speaker B:We're really excited about that.
Speaker B:That'll be in the Michelob Ultra 19th hole.
Speaker B:Michelob Ultra is our title sponsor.
Speaker B:They've always been there for us.
Speaker B:We also have some other really cool interactive zones that are swing based.
Speaker B:So instead of having one closest to the pin, we're going to have three, all in different simulators around the floor.
Speaker B:One's called the ace, which is going to be really focused on the possibility of hitting one really tight because we're going to make it a hole that's reachable 100 yards and in, and everything's been dialed in there with prizes.
Speaker B:The other one's called the stadium shot.
Speaker B:So we're kind of simulating the PGA Tour stadium shots in this.
Speaker A:In the.
Speaker B:In the launch house simulator, which is another traveling exhibit, and then the other ones, the closest to the pin standard one.
Speaker B:So there's lots of ways for people to compete and play at different levels.
Speaker B:Really excited about another.
Speaker B:A new.
Speaker B:Another new element with us is just focusing on swinging.
Speaker B:The Orange Whip trainer.
Speaker B:A lot of people have seen this product.
Speaker B:It's this, you know, the flexible shaft with the ball.
Speaker B:In the end, they swing it.
Speaker B:This is not just about selling a $95 orange whip.
Speaker B:This swing experience that this guy goes through in training people is, in my opinion, the most.
Speaker B:One of the most effective ways to do this on your own.
Speaker B:To use their tools, to use the swing.
Speaker B:We've set up a.
Speaker B:We've doubled the space of the Orange Whip because it was so busy that nobody could get in there.
Speaker B:So I've doubled it.
Speaker B:That's going to be a new element.
Speaker B:Golf Wellness.
Speaker B:Huge.
Speaker B:What we're doing with Stretch zone, because there are five locations all over Portland.
Speaker B:Actually, there may even be seven.
Speaker B:The guy that runs that's a very clever businessman.
Speaker B:And we are really trying to make sure people understand how to stretch properly.
Speaker B:Amateur golfers don't stretch.
Speaker B:They jump out of the car, they drink a glass of.
Speaker B:Have a glass of coffee, and then they go right to the tee.
Speaker B:You got to stretch.
Speaker B:They're going to teach us how to do that.
Speaker B:And then finally, we have somebody who I call kind of a golf doctor, Ryan Boggess from hqpt.
Speaker B:What he does out there in his facility in Portland is second to none.
Speaker B:Super impressive.
Speaker B:He actually trains NFL athletes.
Speaker B:On Sundays, he comes back and runs his golf fitness and training facility, HQPT in Portland.
Speaker B:During the week.
Speaker B:He is on site, and he is doing stuff in a studio that he sets up right there.
Speaker B:So the touchy feeliness of the show is right there.
Speaker B:We want people's game to improve or at least get the brain wrapped around game improvement at the show.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:We're going to take a break.
Speaker A:Dick Stevens and I will be back.
Speaker A:Dick's the boss at Varsity Communication, and they produce and promote the Portland Golf show, which is coming up next week.
Speaker A:Stay with us.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:JT Here you Know every week on grilling at the Green, we bring you a travel tip, and that is brought to you by the Westin dealerships.
Speaker A:I've known those guys since I was a kid.
Speaker A:And they have one way of doing business.
Speaker A:It's called the Weston way.
Speaker A:It's family oriented, and there's no better people to deal with.
Speaker A:Check out Weston Kia on Southeast Stark in Gresham, Oregon.
Speaker A:Welcome back to grilling It's Green.
Speaker A:I'm jt.
Speaker A:Today we got my buddy Dick Stevens here from Varsity Communications.
Speaker A:Dick is the promoter for the Portland golf show, also Seattle, also Kansas City and some other ones.
Speaker A:Portland Golf show is kind of the first one on the, the agenda for the year.
Speaker A:And I think that's why we all get excited about it because, you know, the pg, the big PGA show just ended in Florida.
Speaker A:It was a disaster this year just because of the weather.
Speaker A:Everybody complained about the weather, right?
Speaker A:So you come back to Portland, even if it rains in Portland, you got the big expo center there, lots of fun stuff to do.
Speaker A:And Dick's the man that makes all that happen.
