The Evolution of Golf Technology According to Hole19’s Founder

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, many turned to new sports, hobbies, and activities to ease their mind, stay in shape, and just to have a good time. While those include tennis, bread-making, and woodworking, one of the most popular has been golf. Even pre-pandemic, golf players have been skewing younger and younger, as well as increasingly tech-savvy as technology evolves and further integrates into the sport. Yet some in the industry risk being left in the dusk of innovation, not for the sake of innovation, but because it improves the sport for both the players and the course owners and operators. 

To get a deeper look at the evolution of modern technology in the golf space, look no further than Hole19, the breakout golf GPS and scoring app. We sat down with Hole19 founder, Anthony Douglas, to learn more about their story and how golf tech is going through a major growth spurt of development and innovation, ripe for adoption for any savvy course owner or operator. 

Thanks for speaking with us. As a leading app in golf technology, how did Hole19 get started? 

ANTHONY DOUGLAS: Hole19 started off as a personal necessity. I had just started playing golf and wanted a way to track my rounds to share with coaches. There were some apps out there, but they looked like they were stuck in the ’90s and what was out there didn’t meet my expectations around user experience. 

I started off by mapping golf courses with software myself in the basement and then transferring that information onto a mobile app. We then raised a small amount of money to invest in a team and scale out the user base. The rest is history! 

How many users do you have? 

We launched the app in 2014, and have since grown to have over 2.8 million golfers from over 180 countries registered. Over 30 million rounds of golf have been logged on Hole19, with 2021 having seen over 1 million rounds played each month of April, May, June, and July. 

And how big is your team? 

We are a team of 20 people spread across Lisbon, Porto, London, and New York City.

What are some popular feature requests for Hole19? 

They are mainly requests around wearable technology and Hole19 is available for both Apple Watch and Wear OS devices. Feature requests around wearables have been the bulk of inbound interest– GPS distances, score, and statistic tracking all from your wrist. Golfers are becoming more demanding with regards to the technology they use and want access to more data on their quantified self. 

You recently pivoted away from B2B to focus on B2C. What were some key learnings there? 

For us, it was really all about focus. We needed to concentrate our efforts on what we know best, where we can deliver the most value and at the same time extract the most value. B2B was a major distraction for us as it was extremely hard to convince golf course operators that technology could help them market their services to more customers. We couldn’t be everything for everyone so we went back to our roots and focused on B2C. This was one of the key drivers to getting us to where we are today– a profitable and growing business at the intersection of golf and tech.

What can golf course owners take away from your experience with golf technology? 

I guess one of the lessons is to stick with what you do best. Many course owners (and other entities in the golf industry for that matter) want to own or do everything, like having their own course apps for example. But you aren’t a software company and don’t know the ins and outs of delivering a great app user experience for your customers. Furthermore, golfers are probably already playing on your course with their app of choice. Why would they download yet another app just to play on yours? Focus on what you do best, which is delivering an amazing on-course experience, as well as exceptional hospitality. 

How has golf technology evolved in recent history? 

With smartphones (and more recently, wearable technology) becoming more ubiquitous, the demands of golfers in terms of technology have increased at a staggering rate. People are bringing their own gadgets to the course and tracking their own game rather than using tools or technology provided by the course. Much like in the work environment where BYOD (bring your own device) has become more commonplace, golfers prefer to bring their own device and employ tools and apps that they are accustomed to using. 

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There are other uses of technology, for example, pace-of-play technology, that can help golf course operators better understand the bottlenecks on their golf course and make the necessary changes to then improve the golfer’s on-course experience. 

In the booking space, technology can help with dynamic pricing to maximise revenue for owners based on simple rules of supply and demand. 

Finally, new radar technology allowing players to track their shots on the range and better understand shot pattern and swing mechanics have also become more accessible to golfers and as such, has helped golfers improve and get a better sense of their game. 

Why is this staggering rate of development in golf technology important for golf course owners to understand? 

Golf courses need to “embrace” new technology and leverage it to their advantage. Technology can help speed up play (GPS devices, laser rangefinders), maximise revenue (dynamic pricing, online booking) and facilitate maintenance (GPS guided fertiliser sprayers, top-of the line irrigation systems, etc.). 

Embracing tech doesn’t always mean you need to own and dominate everything. Sometimes it makes sense to use third-party services that focus on a specific value proposition. A golf course is not specialised in developing software, but rather, delivering a great guest experience. Leave the development of software to others. 

So, users have become very high tech. How can golf course owners and operators meet that demand? 

