Swing King, a digital golf technology startup, has identified a solution to an issue all course owners and operators are trying to solve: re-energizing the game of golf to continue attracting new golfers and retain current players. How?
Swing King created the first fully automated hole-in-one contest for courses that operates during each and every round. Swing King installs its proprietary HD camera technology at select par-3 holes creating significant new revenue opportunities for golf courses and providing golfers with added excitement, meaningful cash payouts for holes-in-one and a social media ready HD video of their ultimate golf achievement for life-long bragging rights. The system add fun and excitement to every round of golf and helps Swing King partner courses increase the value of greens fees, membership dues and tournament entries by paying cash prizes of anywhere between $1,000 to $1,000,000 for a hole-in-one. Swing has had over 60 hole-in-one winners so far this year and has paid out over $1 million in prizes in its history.
Currently installed at more than 300 courses across 30 states, this added entertainment experience helps the average course generate an additional $5,000-10,000 of incremental profit annually – with top courses generating $25,000 in profits. Courses pay no upfront cost for the installation or the technology and share in revenue from each contest entry. The Swing King team blends its camera system into the natural surroundings at a select par-3 hole so it doesn’t alter the image or design of the course, and the systems are built to last a minimum of five years.
Swing King was started by Eric Hoersten, former Redbox senior vice president of technology, and Gregg Kaplan, former CEO and founder of Redbox. They brought on a sports technology expert with more than 20 years of experience in the sports technology space, Mike Jakob, as CEO. Jakob previously was president of Sportvision, the firm best known for the invention of football’s yellow first-down line.
This combination of sports and technology has been infused into the Swing King model to continue delivering an exceptional experience on the course without changing the classic game. The Swing King team brings the automation process that was perfected at Redbox to the game of golf, relying on state of the art internet-of-things (IoT) technology that alerts the Swing King team of any issues so that they can be fixed remotely, without the course having to do anything.
Swing King offers customizable programs designed to specifically meet the needs of every type of golf club – from public to private to resort. Each program fits seamlessly into the golf club’s daily operations and their dedicated account management team offers personal service and creative new ideas to maximize the marketing impact of the Swing King system. Golfers who want to participate pay a contest entry fee of anywhere between $1 to $20 for the chance to win up to $20,000. Swing King also partners with multiple charities to drive charitable donations through a co-branded hole-in-one contests on select courses and will drive over $100,000 in contributions to charitable partners in 2018.
Swing King is an innovative way for course owners and operators to stand out from the competition and continue attracting new players, while retaining current clientele. For more information, visit: https://swingking.com/.
