If you didn’t get the chance to listen to all of our twelve Season 10 episodes, this bonus show gives you a recap of the great conversations I had with some of the golf industry's top influencers, innovators and entrepreneurs. Hopefullly this will inspire you to listen to a couple of the episodes listed below. Let us know which one you enjoyed the most and why you liked them!

Our Season 10 guests were:

Episode 1
Kelly Hunt - Founder of GolfHers (with guest host Dr. Greta Anderson)
Click to listen >> INSPIRING WOMEN TO BUILD A CAREER IN THE GOLF INDUSTRY

Episode 2
Matt Fisher - Creator of the Mr. Short Game YouTube Channel
Click to listen >> EMBRACING A “GIVE FIRST” ATTITUDE TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

Episode 3
Bryan Crawford - RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director
Click to listen >> THE COURAGE TO INNOVATE DURING TUMULTUOUS TIMES

Episode 4
Tom Cox - Co-Founder and DEO of Golfballs.com
Click to listen >> HOW TO TURN YOUR "AHA MOMENT" INTO A SCALEABLE BUSINESS VENTURE

Episode 5
Lisa O'Hurley - CEO and Founder of LOHLA SPORT
Click to listen >> LOOKING OUTSIDE THE GOLF BOX TO BUILD A PREMIUM GOLF BRAND

Episode 6
Tommy Southworth - President and COO of Southworth Development
Click to listen >> PIVOTING YOUR BUSINESS MODEL TO UNLOCK NEW CUSTOMER VALUE

Episode 7
Ron Powers - Head of Swing Suite Division at Full Swing Simulators
Click to listen >> MASTERING THE ART OF "NIMBLE AMNESIA"

Episode 8
Chris Noble - PGA of America Manager for Nextgengolf's National High School Golf Association
Click to listen >> SWING YOUR SWING AND PLAY YOUR GAME

Episode 9
Marc Simon - Event Vice President at PGA Golf Exhibitions
Click to listen >> TRANSFORMING THE GOLF EVENT BUSINESS DURING TUMULTUOUS TIMES

Episode 10
Jeehae Lee - Co-Founder and CEO of Sportsbox.ai
Click to listen >> THE JOURNEY FROM PRO ATHLETE TO SPORT TECH ENTREPRENEUR

Episode 11
Agustín Pizá - Founder and Architect at Pizá Golf Design
Click to listen >> HARNESSING THE POWER OF DESIGN TO REINVENT GOLF EXPERIENCES

Episode 12
Arjun Chowdri - Chief Innovation Officer with The PGA of America
Click to listen >> LOOKING OUTSIDE GOLF TO INNOVATE THE INDUSTRY AND GAME

Join our mission to make golf more innovative, inclusive and fun... and WIN some awesome golf gear!

As the creator and host of The ModGolf Podcast and YouTube channel I've been telling golf entrepreneurship and innovation stories since May 2017 and I love the community of ModGolfers that we are building.

I'm excited to announce that I just launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! As my Patron you will get access to exclusive live monthly interactive shows where you can participate, ask-me-anything video events, bonus content, golf product discounts and entry in members-only ModGolf Giveaway contests.

I'm offering two monthly membership tiers at $5 and $15 USD, but you can also join for free. Your subscription will ensure that The ModGolf Podcast continues to grow so that I can focus on creating unique and impactful stories that support and celebrate the future of golf.

Click to join >> https://patreon.com/Modgolf

I look forward to seeing you during an upcoming live show!... Colin

Special Guests: Agustín Pizá - Founder and Architect with Pizá Golf Design, Arjun Chowdri - Chief Innovation & Administrative Officer at The PGA of America, Bryan Crawford - RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director with Golf Canada, Chris Noble - Nextgengolf’s National High School Golf Association Manager, Jeehae Lee - Co-Founder and CEO at Sportsbox.ai, Kelly Hunt - Founder of GolfHers, Lisa O'Hurley - Founder and CEO of LOHLA SPORT, Marc Simon - Event Vice President for PGA Golf Exhibitions / RX Reed Exhibitions, Matt Fisher, Creator of The Mr. Short Game YouTube channel, Ron Powers - Head of Swing Suite Division at Full Swing Simulators, Tom Cox - Founder & CEO of Golfballs.com, and Tommy Southworth - President and COO of Southworth Development.

