Golf is an interesting topic. For many, the game represents an obsession, a passion, a lifelong fight to improve and a never-ending source of entertainment. However, as the game grows there are fears attached to the lack of youth coming with it. Tiger Woods made golf popular with a younger generation, but his fall (both on and off the links) all but killed the momentum built by his iconic rise.
Many suggest the game is desperate for something new to bring those kids back to the course, and as the professional ranks continue to wait for the next young savior, golf courses are turning to tech to light that spark.
That brings us to Golf Board. Invented by the team at Sol Board, LLC, the Golf Board is an electronic evolution of the skateboard specially designed for use by golfers working through 18 holes. Driven by a video game-style hand controller, the Golf Board allows golfers to surf the round in surprising comfort, holding the bag as you enjoy a breezy cruise over the links.
It’s an amazing product many label as a positive step forward for courses looking to get kids golfing, and the early success prompted us to connect with Paul Hodge, Executive Officer at Sol Board, to discuss the ride.
SportTechie: The golf crowd isn’t known as a supportive group for change. Having a surf icon like Laird Hamilton on the team must have been tremendous in getting the design in a solid comfort zone, but when it comes to getting golfers to give it a chance, what’s the biggest challenge?
Paul Hodge: Haven’t had a challenge with this yet, we’ve had an unbelievably positive response.
SportTechie: Any time we talk tech, concerns about battery life enter the picture. Add the time it takes for a regular Joe to get through 18 these days, not to mention the worries a duffer like me might face during a typical round (spending twice as much time looking for the ball rather than hitting it), and battery life might be a major concern. What’s the Golf Board tout in facing that challenge?
Paul Hodge: The board can do over 40 holes with me on the board on a hilly course, I weight 160+ lbs. clubs. Even in the worst case scenario of a 250 lb. guy riding an extremely hilly course the board will do 18 holes. We did this by way overbuilding the battery.
SportTechie: I happen to live in Denver, and the courses tend to be rather hilly. What would you tell a golfer like me to appease my geographical concerns? How does the Golf Board do with hills? Are there any particular safety features to help a user in my situation feel at ease getting on and off the Golf Board on an incline?
Paul Hodge: We designed the boards to handle hills up and down with ease. We built in many safety features such as an auto brake, if you were to step off the board on a steep hill, it will lock the tires, it has an anti rollback soft start when you step back on and continue up and down. It has a max speed downhill and if you were to fall off, or even just let off the accelerator while going down the board will come to a gentle stop and lock.
SportTechie: The Golf Board is controlled by a wireless handheld device and seems to avoid the traditional foot-based controls many experienced surfers and skateboarders might recognize. It’s clearly a unique system and the tutorials suggest it’s maximized for safety, suggesting some design modifications are in place. What can you tell us about the system, how it works and what it provides an interested user to ease safety worries?
Paul Hodge: Foot based acceleration and deceleration systems are dangerous and not practical as changing weights can make it impossible to control. The handheld controller was designed for total control and comfort. Anyone that has played video games, or controlled RC vehicles will feel right at home, if you haven’t you will learn quickly, usually within three minutes in our experience with new riders.
SportTechie: The only crowd tougher than the traditional golf fan may be the traditional golf course groundskeeper? We know carts have evolved to keep the links healthy. How does the pitch ease their concern in making the switch from the cart to the Golf Board?
Paul Hodge: They are happy that the board has less impact than a golf cart, and even less PSI then a human foot walking. We haven’t had any trouble with groundskeepers.
SportTechie: Speaking of the pitch… how is it going thus far? The Golf Board has been on the market for a bit. How many courses have given the Golf Board a chance? Have any taken a group of the carts back to the dealer in exchange for the Golf Board?
Paul Hodge: We have about 400 golf courses in the U.S. that are on board, were trying to get to them all for demos and to sign deals, but we just launched three weeks ago. We also have 15 international distributors all over the world we are working through contracts and stocking orders with.
SportTechie: Name one benefit to the Golf Board most golfers won’t realize right away, but they will come to appreciate over time with it under foot?
Paul Hodge: It is a tremendous amount of fun the moment you start riding it, what they won’t expect is that people wind up having so much fun riding the board, that they don’t take the golf so seriously.
SportTechie: Name one benefit to the Golf Board most golf course owners won’t realize right away, but they will come to appreciate after getting the Board on the course?
Paul Hodge: I have to name two. 1) It speeds up the game, allowing them to push more people through. 2) They will start to attract that younger demographic, which is the elusive market for golf courses.
SportTechie: Maybe you’ve noticed it, Paul… but golf carts are often used by folks AWAY from the golf course. Has the Golf Board seen any success in penetrating a target audience away from the game of golf?
Paul Hodge: Yes, many applications have been applied beyond golf. A hotel chain is considering it as a fun thing to rent to clients wanting to cruise into town, like a Segway. Younger guys are doing extreme off road things with these, people in town are using it to commute.
SportTechie: It’s clear the Golf Board brings a ton of fun to the 18-hole journey. If I’m contemplating a purchase and need ONE benefit beyond the joy of the Golf Board experience, what would you give me?
Paul Hodge: It can be used off the course in a variety of ways mentioned above, whether you want to have a fun way to cruise down to the corner market to pick up some milk, or if you want to cover a large area of town rather than walking, or if you want to take a peaceful ride along a river trail.
Keep in mind, we don’t expect this to replace the golf cart, its just a fun alternative especially for the younger crowds. The golf industry execs we’ve talked to have labeled this as a game changer, and see this as the answer to bring the younger crowds back to the game. As it stands less than 17% of the total golf population is less than 40 and less than 5% under 30.
—
A tremendous note of thanks to Paul and the entire Golf Board team for the time and insight. You can check out Golf Board and connect with the crew via their website and Facebook.