Kreyling Korner – Week #1 – April 22, 2021

LET’S GO!!!!  The 2021 season of the GCCGL kicks off tonight and can anyone imagine better weather for opening night.  Temps in the 30s and two inches of snow on the ground yesterday – let’s do this thing.  It has been a long offseason and I’m sure everyone is ready to start chasing a dream – the dream of GCCGL Champion.

THE KREYLING KORNER

Like I said above, it’s been a long offseason.  And during that offseason a lot has change.  For example, We have implemented a rule allowing members over 60 years of age to play from the senior tees.  Let’s be clear on this new rule being 60 or above does not along grant you access to the senior tees.  Before the first tee ball is struck on number 1 tee, you must utter the following phrase to all those present on the first tee – “I openly admit I am an old man and will be playing the old man tees for the remaining days of my membership to the GCCGL.”

Anyway, back to the offseason.  One of the things I tried to change for myself and the entire GCCGL was to secure the GCCGL’s first sponsorship.  As the old members know and the new members will find out, I like to wear very loud shirts while I play golf.  Furthermore, my favorite brand of shirts is by a company called Bad Birdie.  The email chain below is long, but you might find it very amusing (George and Jason did).  I know most of you don’t dedicate more than 2 minutes to these posts, so I’ll summarize in a couple sentences.  I reached out to the CEO of Bad Birdie asking for a lifetime sponsorship.  Negotiations got tense, so I offered the title sponsorship to the GCCGL website.  The original proposal was denied – but we are negotiating a Bad Birdie Logo tattoo in exchange for a lifetime of merchandise.  If I got a guarantee, I’d totally do it.

On Mar 23, 2021, at 12:03 PM, Bad Birdie <jason@badbirdiegolf.com> wrote:

Kurt,

I wanted to shoot you a quick note to personally thank you for supporting Bad Birdie.  Don’t know if you saw, but we recently launched some new outerwear: vests, windbreakers, and quarterzips.  Looks like you haven’t purchased one yet so wanted to send a little $35 gift card your way to use on one of these items.  FYI – It’s only good for 24 hours and can only be used on outwear: X37J497C 

Throw that bad boy in the promo code/gift card section at checkout and you should be all set.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the product if you end up purchasing.  Hit me up at this email or shoot me a text at my cell below. 

Enjoy,

J

Jason Richardson

Founder, CEO

e: jason@badbirdiegolf.com

On Mar 23, 2021, at 12:46 PM, Kurt Kreyling <kurtkreyling@gmail.com> wrote:

Jason – thank you so much for your thank you. I’ve been a big fan of your products since I stumbled on your website a few years ago. You know, before you guys went all Hollywood and appeared on Shark Tank. Anyway, I’ve received countless compliments on shirts and credit at least 41% of my suave golf style to Bad Birdie (it’s a complicated calculation…just go with it). 

Normally I would jump at the gift card you so generously sent me. However, my girlfriend “secretly” (*wink wink* – she can’t keep a secret from me) purchased me a couple shirts from your new line for my upcoming birthday.  To show my appreciation for your offer, I’m going to make you an offer. 

I want to offer Bad Birdie the opportunity to be my sole sponsor. If Bad Birdie provides me 2 free polos from each new line of clothing, I will wear only Bad Birdie shirts for the rest of my life. This sponsorship will provide exposure to at least 24 people every Thursday in my golf league (20 weeks through the summer).  This is not only a golf league, it’s the most prestigious golf league in the Northern Kentucky Area (if you need proof check out our blog – gccgl.com). In addition your products will venture on to some of the most prestigious courses in America. Just a few months ago I wore a Bad Birdie polo to Harbour Town Golf Links In Hilton Head, SC and plan on sporting one of the new “secret” polos on a trip with my dad, brother and brother-in-law to Pebble Beach in late August (true story). Guarantee this exposure heightens Bad Birdie brand awareness by at least 15 people. 

As a golfer that sports a 10.6 handicap index and generally drinks 6 beers in 9 holes, I believe our potential partnership has endless possibilities. I get the merchandise I believe is revolutionizing golf fashion and you get a lifelong sponsor in the exact golfer demographic you are looking for! 

I eagerly await your response to this opportunity of a lifetime. 

Kurt Kreyling 

(aka Lip-Gloss, Co-Commissioner of the GCCGL)

On Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 11:08 PM Jason Richardson <jason@badbirdiegolf.com> wrote:

Kurt – I love this email.  You’re the first person to ask for a lifetime sponsorship.  This is a Tiger Woods level shit.

Tell me more about this golf league – what’s the vibe/demographic?  

6 beers in 9 holes is impressive.  We talking Bud Lights or IPAs?

On Mar 25, 2021, at 11:25 AM, Kurt Kreyling <kurtkreyling@gmail.com> wrote:

Jason – do you lay up on par 5’s?  We both answer that question the same way – hell no.  That’s my same mentality asking for a life-time sponsorship.  As it relates to the beers – Miller Lite all day.  I know that’s not a popular answer with the beer snobs, but I still like to post a decent score.  IPAs hit just a little too hard.

As the CEO, I know your time is valuable and you probably get hundreds of emails a day.  I don’t have enough time to read mine and I’m just a Controller (we could discuss job opportunities if this sponsorship thing doesn’t work out…however, I recognized the sponsorship negotiations are still fresh).  I’m going to give you an overview of our league and try to keep it as brief as possible.  This probably will go long, but you asked my friend.   Sit back, grab a cup of coffee (or an IPA – not sure what your office culture is like) and take a read.

