ABOUT SALT ON WOOD: High-quality frescobol sets made of wood
ÜBER MEIN GOLF TRAINING
How do you come up with selling wooden rackets? Legitimate question. But a few years back. In a small surf shop in Portugal I had bought two wooden rackets printed with the logo of the shop. I still remember that the rackets were not cheap, but looked relatively usable. The ball also looked pretty solid, which was made of rubber, not plastic. With my girlfriend I played on the beach more often than expected in the next ten days. After the holiday, however, the thugs ended up somewhat forgotten and disappeared into the basement. Fast forward to winter 2015/2016. I flew to Thailand with one of my best friends, mainly to learn to dive. When I packed my bag, the rackets came to mind. So they flew along. My thought was that maybe we would play with it once or twice. At our age (35+) we would certainly have better things to do.
But things were to turn out differently. In the almost two weeks on Ko Lanta we played matches every day, usually over several sets. Since we both come from the competitive sports corner, there was of course always a bet. The sandy beach with a volleyball net served as an arena. The loser then had to submerge, for example, in stale water pools or throw the bar round in the evening. In addition, we were often asked where the rackets came from. Of course, we also borrowed them – and it was surprising to me how quickly really good ball exchanges came about.
Back in Munich, I thought about offering this type of sporting goods in direct sales. I am actually a sports journalist, but I have already written two training books (to be found on www.pitchmarke.com) and self-published them on the market, which are among the best-selling books in the niche "German Golf". I am also quite familiar with online marketing and the press. All that remained was the question of who could make bats and balls.
So I went into the world of Frescobol, Beachball and Matkot, researched on Brazilian websites and on blogs that dealt with beach sports in Tel Aviv. The Brazilian brand Frescobol Carioca makes great rackets, but a VK of 200 euros is more for people who do not have to look at the money at all. But if you consider that the shops, the sales department and not to forget the tax office want to earn their margins, it is not surprising that the price is so high.
When selecting the producers, it was important to me that the quality of the product is high and that everyone involved enjoys it. Fun for me in this case means: I only work with people I trust and who have similar values to me. In addition, the work should be paid appropriately. I've never understood why certain people always have to negotiate to the last, just to look a little better than the other party.
In the end, I found what I was looking for at a producer in China, whose contact person I was able to meet at ISPO in Munich. The best quality for the ball could be supplied by a company near Madrid, specialized in the production of sports balls. The packaging was designed by a young company from Bavaria. Owner-managed fulfillment (logistics) is also located in Bavaria.
Golf isn't just my business, it's my hobby
Das Zitat stammt von Lee Trevino, einem der wohl unorthodoxesten Profis seiner Zeit. Aus meiner Sicht hat Mr. Trevino mit dieser Aussage absolut recht.
Denn was ich auf jeden Fall behaupten kann ist, dass ich meinen Beruf als Golf-Journalist und Autor äußerst gerne ausübe. Denn er kombiniert zwei Dinge, mit denen ich mich einfach gerne beschäftige: Golf spielen und Geschichten erzählen.
Meine Lieblingsthemen sind Spielerinterviews und -porträts, Reiseberichte und Turnierreportagen. In den vergangenen Jahren ist schließlich noch ein weiteres Interesse hinzugekommen: die Entstehung von Start-ups und innovativen Geschäftsideen. Unter anderem habe ich mit Salt on Wood auch eine kleine Beach-Brand an den Unternehmer-Abschlag gebracht.
Studiert habe ich leider nicht Golf (wann gibt es endlich diesen Studiengang?), sondern Betriebswirtschaft. Auch wenn ich sämtliche Lehrstühle an der LMU in München überreden wollte, mir eine Diplomarbeit mit Golf-Bezug zu gestatten, bin ich letztlich bei einer Fragestellung zu "Neuen Medien" geblieben. Nach dem Studium war ich drei Jahre in der Redaktion von Golf Journal tätig, ehe ich drei Jahre zusammen mit einem Kollegen die Redaktion von Golf.de als Chefredakteur geleitet habe. Im April 2012 habe ich begonnen, an einem Buch über effizientes Training für Golfer zu schreiben, war aber auch weiterhin Redaktionsmitglied von Golf.de. Mittlerweile schreibe ich für das in Wien ansässige Golf-Magazin Perfect Eagle als freier Autor. Mein Golf Training kam schließlich in seiner ersten Fassung in 2013 auf den Markt und hat sich mittlerweile mehr als 15.000 Mal verkauft.
Mein eigenes Golfspiel bleibt seit Jahren auf einem sehr ähnlichen Niveau, aber da ich das Glück hatte, bereits als Jugendlicher mit diesem genialen Sport anzufangen, bewege ich mich in Sachen Handicap zumindest um Vorgabe 4. Mein Lieblingsturnier ist und bleibt natürlich die Clubmeisterschaft.
