When you think of the PGA Tour, what comes to mind? (Bear with me here–this post is not about sports.)

Here’s my short list:

• Really ugly clothing
• Country clubs
• Boring men (see bullet 1) flying around in private planes

What’s on yours?

Here’s what should be top of mind: $1.4 billion.*

The PGA Tour has raised over $1.4 billion for local charities. This is an amazing story. It’s a story about generosity, and excellence, and giving back to the communities where you live, work, and play (golf).

If I were advising the PGA Tour, I’d be storytelling in every town, city, and state where the tour has a presence. Instead, all we get are halfhearted TV ads branding “the next generation” of players. That and a Together, Anything’s Possible Web site that’s trying to to showcase the great charitable work that individual tour players are doing–but the look, feel, and writing are so bland that it looks to be composed of press releases (it’s not, but you have to be willing to click around to figure that out).

Savvy businesses align their brands inside and outside. The PGA Tour spent so much time promoting one free agent (Tiger Woods) that it’s way behind the curve in figuring out how to tell its own story.

What story is your business telling?

*2009 estimate.

Photo by Dirk Hansen (Flickr).