Video by The Fire Pit Collective
Episode 5 of The Grind brings us the second part of the Joe Hooks story. Now in his fifth season as a professional golfer on the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Tour, Joe is trying to navigate the financial impact it takes to be a pro golfer. With travel expenses and entry fees, Joe turns his attention to gaining corporate sponsorships to help him keep grinding.
Corporate Sponsorships
Joe has deals in place with Rhoback and Primo, two golf apparel companies that have featured him in social media advertising. GOLFTEC had heard about Joe through The Grind series, and we were quick to fly Joe to our headquarters in Denver for a commercial shoot and talk about a sponsorship deal with us.
Joe was ready for the moment. In meeting with GOLFTEC SVP of Marketing, Chris Kuebrich and Vice President of Marketing, John Spagnola, Joe had his presentation ready, knew his statistics and shared his dreams and aspirations of making it all the way to the PGA Tour.
“I appreciate the opportunity to get in front of you guys, because it’s going to be a year and a future of going after it full throttle. I’m trying to get to the PGA Tour. One thing I wanted to be clear about with you is that I have a unique social footprint. It definitely transcends the simplicity of being a mini tour player. Partnering with you guys and having access to the consistent data, I think I can take my progress using GOLFTEC and, as a potential ambassador, relay that to my followers and everyone who pays attention to me.”
Joe Hooks
Needless to say, we were very impressed with Joe and he is now in his second year as a GOLFTEC Brand Ambassador. Full story here. Joe will be featured in various social media and advertising campaigns in 2023.
Grinding on the APGA Tour
Joe continues his pursuit on the APGA Tour, where it takes him to Arizona for the tournament at TPC Scottsdale. This is a special tournament for Joe as he’s also focused on moving to Scottsdale and making it his home as he pursues his golf dream.
“I am in what’s currently my favorite city. For some reason there’s always a lot of good energy out here for me. Detroit is still my city, I’m always repping the ‘D’ but this is my city for now. Plus, the quality of my friend circle and the quality of things I have access to out here, I am extremely blessed. That’s why it’s the place for me.”
Joe Hooks
The APGA Tour has grown since Joe joined in 2018, and as a result, has gotten more competitive. There are normally around 50-60 players in a typical APGA field. With the tournament consisting of two rounds, there is no cut, but a finish outside of the top-10 doesn’t net very much money.
Going into the tournament, Joe is confident in his game as he’s been playing well. The first round reflects that as he makes six birdies, and shoots a 1-under, 70. However, a costly double on the back 9 along with bogeys on 17 and 18, kept him from a potentially shooting 5-under or better.
Joe continues to focus on his process as he heads into the final round. However, he struggles on this day, shooting 8-over, 79 and falling out of the top-20. A double bogey on the par-5 9th was the turning point of the round. A hole that Joe admittedly let get to him, and afterward said he was disappointed in how he let that affect the rest of his round. Lessons like this come hard and fast in professional golf. Joe hopes to use this as motivation as his grind continues.
