Updates for the 2020 WLD season

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Received this the other day, thought I would share for those of you who do not receive WLD emails.

Jason

 

World Long Drive Hitters, 

I hope the off-season training is going well for each of you. We also have been using the off-season to tackle a lot of exciting updates for the 2020 season. The two most common questions we receive are about the 2020 schedule and the golf ball. To manage expectations on timing, we will formally announce both in January. What I can share in the meantime is that there will be a new ball in 2020 and a new location for the World Championship. We would like to thank Volvik for its partnership and for its continued support of athletes. We also would like to thank WinStar for their partnership in playing host to the sport’s biggest event. Getting the right business partner and venue for Worlds, plus introducing a new golf ball are big challenges that just need some more time to finalize. We remain optimistic that these will be game changers for the future of the sport.  

 Below are some additional updates:2019 Highlights – we get asked occasionally for metrics to use in your own social media, sponsor pitches and more. Below are some key stats to help promote your personal brand and the sport, highlighted by the fact that our “reach” is extending beyond golf traditionalists:The median age of a WLD viewer is 12% younger than the average Golf Channel viewer across live events48% of those who watched the World Long Drive Championship didn’t watch Golf Channel the previous week82% of millennial viewers of the World Long Drive Championship didn’t watch Golf Channel the previous week6 of the Top 10 most-watched videos on the Golf Channel YouTube site are WLD-focused46% of the WorldLongDrive.com audience is between 25-44 years old For the first time ever, World Long Drive will be showcased  during the month of December on NBC. This past weekend, NBC aired a “season in review” show featuring highlights from the 2019 tour events. And this Sunday, NBC will broadcast an encore showing of the 2019 World Long Drive Championship (4-5 pm Eastern). WLD Advisory Panel – a consistent item of feedback throughout this season was a desire for greater athlete “voice” in WLD. My goal for the 2019 season was to conduct as many individual conversations as possible to get the pulse of the sport. For the 2020 season, we will create a WLD Advisory Panel. The purpose is to create a group of advisors to vet ideas and provide advice on decisions. This group will provide the WLD community, including athletes, a voice and a streamlined process for feedback. Below is an overview:The Group: ~5 people to include a mix of athletes (current or retired; mix of gender and countries) golf/WLD industry leaders and an independent member. Role: Provide counsel to WLDA on policies, rules and appeals to code of conduct decisions.Commitment: 1-2 in-person meetings per year at WLD Tour events and/or PGA Show to reduce the need for added travel, with possible conference calls.Timing: we look forward to announcing the panel prior to/in conjunction with the 2020 World Long Drive Kickoff in January in Orlando.If you are interested in being part of this or have someone to nominate that we should consider please let me knowHitter Handbook & Competitor Agreement – a new Hitter Handbook will be released at the WLD Kickoff in January. This document is the central location for rules, policies, event formats and more. In particular, I want to call attention to the Competitor Agreement. We are creating an open comment period, so I encourage each of you to review the existing Competitor Agreement and send along any comments by Dec. 20. An update will be released in January: https://www.worldlongdrive.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/07/WLDA-2019-Hitter-Handbook-and-Exhibits-Competitor-Agreement-July-2019.pdfEvent Sanctions – in order to grow the sport, we must grow opportunities for athletes to compete and incentives for organizers outside WLD/Golf Channel to run long drive events. We are releasing a new event sanction process that will award world ranking points as an incentive to create events. Over time, this will create more opportunities for athletes to compete and create a more dynamic way to earn world ranking points beyond Tour events and qualifiers. If you have interest in running a sanctioned event, please contact Anthony Newville at [email protected] for an overview on the process.Code of Conduct – in an effort to enhance the professionalism of the sport, we will release a new Code of Conduct for the 2020 season. Penalties will focus on world ranking points vs. financial fines at this stage of the sport’s development. Related, we are creating a Head Rules Official role at Tour events who will make these decisions on the tee box. A draft of the policy is attached.CBD Sponsorship – in August, we issued a temporary policy on CBD sponsorship. With this industry being in its early stages with constant change, Golf Channel and NBC Sports will not approve CBD sponsorships for either the league or individual athletes for the 2020 season. This will be updated as part of the Hitter Handbook and will prohibit recognizing CBD partners at WLD events. We know athletes desire this category for sponsorships, so we will continue to monitor and advise of any updates.Date RemindersWLD Kickoff – Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, from Noon-5 pm at Topgolf in OrlandoFeb. 4-5, 2020 in London. A copy of the agenda is attached. We look forward to sharing many more exciting updates in the coming weeks.

Matt FarrellGM/Alt Golf & Exec Dir/World Long Drive

7580 Golf Channel Drive | Orlando FL 32819