What do the photocopier and golf simulator business have in common? Guest Ron Powers connects the dots on this episode of The ModGolf Podcast.

Our very first ModGolf Podcast episode guest back in May 2017 was Ron Powers, who was at the time Chief Digital Officer at Topgolf. Ron joins host Colin Weston again to update us on the last four years of his entrepreneurial journey - from the euphoric high of scaling a new business unit to the crushing low of having it completely shut down by a global pandemic - and how they successfully reimagined a business in order to save it.

Click on the image below to check out our extended conversation with Ron on our Youtube Channel!

Want to learn more about Full Swing Simulators and Topgolf Swing Suite? Visit their website to see their portfolio of golf entertainment and training products.

You can learn more about Ron on his bio page.

Show Notes and Ron Quotes
"The future of gambling is Skills-Based Gaming, where you can place a bet on the outcome of your own golf shot performance. I see the evolution of skill gaming and the power of multiple networks coming into play where the user profile, the interconnectivity and the skill gaming components will change the dynamic dramatically."

"I don't think that I'm a particularly patient person but instead have a case of "Nimble Amnesia". I try a lot of things, set certain expectations on what I'm looking to achieve and if it fails I forget about it. Then I move on to the next one."

"So about the middle of July after a lot of sleepless nights, I woke up on a Friday evening just in a cold sweat panic. What is going on? How do I save the business? And I thought, "Gosh, if I could bundle this up and get it out from underneath Topgolf. Is there a way that I could sell this business perhaps to Ryan and allow him to operate it?" He's got the resources. He's got the expertise. He certainly knows the simulator space. It's his technology after all. So I called Ryan that Saturday morning and we crafted a wacky plan to sell the business to Full Swing and let them operate it and then we shared in the revenue that was generated from the current installations. Then we share in the revenue of any new installs. Topgolf liked the fact that we could keep the brand alive, maintain the same level of service and there would be a healthy revenue stream coming out of it and that's what we ended up doing."

Special Guest: Ron Powers - Head of Swing Suite Division at Full Swing Simulators.

Topgolf currently has 90+ venue locations in the US that generated over 20 million guest visits in 2023, with ambitious plans to expand to another 50 venues globally over the next three years. Topgolf has created the secret sauce that connects a younger audience to golf, but they're definitely not growing complacent over that success. Ron discusses how their cultural values, entrepreneurial spirit and passion to innovate pushes them to evolve and expand.

In this episode we discuss Topgolf's newest innovations and initiatives:

• Their stadium-based mobile experience called Topgolf Crush
• The Topgolf Tour, their two player team competition format that anyone can sign up for
• Topgolf International expansion plans, starting with Australia and Mexico
• how the acquisition of both Protracer and WGT Media help transform an entertainment company into a technology and media juggernaut
• Hotel-based Topgolf simulator experience called Topgolf Swing Suite
• Their charity endeavors and culture of "giving back" to benefit the communities which they operate in

Join our mission to make golf more innovative, inclusive and fun... and WIN some awesome golf gear!

As the creator and host of The ModGolf Podcast and YouTube channel I've been telling golf entrepreneurship and innovation stories since May 2017 and I love the community of ModGolfers that we are building.

I'm excited to announce that I just launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! As my Patron you will get access to exclusive live monthly interactive shows where you can participate, ask-me-anything video events, bonus content, golf product discounts and entry in members-only ModGolf Giveaway contests.

I'm offering two monthly membership tiers at $5 and $15 USD, but you can also join for free. Your subscription will ensure that The ModGolf Podcast continues to grow so that I can focus on creating unique and impactful stories that support and celebrate the future of golf.

Click to join >> https://patreon.com/Modgolf

I look forward to seeing you during an upcoming live show!... Colin

Special Guest: Ron Powers - Head of Swing Suite Division at Full Swing Simulators.

Links:

• Fireside - Episode Links