Steve Elkington, 1995 PGA Champion and cofounder of Secret Golf, came to speak to the Sport Journalism class at Rice University on February 17th. He spoke about his TV show, website, and a new app that is helping to provide his subscribers with content never accessible before; content straight from the pros.
Elkington hosts the TV show “Secret Golf with Steve Elkington,” which will air on CBS Sports Network. The show formerly known as “The Rural Golfer” is now in its second season. His website secretgolf.com is full of golf entertainment and instructional videos with “Secret Content” for subscribers.
“Everyday I ask my staff how [Secret Golf] can fail,” explained Elkington. “You fail by not feeding the audience with good content.”
Secret Golf started as an e-book, then went to YouTube, and then a weekly television show. Now the SecretGolf.com website is live and the app is under construction. The progression of his business is to have his number of subscribers grow and to continue to provide the subscribers with good content.
“What drives me now is fulfilling the app,” Elkington said, “The goal is to always get more yellow fish into the bowl.”
Elkington analogously compared his subscribers to yellow fish in a fish bowl throughout his discussion with the class. The “yellow fish” are golf fanatics from the general public who want content they can’t normally have access to. So Elkington gives them access with entertainment and instruction from well-known and experienced golfers including Jackie Burke Jr., Jason Dufner, Pat Perez, and himself.
Kevin Reilly ‘17, a Rice Sport Management major, had the opportunity to interview Elkington while he was visiting. Reilly asked about his professional golf career, competing for majors, and about winning the ’95 PGA at Riviera CC.
“Majors are tricky. You have to have a bit of luck,” described Elkington. “[Golf] was a different game for the majors.”
Elkington understands that just like the majors, making his second career on the web and on television is a different game as well. His expertise and experience in the game of golf and his drive to provide great content is what is allowing Secret Golf to takeoff as a business.
Joe Beck III, a senior from Austin, Texas, is majoring in Sport Management.