Tennessee-based company launches “golfmanna,” a unique and user-friendly, on-line fantasy golf league that requires minimal time and money, but delivers maximum fun.
NASHVILLE, TENN. (January 2012)- C.A. Schmidt says he spent more than a decade and countless hours organizing golf-related “fantasy leagues” for his group of golf-aholic friends.
In general, what the 39-year-old Nashville marketing executive encountered was a lack of commitment to fantasy golf, unkempt, “wonky” websites and poor customer service.
“My group had been playing [golf fantasy leagues] 10 to 15 years and we got tired of bouncing around from Web site to Web site,” Schmidt said. “Games would go away with no explanation and then reappear. The prizes were terrible. The user interface was poor.”
Schmidt’s frustration, combined with his gaming and Web expertise, motivated him and a St. Louis-based partner, Mark Mihal – along with other expert designers and content service providers – to launch a new fantasy golf website, “golfmanna.” The site – www.golfmanna.com – launched Jan. 16, and its fantasy season is set to begin in March.
Schmidt explains that the word “manna” means “spiritual nourishment of divine origin, or something of value that is received unexpectedly.” In this case, Schmidt says “golfmanna” represents the games, content and prizes golfers seek, along with a service committed to fantasy golf, news and commentary and related issues.
Schmidt said he hopes golfmanna will become known as a highly functional, user-friendly platform that addresses the many issues fantasy players have encountered through the years.
“golfmanna is all about user experience, building community and getting more enjoyment out of the game we all love to watch and play – and competing for something more than a sleeve of balls,” said Schmidt, a former editor at LINKS Magazine. “We think that’s a good fit with the game of golf and what we strive to accomplish here. We provide a robust outlet to better connect with the game and your fellow golfers.”
golfmanna offers dedicated resources not provided by some of the larger, conglomerate fantasy sites including fresh writing and commentary from multiple contributors as well as research and user-friendly leagues. In addition, golfmanna has already partnered with more established sports- and golf-related entities to provide a one-stop shop for all the information a player needs.
golfmanna offers simple, inexpensive games with large cash payouts. In the “One and Done” game – currently accepting registrations on the site – each team owner selects one golfer each week and once selected, that golfer cannot be used for the rest of the season. The season runs from March 22 (Arnold Palmer Invitational) to the Tour Championship on September 23. Each week, selected players earn dollars for their actual tournament performance, which are accumulated throughout the year for a team’s total according to the official money earned during each tournament.
In addition, One and Done participants can set-up a private league with an unlimited number of players. Each private league has one commissioner, and players in the private league will also be placed in a public league to compete for prizes.
The standard One and Done game is $19.99 – less than $1 per week – and reduced rates are offered for multiple entries.
In another golfmanna game, “Majors Challenge,” players pick a team of six golfers and their dollar winnings are totaled – the highest total wins. Each major (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open Championship, PGA Championship) is a separate game. Players can select different players for their team in each major and there is also a competition and cash prize for the player who has the best results from all four tournaments.
Schmidt says there are other games in development that will roll out throughout 2012, including a one-time weekly game, seasonal “tourney team” using multiple players for each tournament, salary cap formats and more. Each person who plays a golfmanna game is eligible to win $2,000 to $2,500 and the top 20 finishers in One and Done are prize earners. Majors Challenge entrants can turn $10 into $2,000 with the right picks.
“We keep the league sizes small so everyone has a better opportunity to win, place or show,” said Schmidt. “We really just want to provide the top-notch platform to host and organize the leagues – and have the community and all the information and research in one place so the user won’t have to go to a dozen different sites to gather it.”
Finally, golfmanna prides itself on assisting its players with any issues and seeks feedback or suggestions.
Said Schmidt: “It’s not about the money. We have designed golfmanna so that it requires minimal money commitment and minimal time commitment but offers maximum enjoyment.”
For information, visit www.golfmanna.com or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/golfmanna. Schmidt uses the @fantasygolfguy handle on Twitter.
Contact:
Martin Armes, (919) 608-7260, martinarmes@nc.rr.com
Brad King, (336) 306-9219, king@bradkingcommunications.com