Speaker A:You know, one of my favorite exhibits there, Dick, is the pepperoni guy.
Speaker A:The guy, you know, he's got 30ft of pepperoni.
Speaker B:Unless he buys a booth, he buys, he goes to every show in that building, and God love him.
Speaker B:I mean, everybody, everybody in there.
Speaker B:I saw one guy who bought a.
Speaker B:He bought a 40 inch piece of pepperoni.
Speaker B:It was swinging like a golf club.
Speaker B:And they put it on social media.
Speaker B:So this is the real golf shaft.
Speaker B:So no, that guy comes every year.
Speaker B:He's a great guy.
Speaker B:We like having some of those kind of fun exhibits, you know, where people can just be.
Speaker B:Be themselves.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:Because I.
Speaker A:First year I did the show, I.
Speaker A:I tracked, I was walking by, you know, you get busy at a show and you don't really get too much time to get out of your own booth, but you got to take a break once in a while.
Speaker A:And I kind of on my circling around and headed back to my booth.
Speaker A:He was there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:And he gave me a sample.
Speaker A:And of course, you know, I'm a food guy and all that stuff.
Speaker A:And I walked about 10ft.
Speaker A:I spun around, I went back, I bought one of those packages with, you know, 30ft of pepperoni in it.
Speaker A:I bought three over the course.
Speaker A:I would give some to people that were in my booth.
Speaker A:And I brought one home and I gave one to a friend.
Speaker A:So the guy got some business out of me.
Speaker A:You know, I think it's also important.
Speaker A:I said it at the top of the show, Dick about you see the club companies there.
Speaker A:PXG is going to be there.
Speaker A:PXG does a lot of work with veterans because of Bob Parsons.
Speaker A:He was a vet and all that.
Speaker A:But you have the other ones you can go right down the line.
Speaker A:Cobra.
Speaker A:I'm a Cobra guy.
Speaker A:But Taylor made all these kinds of outfits there.
Speaker A:They have the new clubs that were just unveiled three weeks ago.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker A:In Orlando.
Speaker A:We're the first.
Speaker A:We're the first city that actually gets to see them en masse, if you will.
Speaker B:It's really cool.
Speaker B:I mean, these shows, these consumer shows with what Red Tail does on that testing and fitting line, you are seeing the clubs for the first time.
Speaker B:Stuff.
Speaker B:Some of the manufacturers release some stuff in the fall and some do stuff right around the PGA show.
Speaker B:And it's kind of change around.
Speaker B:But the ones that just came out are the ones that are.
Speaker B:You're seeing in all the ads on the PGA Tour LPGA Tour broadcast now.
Speaker B:And you know, the demo day that we have is inside.
Speaker B:And you know we're weatherproof.
Speaker B:And what's funny is bad weather is good for our golf show.
Speaker B:The PGA show from our lens.
Speaker B:You know, I know that the demo day had some tough times with the weather out there.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:However, the indoor show was one of the best attended expos that they've had in a long time.
Speaker B:That's good for us.
Speaker B:That tells us that people are really reactive to the sport.
Speaker B:But boy, when we go to Portland or Kansas City or Seattle or Connecticut or wherever I go, crappy weather is our friend.
Speaker B:That means they're coming inside and hanging out.
Speaker B:And you talked about the pepperoni guys, a cool exhibitor.
Speaker B:But we have other things that are fun pivots so you don't have to just go in there and get the freebies, which we'll talk about at the end because we always give away some great stuff at the door.
Speaker B:The exhibits that we have inside for the big kids, we have the Kids day for kids 12 and under are free.
Speaker B:We're going to give away rounds of golf at the children's course while they last on Saturday.
Speaker B:But we always encourage the young people to come in there.
Speaker B:We're encouraging the Women's Day program.
Speaker B:But what's really cool is we've got liquid lounges inside the show.
Speaker B:So Jim Beam will have an experience in there where you could sample Jim Beam.
Speaker B:They have a great product that's really designed for golf courses called on the Rocks.
Speaker B:It's a pre mixed Cocktail.
Speaker B:We're sampling that delicata wines, doing a wine experience to encourage, you know, you can see how popular wine is in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker B:It's huge.
Speaker B:You know that because you're a culinarian.
