Paul Hurst created a Twitter account just shy of a decade ago, but the superintendent-turned-independent distributor “really hasn’t been on there except for the last two years.” Which means his #TurfTwitter heyday wasn’t 10 or even five years ago.
No, it’s right now.
Tweeting under the handle @GreensPro — identical to the name of the company he owns with four business partners, three of whom avoid Twitter — he steers away from product promotion and more toward music, comedy and a certain brand of middle-aged nonsense.
“Everything’s so serious,” Hurst says. “I want people to be like, ‘This guy usually says something smart, says something that makes me grin, that makes me laugh.’”
Hurst’s humor is part of the reason he is the winner of our 2023 Super Social Media Award for Best Use of Video — well, that his regular social media concerts the last three years alongside his wife, Kristie, as the acoustic duo Midlife. The program honors the best of turf on social media, and all 2023, 2022 and 2021 winners will be recognized at the 12th annual Golf Course Industry TweetUp — #GCITweetUp23 — scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Aquatrols Booth #2373 at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando.
In advance of #GCITweetUp23, we talked with Hurst about his approach to social media.
How do you use social media for work?
When I started playing music, I had no plan. I still have no plan because after the music videos, my plan was to be the guy who wasn’t selling anything. I never wanted to get on and be like, ‘Hey, this product is awesome,’ or, ‘Hey, I have the best wetting agent you can use,’ or, ‘Hey, man, my fertilizer’s on point.’ My intent was always to be as self-deprecating as possible and bring levity. I appreciate humor that’s self-deprecating, that doesn’t have to use swear words or violence or nudity, and I appreciate people who don’t take themselves too seriously. That’s probably the biggest thing I try to do with my sales videos or the dumb things I do. ‘Here’s a minute or two of a guy just being a total jackass who doesn’t take himself too seriously.’ That’s it. That’s the m.o.
What do you learn from your industry peers on social media?
The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I can’t even believe when I see people like Mike Richardson, or Dan Francis, or Tim Kreger, or Ben McGraw, I literally feel like we went to high school together and I say, ‘Hey! How are you? Dan, how did the Girl Scout cookies sales go? Ben, how did that conference go up in Delaware? Hey, Kaminski, man, that flight was rough.’ My circle was so small and so guarded, and then all of a sudden, that circle has just grown. Idris Evans from Australia direct messages me. Micah Woods, the guy doesn’t know me, but we have this thing going. If I ever saw him, I’d hug him — pre-Covid, I was a big hugger. I’m a fist bumper now, but if I saw you, I’d give you the biggest bro hug ever. ‘Dude! It’s so wonderful to see you!’ The community part, it just makes the world so much smaller, and that’s cool.
What advice would you give peers looking to boost their social media game?
Take a chance. Take a risk. Put yourself out there. Same way I did with GreensPro, it was extremely uncomfortable to take money I had saved and invest it into a company where we just didn’t know. And it was extremely uncomfortable the first time I played guitar with Kristie in front of people at some bar in Illinois. And it was extremely uncomfortable when I made the first video where Kristie was singing and I was playing. But all that uncomfortableness has led to all the things I’ve talked about. I’ve been so fortunate — 99.9 percent of my experience with the nitwittery I’ve put out there has been positive. My favorite quote is from Wayne Gretzky: You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.
Matt LaWell is Golf Course Industry’s managing editor.