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Consumer Stories
Consumer Stories

Masters of the “House”: Learning from the Front and the Back at Augusta National

The 90th edition of the Masters officially begins this morning when honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson hit their ceremonial tee shots, immediately followed by the start of tournament play. As I discussed in last week’s column, the best companies and sports teams focus on continuous improvement, and no organization epitomizes that more than the Masters and Augusta National. This time of the year, I typically write at least one column on the Masters/Augusta National because there is so much that businesses can learn from the Masters

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Dr. Rick Franza, Professor, AU Hull College of Business April 9, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

“Bad Birdie” success inspired by Masters tournament

A few years ago, this week, Jason Richardson walked the Augusta National course and took pride in seeing how many patrons wore his Bad Birdie-branded shirts and hats. “Going to the Masters was like Disneyland for adults,” said the company owner headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. His most recent collection, “Amateursland,” is a nod to the theme park, amateur golfers, and The Masters.  Mr. Peach, The Gnome, Pimento C. Sandwich, Folding Chair, and Dr. Azalea are some of the iconic characters placed on his apparel, based on the famed tournament.  Bad

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Neil Gordon April 7, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Simon Says: Unique reasons why some golfers get a Green Jacket

Over the last 10 Masters tournaments, the winner has been victorious either by one shot (3 times) or through a playoff (twice), indicating that victory often hinges on the smallest of margins. Professional golfers, therefore, spend many hours on skill development, decision-making, and mental resilience. However, external factors, such as weather, can introduce an element of luck into golf competitions. Sometimes golfers benefit from a calm day going out early, sometimes the afternoon weather is more agreeable to low scores. Justin Ehrlich, a co-author of mine on other research, and

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Hull College of Business Economics Professor April 7, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Days of golf, evenings of exploration

Day one of practice rounds is underway at the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC). When practice rounds and tournament days conclude each evening, area tourism and business leaders want visitors to explore activities off the golf course. Destination Augusta created a new set of tools to showcase the Garden City. It began with a refresh of its Visit Augusta website. “We updated our content and are getting it on the forefront of our homepage so it’s easily accessible to people who are Googling for answers,” Karen Lee Davis of Destination

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 6, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

ANWA Golf Star helps train 70 CSRA children

17-year-old Asterisk Talley (above), who led this weekend’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur tournament, was one of eight current or legendary female golfers to help kids with golf lessons and life skills, while in town. Before Talley and other ANWA players teed off at Champions Retreat this past Wednesday, they spent an afternoon at Jones Creek Golf Course working on chipping, putting, and swinging. This clinic is part of Bank of America’s Golf with Us program, in partnership with Youth on Course, to expand affordable access to golf nationwide. Augusta youth from the Boys &

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Neil Gordon April 6, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Hope Springs Eternal: What Business Can Learn from Baseball

MLB teams are typically optimistic about their prospects for winning in the upcoming season, and often such optimism is warranted. In the last four seasons (2022-2025), since MLB expanded its playoffs to 12 teams, 23 of the 48 teams making the playoffs did not make the playoffs in the previous year. Since teams can improve their competitiveness year over year, so can businesses and organizations. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the highest payroll and best talent in baseball and have won the last two World Series championships. However, last season,

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Dr. Rick Franza, Professor, AU Hull College of Business April 2, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Business Summit promotes jobs, services, and knowledge

Your company can be a sponsor or vendor for a business summit after the tournament,  put on by one of the Chambers of Commerce in the CSRA. Sponsored by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, the goal is to showcase products and services and provide workshops on entrepreneurship and job interview skills. “Our focus this year is a lot on workforce development, so we’re trying to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of our Chamber members and providing opportunities for them to showcase their wares, which is part of

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 2, 2026 No Comments
Awards

Augusta Chef wins Flavor of Georgia award

What started at the farmers market in downtown Augusta has led to huge success for the founder of the Papa Mountain brand of bread rolls. It includes regular appearances on QVC and first place in a competition amongst 180 products. These garlic and herb bread rolls were selected as the winner of the 2026 Flavor of Georgia food product contest grand prize. Solomon Cohen, aka Papa Mountain, is based in Augusta and bakes out of an Atlanta production facility. “What started nine years ago in Ziplock bags and farmers markets

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Neil Gordon April 2, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

$5,000 Scholarship from area business

Last year, Aaron Hudson of Augusta received a $5,000 scholarship to help him at the Augusta Technical College and his transition to Augusta University. Who will win this year’s Sandy Mazur Scholarship from Spherion Staffing and Recruiting? Applications are underway for this Georgia award that celebrates leadership, excellence, and the next generation of community leaders. The scholarship awards up to $5,000 to individuals pursuing higher education who demonstrate leadership, academic achievement, and a commitment to bettering their communities. Applications are open now through April 30, 2026. The scholarship is open

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Neil Gordon April 1, 2026 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: Trend for retail spaces in the CSRA

Service-based tenants leased over half of the total retail space in 2025 for the first time, according to CoStar.  There are a few examples in local shopping centers. (See below) Crunch Fitness replaced the goods-based Bed Bath & Beyond in the Augusta Exchange shopping center. In the Village Plaza at 270 Bobby Jones Expressway, a former Electronics and Appliance store is getting replaced with a service provider. Nail salons and Botox (medical) bars are also increasingly located in retail real estate. These trends show up in local employment numbers for

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Hull College of Business Economics Professor March 31, 2026 No Comments
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