Best Dad by Par

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads, Step Dads and Grand Dads out there! Today, this blog isn't about the latest marketing news and tips. Instead, we are going to honor Dads beginning with my Dad.

Happy Father's Day in heaven Dad!

Dads come in all sizes and shapes. My Dad started out very skinny. Then, he rounded out his figure in his middle age years. Finally, returning back to skinny during the last few years or so of his life when he had some health challenges. Happy Father's Day in heaven Dad! I always remember hearing about how thin my Dad used to be. When he was 18 years old and in the Navy, they couldn't find a pair of pants to fit him. He was that thin. After a few martinis and into his mid to late 40s, my Dad's body started to fill out. He filled out in his face and around the mid section because his legs, ankles and other parts of his body were always relatively skinny. I don't really have any memories of when Dad was thin all over (other than the last years of his life). Many of my memories of Dad were during his golden years. Those were the years when I was living in South Florida and starting out my advertising career in Palm Beach, Florida. I was working at WPBR News Talk 1340 and then later at WOVV FM 95.5. My Dad was about a 3 or 3 1/2 hour ride from West Palm Beach. At that time, he was remarried to my Step Mom and living in Naples, Florida. At age 55 (my age to be), my Dad had retired and moved to a beautiful golf course development. In the 1980s, not too many people had heard of Naples. Back then, when you referenced Naples people thought you were talking about Italy. I was envious of my Dad during that period of his life. He retired at a young age, moved to a golf course development and proceeded to play golf 6 days a week. His only day off? Sunday. His saying to me was, "Never on Sunday." My Dad proceeded to have 3 Hole In Ones (or is it Holes In One?) in his lifetime. That is a very impressive achievement until you take into consideration that he was playing about 300 rounds of golf a year back then. Then, I guess you have the law of averages with you.I must say though. I would be thrilled to have (1) Hole in One in my lifetime. I don't downplay his accomplishment at all. I am sure my Dad is still swinging the clubs up in heaven. And what a beautiful course it must be. Pebble Beach Fairways with Augusta National greens. I am sure he is enjoying some Happy Father's Day golf this weekend.

The quest to making an imperfect game perfect

Today, I don't even come close to playing 300 rounds a year. In fact, it might take me 20 years or so to rack up 300 rounds. However, I do have a huge passion for golf and I have my Dad to thank for that. After every round, I think about what I did right and what I did wrong and I love the challenge of trying to correct my mistakes in my quest of making an imperfect game perfect. I have one thing in common with Tiger (at least during Tiger's younger years). I always tweak my swing coming up with different swing changes and thoughts. I pack fresh ideas bringing them to the course in my constant quest to bring a repeatable swing to my game. The key to golf is being able to repeat the correct swing path at impact time and time again. It doesn't matter how you get there. It just needs to be right on plane as you get ready to strike the ball. As the saying goes, there are many different ways to skin a cat.

Following Dad's footsteps

I also thank my Dad for my career path. As a lifelong sales executive, my Dad sold many things in his lifetime. The closest parallel to my career path was when he sold printing plates to newspapers and publishing companies. That was his closest foray to media. Back in the '60s, '70s and even into the '80s, newspapers controlled the media. Newspaper reps. didn't really have to sell back then. They were order takers. Their line was, "How big of an ad do you want to place this week?" I had one of the hardest sells although it was also the most rewarding. There is nothing like selling an intangible like radio advertising. Radio advertising is something you can't see or touch. Therefore, you need to be creative and give businesses ideas and concepts on the best ways to use the medium. You also need to know your radio station that you represent inside and out. This gives you the best chance of creating the right idea on your station to grow your client's business. Back in the day, selling radio never felt like work to me. I had so much fun and that was the key to my success. It was my passion.

You have 3 daughters? Fore!

Today, I am blessed (and courageous) to have 3 girls of my own. Doria, age 20, Valerie, age 12, and Lauren, age 10, all bring different loves and challenges to my life. Through my Dad and his hobby that he had passed down to me, all 3 of my girls play golf. My 12 year old is so into golf that she is competing in a Long Drive competition at the end of July. Golf is just one of the many challenges that gets me out of bed in the morning. And I wouldn't have it any other way.Roger Keys, the author, is the Founder/President of Marketing Keys. Roger is not scared of anything. He has 3 daughters.