Tiger Woods is a brand in golf. His name is synonymous with Nike Golf and is recognized around the world. While his brand is nowhere near the likes of Tiger — or other professional golfers — sophomore Joseph Winslow is beginning to build his own brand here at Iowa as he strives to become a professional golfer.
Winslow has created a website (http://josephwinslow.webs.com/) that has everything one could want to know, ranging from past results to his Twitter handle.
“A couple members from my club [Shadow Glen Golf Club in Olathe, Kan.] told me they’d like to follow my progress and track me at tournaments,” he said. “It’s really turned out to be a good thing.”
“JWiNS” (a nickname stemming from all his wins when he was a junior golfer) originally created the website in high school, and has continued to maintain it. He even updated it with results from the Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational, held last weekend at Finkbine Golf Course.
The people who originally urged Winslow to make the page aren’t the only ones following his progress.
“I’ve had several people get in contact with me because of it,” he said. “Even with people I haven’t talked to in a long time.”
With results dating back to 2008, the website has been key in Winslow’s progression as a golfer and his journey to reach the PGA Tour. Winslow said having access to past stats helps him remember what he may have been doing in the past to help his game today.
If he struggles with his irons, for example, he can look back on rounds where his iron shots were good and recreate what he was doing with his swing to fix the issue.
This type of statistical analysis is fairly common among the Iowa golfers, said men’s head coach Mark Hankins. Hankins thinks the webpage will help the Overland Park, Kan., native after college.
“I think the biggest benefit is that when he finishes here and decide he wants to go play pro golf, he’s going to have all of this analysis and his accomplishments on there,” Hankins said. “He can go show this to an investor, and that person will look at him and go, ‘Yeah, he takes golf like a business.’ ”
Former Big Ten Player of the Year and Iowa golfer Vince India also has a website. He is pursuing his dream of playing on the PGA Tour by golfing on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica.
Unlike the current Hawkeye, India’s website is used purely for staying in touch with family and friends.
“I don’t use it as a way to track round to round performances,” he wrote in an email. “It is more useful as a journal to mentally wrap up a tournament and move on and prepare for the next.”
Winslow has his own way to mentally unwind after a taxing golf tournament, but what’s always on his mind is the thought of playing on the PGA Tour — especially those memorable major championships.
“Watching the Masters this week, the putt Adam Scott made on 18 to win, I think I’ve seen six or seven different champions make that exact putt to win,” Winslow said. “It excites me big time. And just mentality that you’re going to make it is one of the key things.”