Speaker B:And then we've got, you know, an old, tried and true exhibitor sponsor who's always there for us, which is Hood River Distillers.
Speaker B:They bring in the new iteration of the Timberline Vodka, the fourth west whiskey, which is a Canadian blend.
Speaker B:This is all samples that you can do with the show, in addition to what Michelobalcher is doing.
Speaker B:And a little secret here, which isn't really a secret anymore.
Speaker B:The Portland Seafood and Wine Festival is next to us at the expo, and we opened a giant door between our two shows, and we allow their attendees to come to our show for nothing and our attendees to go to their show for nothing.
Speaker B:As long as you buy a ticket, you can go to both.
Speaker B:If you want all the freebies and stuff from us, you have to buy a ticket through us.
Speaker B:But you get to go to the Food and Wine Expo too.
Speaker B:So it's really like getting two shows and one ticket.
Speaker B:It's a blast in there on Saturday and Sunday, and we're excited about doing that again.
Speaker B:It makes it just a perfect way just to hang out some in one place during the day.
Speaker A:Yep, I've.
Speaker A:I've imbibed, you might say, at times.
Speaker B:That's what Uber's for.
Speaker B:And that's what the Max Lane.
Speaker B:Just relax.
Speaker B:We don't want anybody to put themselves in harm's way.
Speaker A:No, no, no, no.
Speaker A:It's all good.
Speaker A:And you also have.
Speaker A:You've got, like, travel packages.
Speaker A:There's agencies there.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:Some of.
Speaker A:It's kind of, if you will, typical trade show stuff.
Speaker A:People wanting to sell you, you know, a timeshare or something like that.
Speaker A:There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker A:But the ones like that go to Hawaii or Nevada or any of those.
Speaker A:They have great packages there for people, fun trips, you know, four nights, five days, five rounds of golf, that type of thing.
Speaker A:All very affordable.
Speaker A:And they get you there.
Speaker A:Those.
Speaker A:Those are some really fun things, Dick.
Speaker B:Well, they want you to design the trip with them.
Speaker B:I mean.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:What people learned in Covid is that the golfer wants to be in control.
Speaker B:You could buy the standard stuff.
Speaker B:Two day, five day, whatever.
Speaker B:What they're saying, hey, what do you want to do?
Speaker B:So, you know, when you meet with one of our exhibitors there, you're like Ban and Dunes.
Speaker B:What are you looking to achieve?
Speaker B:Here they're telling you what we can, what they can design around your time or your budget.
Speaker B:We have.
Speaker B:I mean, this.
Speaker B:There is no place, nothing anywhere in Portland where you can get that many courses and that many resorts in one building.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:This is the only location you can go online and do all that stuff.
Speaker B:But to meet face to face with these customers, to me, that's the real hidden value that's being up close and personal.
Speaker B:And we've got some great destinations that are in there this year.
Speaker B:Obviously, the Central Oregon guys, the folks from Hawaii are coming out there.
Speaker B:We got some Las Vegas guys in there, but we have more golf courses from the Pacific Northwest at this show than any other event that we do for local courses.
Speaker B:They're just, they're just embedded into it.
Speaker B:And then, you know, obviously everybody always wants to know, well, what, what's the front door?
Speaker B:You know, we're almost got everybody too hooked on the front door bonus.
Speaker B:But it is part of what we're doing again.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:There'll be actually something in those bags for me this year.
Speaker B:Well, you're now a partner.
Speaker B:You got your, you're an important part of the show.
Speaker B:In addition to doing a broadcast, we're excited about what we're doing with you as a, as a sponsor and getting behind some of the organizational tournaments that you're running, Jeff.
Speaker B:And you know, we're really excited to have your stuff in the goodie bag.
Speaker B:This year.
Speaker B:We have 500 rounds of golf we're going to be giving away at the door per day to, to Mount Hood.
Speaker B:If you answered a few questions we have in our golf electronic kiosks.
Speaker B:We'll have golf balls for the super early birds.
Speaker B:We've got great indoor golf bonuses that people can go to some of the local indoor golf facilities, tickets to the LPGA event and then just a lot.
Speaker C:Of other great value.
Speaker B:And our players tour Pass bonus is 59 bucks.
