Objective

Golf and fathers have a very special relationship.

Here in Pinehurst - the Cradle of American golf - we wanted to highlight that. In 2024, Pinehurst No. 2 was the host site for the U.S. Open - the objective of our video was simple: to showcase that relationship. The final day of the U.S. Open falls on Father's Day so our goal was to end that championship week with one big final splash on social.

That is where our Wind Phone video was born.

Strategy

In the lead up to the U.S. Open we had a catalogue of ideas that we wanted to execute during the week, but we knew that the whole week builds to Sunday.

It is both the day a champion is crowned and it was Father's Day. We essentially had one chance to create a special video - knowing that our next U.S. Open isn't until 2029. 

Once we landed on the idea, there were various issues that we found:

• The Phone: We initially had to find a phone that would work visually. I wanted the visual of picking up a wired phone and the audio of putting the phone down. Landlines are a thing of the past and locating a phone ended up being a harder task than we had initially imagined.
• The Audio: From a technial perspective, when we had the phone, we then had to find a way to make this work in a practical sense. It would be a nightmare in post-production to just have the audio constantly recording because we would have hours of sound for a 30 second soundbite. We had to figure out a way to capture audio efficiently and in a way so that we wouldn't have to constantly be feeding power or changing batteries.
• The Filming: We found that people were walking past the phones - we initially had a small paper sign next to the phone but people wouldn't stop to read it. We created a larger sign off-camera and it was a game of patience, we filmed for an entire day to capture a 2 minute video.

This video became a lesson in trusting instincts - it would have been easy to stop filming or give up during the shoot. But we felt like we had a good idea that the team loved so we stuck with it.

At Pinehurst, we are firm believers that quality > quantity when it comes to social and this video epitomizes that mantra. We could have filmed 5-6 videos in the time we spent to make this one and I'm so glad we stuck with it. 

Results

I am so proud of what we achieved - the video resonated with our audience. It was a viral success:

• 14.7m views on TikTok
• 70.3k saves on TikTok
• 1.4m views on Instagram
• 340k views on Facebook

The virality of the video however wasn't the best part. Social Media can be a dark place, filled with negativity. Our video shared a message of love. Here are some of the comments on the video:

• "This is what social media SHOULD be about - well done"
• "I am so overwhelmed with how amazing this was to set up❤️ this is what we need. This is what it’s about. Well done people"
• "My grieving heart needed this today. Miss my dad so much"
• "Happy Fathers Day in Heaven Dad, I miss you and love so very much."
• "Holy moly…there goes the waterfall. Love you dad and thanks for all you’ve done for me and introducing me to the game of golf. We’ve had countless memories that will never fade away. Miss you more than anything and hope you’re playing some golf up in heaven today."
• "It is so hard to say the three simple words every human wants to hear. Most touching video I've seen in ages. Thanks USGA & Pinehurst"

Media