Liz Valicenti of Titleist

Titleist

Day One Blog Entry

I am so happy to have Liz Valicenti here to join us on the DWO34 Smooth Blog.  Liz is the Senior Manager, Interactive Marketing for Titleist/Acushnet Golf.  On the eve of the PGA Championship, the timing of her appearance here is perfect.  I interviewed Liz and here are some of the questions and answers from that interview:

dwo34:  "Hi Liz, please tell me how many years have you been with Titleist and how did you get started?"

Liz:  "18 years.  (in between did part-time and some at home while I had 3 boys. They are now 13, 11, and almost 9).  Everyone always asks – How can I get a job a Titleist – I really love golf.  Well, I honestly answered an ad in the Boston Globe for what was then Associate Manager of Marketing Services.  It took about 3 months from the time I sent in my resume until I was actually hired and I’ve got to say, this is very typical for our company.  You can’t give up.  I recall sending a three page letter to my supervisor why she should hire me.  She is still my manager today and sometimes threatens to bring the letter out just to torture me!

Way back then there was no internet and I was hired basically to put together our annual catalog and other promotional materials.  This was my first job after getting my MBA in Marketing @ Northeastern University and I’ve never looked back.  Moving from catalog production to online was a natural for me – it was such an exciting time in 1995/96 with the emergence of the World Wide Web.  In July 1996 after about 3 years of trying to convince everyone that we needed a website, we finally launched titleist.com.  I’ve been working on Titleist online and interactive since then.

dwo34:  "I know a lot of people are going to be curious about this. As an employee of Titleist, how many rounds do you get to play, what's in your bag now, and what's your handicap?"

Liz: "There’s a saying that once you start to work for Titleist you never play golf and if your handicap is going down instead of up – you’re not working hard enough. . . I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve only had 2 rounds in a year.  With three very active boys and a full time job -  it’s tough to find the time.  I’m about a 14 handicap. Well let’s just say that I’m a little behind in getting my bag updated, so let me tell you what I really WANT in my bag right now:

Pro V1x (contrary to what some think, you don’t have to have fast ball speeds or swing speeds).  I prefer the x over the Pro V1 because launch monitor results show that I have tons of spin off my driver and the Pro V1x helps me keep the ball straighter off the tee.  I really like the NXT Tour too. 909DComp (will get fit for a new shaft but I usually fit into a senior shaft) 909F2 Fairway  13.5 and 15.5.  909H Hybrid 17 and 21 degree. New AP1 irons 5-PW (same as above – you HAVE to get fit!)  I watched a few of our sales reps hitting the new AP1 irons that will be coming out mid fall and I was so impressed by the comments and think this is really going to be my new favorite iron! Vokey Wedges:  Spin Milled  52 and 58.  Putter:  I just got a 1996 Scotty Cameron La Costa restored!

dwo34:  "Liz what is your favorite golf course to play?"

Liz:  "New Seabury Country Club, New Seabury, MA (Cape Cod).  I grew up in the summers near the course and my brothers were caddies so we’d all go out at about 5pm after picking up the range.  There’s nothing like the front 9 of the Championship Course that overlooks Nantucket Sound – beautiful."

dwo34: "Talk about some of the Titleist Staff Golfers"

Liz: "I think the one thing about Titleist Brand Ambassadors is that they not only represent our products, they represent our brand.  We have such a great mix of US and ex-US players, different ages, different playing styles but the one consistent is they are all great representatives and ambassadors for the Titleist brand.  OK – I do have my favorites:  Davis Love III – such a gentleman; Brad Faxon – he’s local, a great guy and so loyal to Titleist.  Robert Karlsson, Adam Scott. "


dwo34: "Liz, tell us one of your most memorable and recent golf moments."

Liz: "Zach Johnson winning the Masters.  He’s just such a genuine, wonderful person.  He deserved it."

dwo34:  "Liz, why don't we save the rest for tomorrow. Good luck at Hazeltine National Golf Club this week"

Liz: "We have a good shot at one of our players winning. We are the number one ball on tour!"

Tomorrow Liz will talk about up coming products that Titleist is launching along with Social Network Marketing. It's truly amazing how we can connect.  I met Liz through Twitter and would not have been able to arrange this interview if it were not for these types of social media outlets.  I was able to get a photo of Adam Scott's bag ( pictured up above).  The Titleist site is very cool also, check them out at Titleist.com.