Speaker B:Slam dunk.
Speaker B:I mean, yeah, the offers in the bag, almost $400 of the value for the 59 ticket.
Speaker A:Okay, Dick, real quick because we're running out of time.
Speaker A:How can people get their tickets?
Speaker A:They can get them at the door.
Speaker A:I know that.
Speaker A:But if they want to buy them online and where can they go?
Speaker A:To one of your websites to find out who all's there?
Speaker B:Super Simple Portland GolfShow.com Everything you need to know.
Speaker B:The ticket information is on the homepage.
Speaker B:You can click on all the different buttons to see who will be there and who's performing.
Speaker B:And the women's day at the box Office, not online, but at the box office.
Speaker B:It's only 10 bucks for ladies on Saturday at the show.
Speaker B:We want to get as many of those women out there to enjoy the day.
Speaker B:All age groups, please come out, support it.
Speaker B:But yeah, portlandgolfshow.com has got everything you can buy the ticket right there, download it, you walk right into the hall.
Speaker B:Should be a total blast.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Dick Stevens, my friend from Varsity Communications.
Speaker A:He and I will be roaming the aisles next week.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:We'll see you next week.
Speaker A:And folks, we'll be back with Dave Grill from Delta right after this.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's jt.
Speaker A:You know, I talk about Painted Hills all the time and we always say beef the way nature intended.
Speaker A:But it's more than that because each bite of Painted Hills will make your taste buds explode.
Speaker A:Put a big bright smile on your face and whoever is at your dinner table will have a big bright smile on their face.
Speaker A:And you can thank me for that later.
Speaker A:Just go to painted hillsbeef.com and find out more.
Speaker A:You won't regret it.
Speaker A:Hey, welcome back to Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:I'm jt.
Speaker A:As you know, next week, guess what, it's the Portland Golf show.
Speaker A:And I'm going to be there.
Speaker A:We're going to be live streaming all three days, 1 o'clock Pacific.
Speaker A:It's a great golf show.
Speaker A:It kind of kicks off the golf season here in the northwest for Seattle comes after Portland there.
Speaker A:So we.
Speaker A:We beat them at one.
Speaker A:One thing, I guess at least we've got that.
Speaker A:So look forward to that.
Speaker A:We've got a lot of great sponsors and one of them that is working with us and we've known this gu for a long time now, and he's been on the show before is Dave Grill.
Speaker A:Dave is the head honcho at G6.
Speaker A:If you don't know what that is, they make the Delta putt units.
Speaker A:And he's got a new Delta putt unit coming out kind of debuting in our area here at the Portland Golf show.
Speaker A:And he's.
Speaker A:Dave's always been in business for a long time, not just with G6, but other businesses.
Speaker A:And it's always fun to talk to him.
Speaker A:Dave, welcome.
Speaker C:Good to be here.
Speaker C:You're looking good, buddy.
Speaker A:Hey, look, you got a Hawaii setting behind you.
Speaker A:I wish I was actually there.
Speaker A:Yeah, you know, sunshine and palm trees.
Speaker A:I was there a couple months ago, but not today.
Speaker A:But, you know, if we play things right, I sell enough ad space on the radio and you sell enough Deltas.
Speaker A:We can go there and play.
Speaker A:Let's do it.
Speaker A:Okay, so what have you got coming up?
Speaker A:You told me the other day on the phone that you had a new version of the delta putter putt.
Speaker A:I should say.
Speaker A:Excuse me, if you don't know what that is.
Speaker A:I'm gonna let Dave explain it to you.
Speaker A:He's far more articulate than I am at that.
Speaker A:And then we can talk about the brand new one.
Speaker C:Well, yeah, the, the delta putt is a, the, the puck.
Speaker C:I, as I call it, it's a triangle.
Speaker C:It's got three sides that have different difficulty level, scales of difficulty.
Speaker C:And you have to put.
Speaker C:Put it on a mat that comes with the puck as you make a stroke.
Speaker C:It will give you absolute instant feedback.
Speaker C:Every stroke you take with it on both your stroke stroke path and face angle.
Speaker C:And it's just simple physics.
Speaker C:If I do this, the puck does that and the puck never lies.
Speaker C:And we've had a couple versions of it.
