Perfect Putt Turns Two

I planned to write Perfect Putt for six months - we are now on to year three. I truly appreciate the support.

Every Monday, I write a newsletter breaking down the business in golf. Welcome to the 2 new Perfect Putt members who have joined us since last Monday. Join 7,041 intelligent and curious golfers by subscribing below.

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Today At A Glance:

I have no business writing — just like I had no business playing college golf. But a college instructor challenged me to write online to create better habits and discipline. I was going to write for six months — but I am having too much fun. A reflection on the two years of writing Perfect Putt.

Read Time: 6 minutes.

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Hey Golfers —

I am fired up today — I have been writing Perfect Putt for two years.

A little over two years ago, I had an elective to burn in my MBA program. Entrepreneurship and Innovation looked like an intriguing course — so I signed up.

Midway through the course — our instructor encouraged us to write online. He told us to write about anything; the topic wasn’t important. He provided the class with two compelling reasons why we should write online.

• Discipline and accountability

• An opportunity to handle constructive feedback

I’m not a good writer — I barely passed Introduction to English in my freshman year of college. But I was interested in the reasons the instructor provided.

So why not give it a shot?

Golf has been in my life for as long as I can remember. My dad taught me the game in our front yard, and then we graduated to a local golf course. I eventually walked on to the University of Northern Iowa — a small Division I program with an even smaller budget.

Northern Iowa was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Someone gave me a chance — the coaching staff believed in me. And that is one of the most powerful things in my life. I played well enough to earn a top-five spot — and stayed in the rotation throughout my career.

I was an underdog — I was not the most talented or the smartest golfer at Nothern Iowa. But I was willing to work. And my experience at Northern Iowa proved to me that work-ethic matters.

To create and sustain any level of success in writing online — I needed to write about a passion. And that passion is golf. And I married it to my curiosity about the business world.

So Perfect Putt’s first newsletter went out to two people. My wife and best friend — at least the open rate was 100%!

I was planning on writing Perfect Putt for six months — my goal was to get 100 free subscribers. I assumed I would learn something that I could apply to my day job and chalk it up as a learning experience. But instead, I got hooked. I was hooked on the research and learning about different businesses and the money in golf. I was having fun — so I kept writing.

It took me three months to get 100 free subscribers. And it took me seven months to reach 1,000 free subscribers. I was on top of the world when I saw the 1,000th subscriber come through. I worked hard at it.

My newsletter is a little like my college golf career. Some pieces are awesome, and some are terrible. I’m not well known, essentially an underdog in a massive market. I have no business writing — none. I didn’t go to journalism school — I graduated with a business degree from Northern Iowa.

Every week — I am stunned that so many people read what I write. Over 7,000 people subscribe to Perfect Putt — I am incredibly grateful.

Perfect Putt is still relatively small. Some newsletters have over 100,000 free subscribers. But I don’t care — I am thrilled that you take five minutes out of your Monday morning to read Perfect Putt. I know your email is saturated. Thank you.

My instructor was right.

Being disciplined enough to write every Monday about the business in golf has been one of the most challenging things I have done. While it only takes a few minutes to read — it takes me hours to write. I do my own research and build my own charts. It’s a one-person show. Add on my wife, two young daughters, and a day job — there isn’t too much time left.

I have written Perfect Putt while my five-month-old daughter was in the hospital, I have written with Covid, and I have written on vacation. I haven’t missed a planned Monday since I started Perfect Putt. And that is what I am most proud of. Every time I haven’t felt like writing or haven’t had the time — I have found a way to get it done. I keep showing up. I am the underdog.

Being able to handle constructive feedback is something that I don’t think I will ever be comfortable with. But the newsletter has helped immensely. You can’t hide when you write. I respect the readers’ comments and their feedback — it’s how we get better; it’s how we learn. And I know I can do better; I know I can be a better writer.

Let’s get to some numbers.

Perfect Putt ended 2022 with 5,289 free subscribers — it has grown 33% this year. My goal for the end of 2023 was to reach 10,000 free subscribers. I am behind where I want to be, and I know it is because I haven’t done a good enough job on social media and with the newsletter. I need to give it a better effort — we need to keep working at it.

Some quick stats.

• 7,041 free subscribers

• 63% open rate

• 8,300 weekly post views

• Read in all 50 states

• Read in 79 countries

California represents the most people reading Perfect Putt in the United States at 9%. And the United States represents the most people reading Perfect Putt at 77%. With the UK coming in at 7% and Canada at 5%.

It truly blows my mind that Perfect Putt is read in 79 countries.

I can’t say thank you enough for supporting me. It is truly humbling.

I have two asks of you before we get going.

• If you are enjoying Perfect Putt — can you share it with a friend? Referrals will get us to that 10,000 mark by the end of the year! Click the ‘Share Perfect Putt’ button below or forward this email to a friend.

• If you have a topic that you think I should look into — email me back. About 20% of the pieces I write are inspired by readers. There is no such thing as a bad idea.

On to year number three.

Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!

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