Golfboards Cancel The title field is required!

1. David Ohren

   

   0 posts
   
   11/17/2015 7:11 AM

   Wondering if any of you have had any experience with the Golfboard. Seems a little dangerous to me however they have been a hit at many other golf courses. They"re more expensive than a golf cart, so I'm worried about upkeep, and how much more we could charge for use??? How smooth does terrain need to be? Like to get some feedback as to how they have worked out for others.
   
   Thanks
   
   David Ohren Willow Glen GC

   
   
   
   
2. Clay Putnam

   

   33 posts
   
   11/17/2015 8:11 AM

   I'll support innovation that strengthens the golf industry but this isn't it. The golf board is another soon to be failed attempt, IMO. Too many things can go wrong. A learning curve is required and so on. We keep nibbling around the edges to resuscitate the industry when a radical change is needed.
   
   One word, Segway.

   
   
   
   
3. Sean Hoolehan

   

   0 posts
   
   11/17/2015 12:11 PM

   We have one (1) at our course. I have never seen it used by anyone other than a pro-shop staff member who use it for free. Why would you rent one instead of a cart. It does not shade you, has limited space for your stuff, has no health benefit and cost more than a golf cart. How do you make money on it when you can put 2 people in a cart and the cart cost less to purchase. Granted it looks fun.

   
   
   
   
4. David Brandenburg

   

   3 posts
   
   11/17/2015 1:11 PM

   We do not have one but we demo'd one and the golf professional and I both thought it was easy to learn and operate. It climbed hills and went on side hills without issue. Now granted I was not carrying a golf bag at the time.
   
   Although customers were all excited to see it, and us on it, in the end it seems like a bad investment for a daily fee club. A private or semi private club or in a bigger community it may be a easier sell.
   
   1. We had customers who normally walk and carry interested for a one time try but not to rent it on a normal basis.
   2. They cost more than a car but there is no way customers will pay more than they do for a car.
   3. We are on clay so we can get a film of water on the fairways when it is wet. So although the turf is firm the golf board would struggle to maintain a charge pushing through that water.
   4. Customers needed to be trained and sign a waiver. Customers would not understand we do not have staff ready to get a golf board out of storage, train them and supervise them at the drop of a hat without a reservation so the customer would be disappointed.

   
   
   
   
5. Rocky Tharp

   

   0 posts
   
   11/17/2015 7:11 PM

   I recently demo'd one for 18 holes and found it quite easy and fun to use. I've never been on a Segway but it's probably about the same learning curve. Two of us were each on golf boards and two sharing a cart and the two of us on the boards were consistently maintaining a faster pace of play than the cart as we could go directly to our ball without waiting for the other player. Your bag straps on easily and there's a drink holder as well. I can't speak to the business side of things, but from a pace of play perspective, they can't be beat. Given a choice between sharing a cart or having my own golf board, I'd choose the golf board.
   
   Rocky Tharp
   Interbay GC
   Seattle, WA

   
   
   
   
6. Matt Dutkiewicz

   

   0 posts
   
   11/18/2015 11:11 AM

   I LOVE riding on Segway's. The golfboard is much easier to use, IMO, and takes less than 5 minutes to be proficient at it. One of our courses here (public, daily fee) has four golfboards for rent, they reportedly went out nearly every day. Patrons needed to watch a 20 min training video and sign a waiver prior (this was a deal breaker for many, but somewhat unavoidable). The golfboard didn't rake in cash for the GC, BUT, it did bring some patrons out that normally wouldn't have gone to that course, and it was a steady, though low, stream of cash. The success of a golfboard is certainly dependent on your GC clientele, if your course has mainly retirees, then a golfboard is not going to work, but if you have a mix of age groups, or weekend warriors, or just want to attract a younger clientele, then a golfboard MIGHT help. Nearly everyone would agree that it at least "looks like its fun", and for the most part it is! Not something that would be used on a daily basis, but, for "something different" or a fun day with your friends, i think it's perfect.