Speaker C:One was just an individual practice mat.
Speaker C:It's about four and a half feet long and it works great.
Speaker C:You can use it anywhere in your living room, out on the golf course, whatever.
Speaker C:And then we had a game version called the Delta Dueler, which was kind of like a shuffleboard shuffle putt game that you could play, you know, with two or four people and keep score.
Speaker C:A lot of fun.
Speaker C:That one was eight feet long.
Speaker C:And through the years I've had, I've had people that have said, hey, yeah, I'd really like that, that dueler, but I don't have any room for it.
Speaker C:You know, we live in an apartment and I don't have like the coffee tables and chairs.
Speaker C:I can't lay it out.
Speaker C:So I'll do the delta putt.
Speaker C:And then the delta putt is very effective for just, just going out there, you know, working on your stroke individually.
Speaker C:But I had a few people I wish it would, you know, I wish you had something like in between that, that I could, you know, make a four foot putt or six foot.
Speaker C:So that's what we've.
Speaker C:We've come up with a hybrid that of the two, it's going to be.
Speaker C:It's actually six and a half feet, but six feet of actual putting space.
Speaker C:And we're going to launch that at the Portland Golf show this year and to see how people like it.
Speaker C: products coming up in: Speaker C:And kind of depending on how the Portland show goes, if, if people like this new version of it, the new mat.
Speaker C:We may just go to one, you know, that will be our, our premier product.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:One that we're, we're going to offer, so we'll, we'll kind of see how that goes.
Speaker C:But yeah, I'm really looking forward to getting back to Portland this year.
Speaker C:And it's been so wet and cold and snowy that kind of getting the golf juices going again.
Speaker C:And that show always kicks things off, you know.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:So let's take a trip down memory lane here.
Speaker A:Dave, what possessed you to create the Deltas?
Speaker A:Let's just start with the original one.
Speaker A:Just the one you showed me seven, eight years ago when you came down to the radio station.
Speaker C:That was, that came out of.
Speaker C:I, I played a lot of competitive golf from time I was a junior, you know, through college, you know, and even at one point, you know, you, you always have that dream, oh, should I, you know, take the plunge and try to, you know, turn pro with this thing?
Speaker C:So I could play golf pretty well back in the day and then went to college, played golf through college, met my, my wife there, and we, you know, have three kids.
Speaker C:And the golf game just pretty much went by the wayside.
Speaker C:Just too busy with everything going on.
Speaker C:And then unfortunately, my wife got breast cancer and passed away when the kids were 10, 12, and 14.
Speaker C:So that really, from that point, pretty limited my golf.
Speaker C:My golf was pretty much by the wayside at that point.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:I kind of started getting back into it with businesses playing some scrambles and things.
Speaker C:And my, my particular short game just went by the wayside.
Speaker C:It was, it was horrible.
Speaker C:And I've been.
Speaker C:Gotten remarried and by that point, and I was.
Speaker C:We've gone down to Bandon every year with a big group of guys, and that was the one, one golf trip I took.
Speaker C:I went down to Bandon one year years ago and came back and I told, I told Kelly, my wife, I said, you know what?
Speaker C:I'm just going to give the game up because my short game and particularly my putting is just horrible.
Speaker C:I never get a chance to practice it.
Speaker C:And I was sitting around thinking, you know, is there something I could come up with that I could actually practice indoors anytime I wanted?
Speaker C:And one thing led to another and I came up with this Delta putt product.
Speaker C:And I was going to my patent attorney, we were going to look at another patent that she was about ready to submit.
Speaker C:We were going to review it.
Speaker C:And I walked in her office and I had a putter under my arm and the, the puck in one hand and I said, hey, before we start, what do you think of this?
Speaker C:And I threw it down on her hardwood floors, hit a few putts and she literally turned around, closed the file on the patent that we were going to submit and said, you know what, I'm not a golfer, but I, I get it, I see that and you have to do this.
Speaker C:So we went ahead and got it patented and started showing it around to some friends and next thing you know, actually Band and Dunes bought like 600 of them for four of their spring golf tournaments as, as kind of the premier gift in their gift pack.
Speaker C:And right then I hadn't done any advertising or online stuff, but I started getting some action on that.
