Sandwich List My ~*@+!

Nick Faldo got caught out good and proper yesterday when the media caught him reading a list of pairings and it’s 1-0 to the Yanks in the mind games!

As Captain of the European Ryder Cup Team Nick Faldo is responsible for the PR, operations, marketing and morale of the team.

Sound familiar?

Yup, does it sound like you?

But I bet you never reveal any trade secrets to your competitors like Faldo did?!

You have to be so careful nowadays. One slip and the media and your competition can use it to their advantage.

So what was the list?

Well, firstly Faldo said it was a sandwich list for the players – yeah right! He looked so uncomfortable at the press conference and he handled it very poorly.

Then it dawned on him that he’d better come clean “Ok, Ok – it’s the practice pairings for Thursday’s practice session” he admitted

The list was clear to see with players initials down next to one another.

So, Faldo has revealed a trade secret. The pairings are obviously who he wants to play together when the Ryder cup starts for real but now the Americans know so they can plan accordingly.

So what does Faldo do now?

Does he change anything?

Or does he say “Oh, what the heck. You know the pairings – come and beat us if you can?”

Or is it all a cunning ploy and a deliberate mistake? If it were someone like Jack Nicklaus I’d say “possibly” Faldo? “Nope!”

Sometimes when you are implementing a marketing strategy your competitors will pick up on it early on but what is your plan B should this actually happen?

Faldo is now playing catch up – make sure you don’t have to with your marketing.

Be careful not to leak out any marketing plans or you could pay the price like Faldo might come Sunday when the Ryder Cup champions are announced.

Sean