Page 14 - GBC winter 2015

14
Golf Business Canada
‘The love of invention never ceases.’
- Karl Benz, founder, Mercedes-Benz
Just as power cart OEM’s have one eye on existing product trends they might well to have the other eye over their shoulder. Gaining a foothold with next generation golfers is cross-over, transport-based alternatives like GolfBoard, Golf Skate Caddy and Golf Bike.
What these products offer is a completely different level of on-course experience, one that caters to action seekers and/or work-out enthusi- asts. How in tune is the industry with this idea? GolfBoard was named ‘Best New Product’ at the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.
“We have developed GolfBoard with the golf course and the golfer at the forefront of our thinking,” explained GolfBoard president Paul Hodge. “It accounts for the needs of the player, in terms of movement and a fun way to do that, but also significantly reduces things like turf damage versus golf carts. This is military-grade engineering and design. You get 36-holes from a single lithium ion battery charge.”
Quebec’s Golf le Sélect in Mirabel, British Columbia’s Canyon Desert Golf Club in Oliver, Toronto’s King Valley and Cherry Downs, and Kemptville, Ontario’s eQuinelle Golf Club are among the Canadian market’s earliest adopters. eQuinelle rents out its fleet of four Golf- Board’s at $25 for 18-holes and $15 for 9-holes. That makes them slightly more expensive than cart fees.
“But it’s worth it. It really is a fun experience,” Hodge says. Golf Bike’s approach is similar. It too offers a unique method for moving about a golf course in an unconventional mode of transportation. Where it differs is how the combined cycling-golf initiative caters to 9-holes and shorter loops on the golf course while cross-marketing the game to millions of world-wide cycling enthusiasts. It’s a golf-themed alterna- tive to any cycling-based athletic regiment.
“Play fast and get a workout. Pretty cool,” tweeted renowned swing coach Butch Harmon on is Twitter account. “Best new thing I saw at the (2014) PGA Show.”
Todd May, founder and visionary of Higher Ground Golf Co., makers of The Golf Bike, has been receiving similar props since launch- ing his product 3 years ago.
“It provides the avid golfer with the ability to play at the speed of a cart while getting paid back with fun and fitness.”
“It is a new spin on an old tradition,” he says. “It provides the avid golfer with the ability to play at the speed of a cart while getting paid back with fun and fitness. For cyclists it can introduce them to golf by combining a great outdoor experience with a new, fun way to exercise.”
No one should expect power carts to go away any time soon. What these alternate modes of course movement do offer the industry is two key business func- tions: a new marketing platform as well as another potential revenue stream, one geared to ‘walk- always’ consumer-types and those millennials the game is seeking to attract.
“Power carts broke golf trad- ition decades ago,” adds Hodge, “but they’re now as accepted as walking is in North America, in some places more so. We believe this is what’s next.”