Speaker C:After abandoned, it kind of occurred to me that guys that had gotten that for the tournament went back to their homes and I was getting orders from all over the country.
Speaker C: ,: Speaker C: the first product and now in: Speaker C: cited for what's coming up in: Speaker A: well the, the, when you said: Speaker C:Yeah, we met not long after that.
Speaker C:I'm not, can't remember if I actually had done the Bandon deal at that point, but that was, that was a key to really, really starting to kick off the business.
Speaker A:Well, I remember you came into the radio station, you brought one with you, this is the original one and you set it down and like so many home improvement things for your golf game, I just took a whack at it and you kind of said, where's your backstroke?
Speaker A:And a few things like that, you know, and, and you were being very gracious about it.
Speaker A:And so after I hit that the puck the first time, I actually took it seriously, you know, I mean if you're in my position, people are always wanting to send you stuff or try stuff or you know, you know how it works.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker A:So after that I hit it a few times, got close, you might say, to where I wanted it to be.
Speaker A:And when the show was over, we walked down the hallway into the sales department and one of my really, really, really good Friends was there, and he's a golfer.
Speaker A:We set it down for Al, and he went to hit it, and he looked at me like, what the hell is this?
Speaker A:You know, And I said, put it in the.
Speaker A:Put it where X marks the spot, you might say, down there.
Speaker A:And I know it took him several tries to do it.
Speaker A:It's, it's so simple.
Speaker A:If you do it correctly.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:I'll put it that way.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:It, like, it will expose any weakness you have, particularly in the stroke path and the face angle.
Speaker C:And I actually have one sitting right here.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:That's the triangle.
Speaker C:It's got a larger protrusion, which would be the back of the ball, and it gets down to a really small protrusion, which would again be the back of the ball.
Speaker C:And as this thing, as this thing tracks down the mat, you don't want any rotation with the leading point.
Speaker C:And then the, the back of the ball, if it stays down the middle or your intended line, that gives you instant feedback on your, your stroke path.
Speaker C:And again, it's just, it's just simple physics in that if, if you're doing this, it is going to do that.
Speaker C:And what, what you can do as you, as you're watching, you know, watching a few strokes you take with it, you'll see a tendency that maybe that lead points pointing to the right.
Speaker C:That means that, you know, you might be stroking your stroke path might be good.
Speaker C:But your face angle is slightly open.
Speaker C:And as that tracks down the line, it will rotate to the right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So just little increments at a time, you can make adjustments in, you know, your, your stance, ball position, you know, whether you're.
Speaker C:Maybe you're just rotating your shoulders rather than you might just need to bend over a little bit more and get a good, you know, solid straight back.
Speaker C:Straight through, if you will.
Speaker A:Yeah, stroke going.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:We're going to take a break.
Speaker A:I'm going to be back with Dave Grill From Delta Putt G6 Productions there right after this.
Speaker A:You're listening to Grilling at the green.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, J.T.
Speaker A:here.
Speaker A:If you need something to practice with in the inclement weather, try birdie ball.
Speaker A:Go to birdieball.com check out the actual birdie balls, their packages, their putting greens, which I happen to have a couple of those, and they work great.
Speaker A:Birdieball.com hey, welcome back to Grilling.
Speaker A:It's Green, by the way.
Speaker A:Well, we want to thank Squares Golf Shoes for supporting the show and Weston Kia over there.
Speaker A:Here locally in Portland Janet Jay Weston have been great to me over the years.
Speaker A:Of course, I've known him since I was a little guy.
Speaker A:And we're talking with Dave Grill from G6, the Delta putt there.
Speaker A:I want to.
Speaker A:I want to talk to you about the golf business in this last segment, Dave, for a few minutes, Covid came.
Speaker A:We saw rapid increase in golf and barbecue, my other deal.
Speaker A:And Dick Stevens from Varsity was talking at the top of the show about that.
Speaker A:We saw this incline and then it kind of has gone down a little bit, and then it's kind of held steady now like that.
Speaker A:What are you seeing from what.
Speaker A:What you're at your desk, so to speak.
Speaker C:Well, you know, I think Covid, as far as my business was concerned, was.
Speaker C:It was a good thing for it, you know, terrible for the people.