The GGCGL stands for the General Cable Golf League and the website/blog I sent you is legit – gccgl.com (it’s low budget so you have to be a bit patient).  This year will be the 26th year of the league, and it was all started by George Almedia (Portuguese Warrior).  I should note here that everyone gets a nickname in the league.  You don’t choose the nickname, they are given to you.  Kind of like Animal House, but less formal.  George moved to the Cincinnati, Ohio / Northern Kentucky area from New Jersey when he got a job with General Cable.  General Cable, the Company, was sold a few years ago, but we kept the league name the same – tradition doesn’t die just because stockholders got rich.  Anyway, George started the league a couple years into working for General Cable and never looked back.  Naturally, the league has evolved and people have helped George run everything.  Currently, George, Jason Nill (Cupcake) and myself (Lip-Gloss) are the co-commissoners.  

All of us kind of have our own responsibilities and they all get posted on the blog.  Cupcake is kind of the nuts and bolts of the league.  He keeps all the stats on a weekly basis including the calculation of handicaps (the league handicaps are based on the scores you shoot in the league – it’s a pain in the ass keeping them if people bring in score cards from the weekends).  He also is responsible for setting up the schedule.  The league is generally a match play format, but each month we have team events, which include: a FLO-Rida scramble, a Stabbleford Scramble, a Pink Ball Scramble, and just a normal scramble the last week of the year.  The end of the year scramble can get interesting depending on the league standings.  We also do other events during match play including battle golf (if you lose a hole your opponent takes a club) and US Open week.  US Open week requires you to play by the strictest rules of golf, just like the pros, and from the back tees.  One year some dude posted a 71 on 9 holes.  

The Portuguese Warrior (I hate this nickname – I always spell Portuguese wrong) is responsible for the weekly recap.  Below is an example of what he posted the last week of our season in 2020: https://gccgl.com/?p=10196.  These weekly recaps somewhat talk about golf but generally recap any of the good stories that happened during the week – people breaking clubs on accident, runaway carts on to greens (it was legitimately an accident but still one of the funniest things I’ve ever witnessed on a golf course)…you know, the good stuff.  

My responsibilities include setting up the annual draft (which happens tomorrow), the weekly tee-times as well as a weekly blog post that includes the MOW (match of the week) and a Kreyling Korner topic.  I know I know, not very original on the title, but I’m an accountant – creativity isn’t my strong suit.  Here is an example of one of my posts from 2020: https://gccgl.com/?p=10109.  I think it’s important to state at this point that Kreyling Korner got it’s humble beginnings from fashion tips.  Some of the guys in our league have no choice but to be made fun of – jeans, cargo shorts, ankle socks that make 30 year olds look like they are 60…the list goes on.  As the resident fashion guru of the league, I think this ties in nicely to the Bad Birdie lifetime sponsorship (think about it Jason).

Like I said earlier, I could go on and on about this league, which I kind of already have because this the longest email I’ve written in years, but honestly what I love mostly about the GCCGL is that EVERYONE is welcome.  We have 30 handicaps, 2 handicaps and people from all walks of life.  We’ve also had several full-time women members throughout the 25 years.  One girl (the Golf Witch) was a college golfer and beat the shit out of everyone each week. 

So there is your overview.  Not to get all sappy on you, but this league has really been my stress relief the past 10 years.  I know I can definitely speak for the other Co-Commissioners when I say that no matter what’s going on in life, it always goes away for a couple hours, 20 Thursday evenings a year.  So why don’t you do this – as you think about this once in a lifetime sponsorship opportunity, send me your five most recent score cards and we will get you set-up as a sub for our league.  I checked you out on Linkedin (I have to do my research as well since I might work for you) and I believe you are in LA.  Might be hard for you to be a regular sub, but if you ever do venture to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area, we will make sure you have a place to play.

Kurt Kreyling (Lip-Gloss)

On Fri, Mar 26, 2021 at 1:00 AM Jason Richardson <jason@badbirdiegolf.com> wrote:

Lip Gloss-

This is an amazingly detailed email and I appreciate it.  

We’ve been working on a special project for the past 8 months and launching something in a few weeks that’s connecting a bunch of leagues like yours across the country.  I can’t share much more right now but keep an eye on our email and social channels as it’s going to be fun and could be a good fit for you guys down the road.

On Mar 30, 2021, at 2:00 PM, Kurt Kreyling <kurtkreyling@gmail.com> wrote:

Jason – sorry for the delayed response.  Auditor’s man – such a pain in the ass.  I’ll be on the lookout for your new project.  

As it relates to our lifetime sponsorship, I can tell you are a tough negotiator (Shark Tank and your silence on my offer confirm that).  So I’m going to sweeten the deal for you.  In addition to what I offered previously (me wearing Bad Birdie polos exclusively which heightens brand exposure to at least 30 people), I’m going to offer Bad Birdie title sponsorship on the GCCGL website – free of charge.  I don’t have the stats in front of me, but conservatively I’d say the website gets at least 50 hits a week.

Opportunity of a lifetime man!  2 free polos from each new line in exchange for me, and my golf league’s website, being Bad Birdie walking billboards.  If you need testimonials or pictures of how loyal I am to Bad Birdie I’m happy to provide.

One final note – you need some left handers on your website.  I just visited today and all pics portray right handed golfers.  This is another box I could check for your Jason.  This deal just gets better and better with each email.

Lip-Gloss

On Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 11:48 AM Jason Richardson <jason@badbirdiegolf.com> wrote:

Lip Gloss – 

You’re right – don’t think a lifetime sponsorship is in our cards yet.  I do appreciate the offer though.  I’ve heard of brands giving lifetime sponsorships to customers who get a tattoo of their logo though so will let you know if we offer that program down the road!

Until next week – fairways and greens my friends.