5 Innovative Golf Businesses & Startups To Know About
Let’s face it, we can’t all be Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, or Justin Rose. Being a professional golfer is just a pipe dream for most people who love golf but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a living from your favorite sport.
Across the globe there are a huge number of brilliant businesses whose owners are living the dream of having their lives funded by the sport they adore.
I’ve picked just 5 of those innovative golf businesses and startups. You’re going to love to learning about them and by the time you’ve finished reading this article you might even have the inspiration you need to start your own company.
Topgolf
How many hours have you spent on your local driving range? Thousands. What would you say if I told you that those many hours could have been spent on a technology savvy golf entertainment complex, one that allow you to drive microchip-embedded golf balls which track your accuracy and distance? Where is this place?
Dallas-based Topgolf offers you those microchip-embedded golf balls and so much more. In addition to their innovative take the driving range, Topgolf are geared towards young golfers. How? Because they have:
DJs
Themed parties
An excellent cocktail menu
Top quality food
And don’t worry if you’re not based anywhere near Dallas because this company that built its name in Texas now have complexes in 26 locations across the globe, including Las Vegas. So get in contact with them today and take your driving range experience to the next level.
Secret Golf Society
There’s nothing secret about this startup which has grown from nothing to a golf business worth hundreds of thousands of dollars since it was launched in June 2017.
Operated by just two people, Secret Golf Society take an innovative approach to running a golf driven business by employing a dropshipping model to ship their apparel and accessories. This means that they don’t hold physical stock and only sell goods on an order by order basis.
Running in this way means that Secret Golf Society have much less risk attached to the company. It’s a perfect way for you to start your own golf business and one that you can set up in your spare hours and trial it to see how much time you want to commit to it long-term.
Caddie Now
What’s the most vital weapon in a golfer’s armory? Their caddie. Adam Sandler knew it and his caddie helped to take him to success in Happy Gilmore and the Virginia-based Caddie Now want to help you connect with your perfect caddie.
They’ve taken a groundbreaking approach to this ancient golfing partnership by employing the most modern of technology, an app available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Caddies register with Caddie Now and then have access to a range of educational materials including classroom and on-course training activity, receiving certification once they’ve completed a 3 hour orienteering session. The caddies are then available to hire from any course participating with Caddie Now, meaning that you have your golf partner available at the click of a button.
Trendy Golf
Like many of our most-loved sports, golf has gone through plenty of style changes down the years; when you’re on the course it’s not just about scoring a hole in one, it’s also about looking the part while you do so. That’s where Trendy Golf come in.
The company’s founders started the business with a simple wish: to allow every golfer the chance to look as trendy as their favorite professional player. So they set up an innovative online business that allows you to get the looks that aren’t available from stores.
Trendy Golf are so successful at what they do that they’re inspiring people to set up their own businesses that make golf’s stylish looks accessible to everyone. Golfing enthusiast Ryan Hamilton is just one example of how far the influence of Trendy Golf has spread, as you can see below...
If you’re like Trendy Golf, or Ryan Hamilton, and have a great idea for a digital golfing business then it’s a breeze to set up an online store too. In just a few clicks you could take the first steps towards making a living from your love of golf.
GolfTEC
We can all benefit from a little instruction – just think: how much it could improve your swing and how many more yards it would add to your game? Well, GolfTEC have brought data-driven methodology to golf instructive and innovated the way you improve your game.
Private instructors lead classes on a one-to-one basis and then use data that they have collected from a range of technological tools to provide you with feedback. Among those tools are:
Launch monitors
Body sensors
Video cameras
This forensic approach to golf instruction means that you can improve your game much faster than through traditional coaching. But not only that: GolfTEC use mobile pods for their classrooms, meaning that you don’t even need to travel to a golf course or driving range to improve your game.
We’d all love to be able to hit a drive as far as Dustin Johnson, win as many majors as The Golden Bear, or captain our side to the same number of Ryder Cup victories as the legendary Walter Hagen. But unfortunately, we can’t all be a professional golfer.
But golf isn’t only about your ability to put a ball. There are so many different ways that you can get involved with the world’s greatest sport. These 5 innovative companies have shown that if you have a great idea you can make a career from your love of golf.
So, if you have a great idea don’t sit on it. Strike out, startup your own business, and live the dream of living off of the wonder that is golf.
About the Author
Patrick Foster is a writer and e-commerce expert from Ecommerce Tips — an industry-leading ecommerce blog dedicated to sharing business and entrepreneurial insights from the sector. I am a passionate advocate of new businesses and a big sports fan. Check out the latest news on Twitter @myecommercetips.