Speaker C:But there were, you know, we had to quarantine at home and, you know, you can only watch so many reruns of I Love Lucy or whatever you're watching.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:You need something to do.
Speaker C:So our sales during COVID really did kind of explode.
Speaker C:People were, word got out, oh, you can use it in your living room.
Speaker C:You don't need to leave your house.
Speaker C:So it was really good.
Speaker C:But we haven't really seen, you know, that that kind of spiked a little bit and then, you know, has leveled off kind of steady.
Speaker C:So I think there's still good enthusiasm for the game out there.
Speaker C:You know, I, I don't know if I haven't looked at any, you know, true stats if the game's still growing like it was, you know, back in the, in the early 20s, you know.
Speaker A:Right, right, right.
Speaker C:But no, it's.
Speaker C:I have not seen much of a decline at all.
Speaker C:I know it, you know, I'd heard that it kind of peaked and, and, you know, started to correct itself a little bit.
Speaker C:But I, I'm still enthused about, about golf in general.
Speaker C:I think, you know, maybe even the, the PGA and the LIV situation you know, may have divided a few people or turn people off the game to some extent.
Speaker C:But I, I think, I think golf still kind of on a, you know, maybe a gradual but still on an upswing is what, what I'm seeing.
Speaker A:I, I think so too.
Speaker A:As far as Pete as the tour and live, I think the only thing that, honestly, the only thing I think that did Dave was turn people off from watching the golf, the pro golf tours, the men's, especially on television, because they've had a decline in their ratings.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:Prize money's gone through the roof, which is A good thing for the players.
Speaker A:It doesn't do a hell of a lot for the general public, but that's what they are.
Speaker A:They're professional golfers and that's how they make their living.
Speaker A:Same with the live.
Speaker A:That money was crazy.
Speaker A:But I think it's actually, I think that has maybe done more to keep people out on the course on a Saturday and Sunday, so to speak.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I would not disagree with that at all.
Speaker C:Yeah, I, I know it's, you know, my dad, he's 86 years old and we'll, we'll get together and you know, maybe watch a tournament on the week.
Speaker C:PGA tournament.
Speaker C:And he has made the comment, he goes, where, where are all these the good players anymore?
Speaker C:Because there's a lot of names out there right now, you know, the, the captains and roms that went to live.
Speaker C:So maybe, you know that, that older, which might be more of a target audience for the PGA Tour, maybe that has had a little bit of effect that guys just aren't familiar with some of these up and coming players, you know, as they were the, some of the defectors over to live.
Speaker C:But you know, I, I really hope it keeps going.
Speaker C:I enjoy watching back Mexican Open.
Speaker C:I think it's probably on now and I'll probably tune into that here.
Speaker A:Well, probably.
Speaker A:Probably.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So no, I think, I think golf and I think shows like the Portland Golf show that kind of kicks off the season and I think it's a, it's not a hundred percent economic indicator for the golf world, but I think it's a good local and regional indicator.
Speaker A:Like Dick said at the top of the show, when the weather's bad, it's actually good for the golf shows.
Speaker A:Well, we don't have a problem producing bad weather around here, that's for sure.
Speaker A:And so, you know, I think the activity level will be just fine.
Speaker C:Well, I think we're going to get some good weather for the golf show, meaning it's going to be pouring down rain.
Speaker C:It looks like as long as on.
Speaker A:Move in day on Thursday, it's not too nasty.
Speaker A:Other than that, let it rain.
Speaker C:Yeah, more, more rain, the better for the show.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Dave Grill, he will be at the Portland Golf Show G6 when his Delta putts there, it's always great time.
Speaker A:We're gonna get out of here.
Speaker A:Like I said, next week's a live show and then we'll be back the week after that with all kinds of fun things.
Speaker A:Actually, Joe Beal from Golf Digest is coming up in a couple of weeks.
Speaker A:He's got a new book out called Playing Dirty.
Speaker A:That ought to be interesting.
Speaker A:So for Dave and myself, go out there, play some golf, have some fun.
Speaker A:But most of all, be kind.
Speaker A:Take care, everybody.
Speaker A:Grilling at the Green is produced by JTSD Productions, LLC in association with Salem Media Group.
Speaker A:All rights reserve.