Golf courses must be ready to handle the technological expectations of users today. Online golf booking is a must and the basics like permitting mobile devices on the course is expected, so golfers can use their favourite golf GPS apps on their device. There are, however, tons of untapped opportunities like content creation. For example, content creation is huge amongst millennials and Gen Z. Golf courses could set up “swing recording” cameras and cameras around the green to record on-course action that could then be sent to the players to share amongst friends and on social media. Amateur golfers love feeling like tour players– if a golf course could contribute to that, it could help drive business.  Golfers are already recording fun moments on their mobile devices, but how cool would it be if they had “official” aerial footage of them on the green or bombing a drive off the tee recorded with a high-quality camera provided by the course.

What would a more urgent piece of advice that you would give them be?

Eine universelle Content-Management-Lösung 

Die Gruppe wandte sich dann dem zu, was manche als den heiligen Gral des Content-Managements im Gastgewerbe betrachten: Eine universelle Content-Management-Lösung, die die einzige Quelle für alle Inhalte auf allen Plattformen wäre, die ein bestimmtes Hotel nutzt. Wie würde dies aussehen, welche Hindernisse gibt es, und was ist derzeit verfügbar?

Natalie Kimball: Wir [Shiji] müssen als Technologieanbieter berichten, welche Datenpunkte es gibt. Durch HTMG, wurden so viele Datenpunkte gesammelt. Wir haben bereits die Daten. Wir brauchen jemanden, der die Verantwortung übernimmt und sagt: “So wird es funktionieren”. Und dazu brauchen wir die Hilfe von GDS und von allen Beteiligten. Vielleicht müssen Wyndham, Hilton und Marriott irgendwann sagen: “Wir müssen aufhören, in dieses Hamsterrad stecken zu bleiben.” 

Warum sollten die Anbieter aufstehen und sagen: “Okay, ja, wir machen das”, wenn es keinen Anreiz von kommerzieller Seite gibt? Vielleicht muss der Anstoß von einem großen Anbieter kommen, der über genügend finanzieller Mittel verfügt, um anfangs in die Sache zu investieren. Und wenn sie ein kommerzielles Modell entwickeln, das Einnahmen generiert, wird man anfangen, die Kosten zu decken. Aber es kann sein, dass es anfangs einen Verlust geben wird, damit wir es für die Branche anpassen können. 

Gianna Rivera: Viele unserer Unternehmen denken über die verschiedenen Inhaltskanäle auf individuelle Weise nach. Ich glaube nicht, dass das nur für das eine oder andere Unternehmen gilt. Wir müssen dazu beitragen, dass diese Gespräche zu einem einheitlichen Denkprozess führen und dass sie verstehen, dass es im eigentlichen Sinne um Inhalte geht.

Hochwertige visuelle Inhalte 

Zum Abschluss des Gesprächs diskutierte die Gruppe darüber, dass nicht alle Inhalte gleich sind, und tauschte einige Ideen darüber aus, wie hochwertige Inhalte tatsächlich aussehen.

Sarah Fults: Eine der größten Herausforderungen ist, dass man sein Hotel für das Fotoshooting vorbereiten muss. Für diejenigen von uns, die eine hohe Auslastung haben, kann es sehr schwierig sein, einen Termin für ein Fotoshooting für ein Hotel zu finden. Das ist die größte Herausforderung: Die Zeit zu finden, den Raum einzurichten und sicherzustellen, dass man überhaupt das Wissen dazu hat. Welche Blickwinkel? Von was sollte man das Bild machen? Wie kann man das im Rahmen des Budgets machen? Wie viele Jahre dauert es, bis man das nächste Fotoshooting machen muss? 

Natalie Kimball: Es ist eine aufwendige aber wichtige Investition. Und jeder Geschäftsführer wird sich fragen: “Was ist mein Return on Investment?” Selbst wenn die Auslastung um 2 % steigt, ist das nicht genug. 

Inhalte sind ein Verkaufsförderungsinstrument, und die OTAs haben uns das bewiesen. Es gibt einen Grund, warum jeder von ihnen Badezimmerfotos verlangt. 

Ich glaube, es geht darum, dass ein Hotel nicht mehr darüber nachdenken muss, welches Foto wichtig ist und wie man es bekommt. Es geht um die Automatisierung. Und haben wir dann das Recht, das Foto auf jedem Kanal zu verwenden, der Zugang zu dieser Hosting-Plattform hat?

I think the urgent steps are not tied to simply adopting specific new tech, but rather, hiring people that understand tech and aren’t necessarily from the traditional world of golf. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for every golf course. 

OK, one more question. What’s coming next in golf tech? 

I think on the consumer side there will be more hands-free technology (i.e. automatic shot tracking without extra hardware), developments in Augmented Reality, and technology that facilitates content creation and consumption. From the B2B side, I would like to see more advances on seamless check-ins at golf courses, better mobile and web experiences around booking, and enhanced driving range experiences leveraging technology to help golfers improve.