Topgolf is coming to Seattle — but only temporarily. The fast-growing high-tech golf entertainment complex operator will take over Safeco Field next month with its first-ever “Crush” event that will give Seattleites a taste of Topgolf. Akin to retailers opening temporary “pop-up” stores often used to test new concepts or new markets, Topgolf Crush will give customers an idea of the full Topgolf experience. Topgolf operates more than 30 facilities across the country that are built around a driving range-meets-bowling-alley concept with microchipped golf balls, allowing people to aim at targets and earn points while enjoying drinks and food. From Feb. 17-20, Topgolf will set up… Read More
As a veteran entrepreneur and angel investor, David Vanslette saw how new technology like location data and predictive analytics was changing the way companies do business. Now he’s decided to apply that realization to a game he loves: golf. Vanslette is CEO and co-founder of FairwayIQ, a Boston-area startup that wants to help golf course operators and maintenance staff be more efficient. The 2-year-old company has developed “smart tags” that connect golfers, caddies, carts, flagsticks, maintenance equipment, and staff together on a private network. The idea is to give courses an air traffic control-like overhead view of what’s going on across hundreds of acres in… Read More
Embed from Getty Images The golf grip is getting geeky. PGA Tour golfer Bryson DeChambeau worked with Microsoft and Seattle-area startup Sensoria over the past eight weeks to create a prototype “smart grip” that analyzes how much pressure he applies to the golf club throughout a swing. As detailed by Microsoft in this blog post, DeChambeau let Microsoft and Sensoria — a smart-garment maker based in Redmond, Wash. — build sensors into his grips that measure force and pressure exerted. In golf, how tight or loose a player grips the club can be a key determining factor for ball flight. There are different schools of… Read More
Scott Oki has cashed in again. The ex-Microsoft vice president, who made millions by building the company’s international operations and then left in the early 1990s and eventually purchased a number golf courses, sold eight of those courses on Tuesday for $137 million. Oki Golf announced the sale of the premier Washington properties to HNA Holdings Group, a Hong Kong-based investment group. According to a news release, Oki Golf Management will be retained to run daily operations for each course. The courses are: The Golf Club at Newcastle, Washington National Golf Club, The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge, Trophy Lake Golf & Casting, Harbour Pointe Golf Club,… Read More
ATLANTA, GA. — Most NFL followers are likely now familiar with the Microsoft Surface, given that the device has become a mainstay on sidelines as a training tool that players and coaches use to review past plays during games. It’s part of the $400 million deal Microsoft signed with the NFL back in 2013. But now the device is making its way into another sport: professional golf. In November of last year, Microsoft announced a three-year deal with the PGA Tour, and we’re starting to see partnership come to fruition on the golf course. GeekWire is in Atlanta, Ga., at East Lake Golf… Read More
