By David Rumsey
The annual PGA Show is always a breeding ground for innovative products and companies in the industry. Even though I’m not in Orlando for this week’s event, which began yesterday, the golf nut in me couldn’t resist exploring which up-and-coming technologies are being talked about this year.
Showcasing new services to help golf courses generate more revenue emerges as a key theme from the golf world’s gathering in Florida. With products from more than 800 golf brands on display, PGA of America Senior Director/Growth and Ventures Kris Hart sees industry pros becoming more open to fresh ideas than when he entered the field 10 years ago.
“People are getting much more sophisticated and embracing opportunities to use data, to use these systems and technology,” Hart told me earlier this week.
This afternoon, Hart moderated a discussion looking at the ideal golf facility with panelists like Mike Loustalot, co-founder of golf course management service Sagacity. “We’re able to benchmark price data and supply and demand at golf facilities around the country,” Hart said of Sagacity’s benefits, like increasing spending at golf facilities. “So, we can understand and help our members better price their rounds of golf.”
Another panelist was Nick Cavanaugh, founder of Sensible Weather, the climate risk technology company that just partnered with the PGA of America around weather insurance. “From early days golf was always a target,” Cavanaugh told me of his three-year old company that analyzes local weather data and global climate patterns to provide users with forecasts and calculate the risk of an event cancelation. “Travel golf is where we’re kicking off as our core target,” he explained, noting Sensible Weather also hopes to eventually get in front of customers attending live golf events, potentially with the PGA Tour.
Hart called Sensible Weather a good example of new tech companies that see the value of investing in golf, especially given its easy entry point. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company just received backing from EP Golf Ventures, the joint vehicle from Elysian Park Ventures (the Dodgers ownership group’s investment arm) and the PGA of America that launched last year and is also invested in motion capture app developer Sportsbox AI and mobile golf simulator Dryvebox.
“We’ve gotten a lot of interest and it’s kind of amazing there are just so many different technologies inside and I would say outside of golf we’re seeing,” Hart said of the young investment fund.
For Sensible Weather, Cavanaugh is excited not only about the investment that brought his company’s total financing to $22 million but also Elysian’s wide reach across sports, specifically MLB, which he pinpointed as another future target for the company.
Looking ahead, Hart sees labor optimization as a key area where technology could benefit golf businesses. “Just helping our pros be more efficient or help be able to get talent or do more with less,” he said.
Hart was excited to see a demo of a new autonomous range picker he had heard about this week. Korechi Innovations is showing off its autonomous range-picking robot, Pik’r. Hart: “I see the future of: Does that need to be a job?”
The most recent round of layoffs at Crypto.com earlier this month appear to have not impacted anyone working on major sports sponsorships, SBJ has learned.
An executive at AEG, which secured the naming rights deal for Crypto.com Arena that SBJ pegged at $35 million annually, said, “Crypto.com has been and are an excellent partner for AEG and we have seen no change on our end.”
A source told me that the layoffs haven’t impacted the 76ers’ dealings with Crypto.com in any way, either, as the company continues its second season as the team’s jersey patch sponsor. A 76ers spokesperson said their Crypto.com relationship remains as strong as ever, calling the brand a “terrific partner.” As part of that deal, Crypto.com just aided in the rollout of the 76ers’ first of four NFT drops this year.
A person familiar with F1’s relationship with Crypto.com told my colleague Adam Stern that at this point in time it’s business as usual with the sponsorship, which includes naming rights to the Miami Grand Prix and a deal with the Aston Martin team. A second separate source familiar with UFC’s sponsorship offered the same assessment for the fighting series, saying its partnership is continuing unchanged currently.
Crypto.com CMO Steve Kalifowitz wouldn’t comment on the layoffs but told SBJ the company is committed to their partners. That falls in line with Kalifowitz’s comments in November on Crypto.com’s sports sponsorships remaining afloat in the aftermath of the FTX fallout.
- This week’s issue of SBJ is loaded with great tech content:
- Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Amazon Web Services have launched SportsX, a new research and development program focused on advancing innovation in sports as it relates to team performance and fan experiences. SBJ’s Andrew Cohen has more details.
- My colleague Joe Lemire has a good explainer of NBA All-World, the new hoops-focused augmented realty game from Niantic, the creators of the ultra-popular Pokémon Go.
- The Heat and AT&T got creative for a recent activation at Miami-Dade Arena that uses artificial intelligence to turn shooting heat maps and other player data into interactive digital artwork. More from SBJ’s Tom Friend here.
Three Connected Canvas boards were installed at the arena’s AT&T East Plaza giving curious fans digital art options
Images credit: Courtesy of the Miami Heat (digital art)
