1. Embracing Challenges and Learning from Failure: Tim emphasizes the importance of facing obstacles head-on in entrepreneurship. He shares that his journey with Athalonz has been filled with challenges, particularly in transitioning from a business-to-business model to a direct-to-consumer approach. He learned that understanding the market and effectively communicating with consumers is crucial for success. This experience highlights the necessity of resilience and adaptability in the entrepreneurial landscape.

2. The Power of Passion and Purpose: Tim's story illustrates how personal experiences can fuel entrepreneurial endeavors. His background, including overcoming childhood trauma and his daughter's health challenges, inspired him to create Athalonz and engage in philanthropy. He encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to pursue their passions and ensure that their ideas align with a meaningful purpose, as this can sustain motivation through the inevitable ups and downs of business.

3. The Importance of Intellectual Property: As a patent attorney, Tim underscores the significance of protecting innovations through patents. He advises entrepreneurs to file for patents early, especially before publicly disclosing their ideas, to safeguard their intellectual property. This proactive approach not only protects their inventions but also adds value to their business, making it more attractive to investors and partners.

These takeaways reflect Tim's journey and insights, offering valuable lessons for anyone looking to navigate the entrepreneurial world, particularly in the sport and athletic product industries.

In 2021 Tim completed a 40 day Cycle to End Abuse from San Diego to Jacksonville Florida across the US to raise awareness about child sexual abuse. Click on this link or the image below to learn more. Every cent donated to the Cycle to End Abuse goes to a professionally vetted, non-profit organization dedicated to ending child abuse and/or aiding victims.

If you would like to connect with Tim, visit his bio page for contact information. To learn more about Athalonz click on the image below to visit their website and receive $30 USD off a pair of Mana Mangrove Pro shoes using Promo Code MODGOLF30. I don't get any commision, it's just our way of saying "Thanks for being a fan of The ModGolf Podcast!"

Sadly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in North America have been sexually abused as children and those statistics have not changed in 30 years. If you are a man suffering in silence and don't know where to turn to for confidential help, I encourage you to visit Heads Up Guys the world's leading Men's Mental Health resourse.

We want to thank our partner inrange® for presenting this episode of The ModGolf Podcast!

inrange® is a radar-based ball-tracking company that enhances the driving range experience by offering the most engaging gameplay and precise ball-tracking on the market. From private clubs and standalone commercial ranges, to multi-storey “Big Box” entertainment venues and limited-flight ‘compact’ ranges, Inrange® creates unparalleled experiences for every type of player - and unleashes your business’ growth potential. They are also the only software in the world offering a bay vs bay link up feature - allowing large groups to play against one another in teams across the entire venue. To learn more check out www.inrangegolf.com.

Join our mission to make golf more innovative, inclusive and fun... plus you can 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

We want to thank our friends at Golf Genius Software who have supported The ModGolf Podcast since 2019!

Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com.

Special Guest: Tim Markison - Founder/CEO of Athalonz.

"Shortly after that I had an idea to pivot. 24-hour gyms were really booming in Australia at the time. Why don't we have a 24-hour golf simulator place where you can go and practice anytime? We built two bays and it did well. Then I opened a second venue and that one nosedived and just blew up. I closed it down, lost a lot of money with the four simulators that I had there. I put them on Facebook Marketplace and they sold in a week. I'm like "hmm, this is interesting." So I bought five more simulators to sell. Why am I busting my chops with these venues when I can just bring them in, sell them, make my money and never hear from the customer again? It was great. I pivoted the business. Ended up closing down my second venue and just went completely e-commerce." ... Igor Vainshtein

We want to thank Golf Genius Software who have supported The ModGolf Podcast since 2019!
Are you a golf course owner, manager or operator looking to increase both your profit margins and on-course experience?

Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com.

"At the time it is horrendous. It feels horrible to lose a ton of money. I lost my money, I lost my parents money, which I borrowed from them and they had to bail me out again. It was embarrassing and as you are going through that pain, it's very difficult to see how you will come out of it. But if you're a true entrepreneur, perseverance and grit, you may not know how you're going to get there. But you've got to believe that you will get there. That's part of the job as an entrepreneur to find the "how". But if you don't believe that you'll get the you will never get there."

You can also learn more about Igor and connect on his bio page. And download the GolfTrak App for free at the Apple App Store for iPhone. https://golftrak.app

"I had extremely disastrous blow ups in my career. Moments where I thought there's no way I'm coming back from this. But if I look back now, I wouldn't change a thing because all those little "sliding doors moments" is why I'm here today. And I didn't go through the pain, maybe I wouldn't be able to appreciate the things and I would take things for granted and I wouldn't have the fun and the joy that I get out of life these days. For anyone who's experiencing that who's in that pain right now, I would say "You just don't know". There's a phrase "that it's gonna be alright in the end and if it's not alright, it's not the end."

Episode Chapters
02:40: How and when Igor took her first golf swing and who introduced him to the game
04:40: The story of Igor's family immigrating from the USSR to Melbourne Austrailia
06:20: Igor's early days as an entrepreneur and the experiences that have shaped his approach to life
08:15: Igor's return to golf and the creation of his 24-7 Golf venture
15:00: How a phone call with GOLFTEC CEO Joe Assel over the brand name grew over time into a flourishing collaborative partnership
18:00: The virtue of failure and how to learn from the experience and move on
22:00: We learn about the GolfTrak App, a "golf simulator in your pocket"
25:10: The camera technology and frame rate required to accurately track ball flight data
30:00: The business model behind GolfTrak App and the customer segment they appeal to
33:20: The GolfTrak App customer acquisition strategy
38:35: Igor shares his experience at the Golf Pitch Challenge and Mastermind Event in Orlando

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: Igor Vainshtein - Founder of GolfTrak.app.

On this fast-paced, engaging episode we learn about Carolin's not-so-straight-line in golf and business to arrive at the place she is along her entrepreneurial journey.

"I wanted to pivot, to change and people that are too planned will have a hard time succeeding because you have to fail fast and you have fail forward and you have to pivot and you have to change and sometimes you even have to change before we really see the reason why you have to change. I felt like I was treading water and it most certainly wasn't because I was working hard enough. I was doing my very best and I wasn't getting where I wanted to be. And then I said "I need a change!" ... Carolin Pinegger

We want to welcome our new Episode Presenting Partner Synthetic Turf International!

Synthetic Turf International - also known as STI - is the industry’s premier producer and supplier of high-quality, natural-looking grass products for residential and commercial applications, both indoors and out.

I have collaborated on projects and ventures with STI for over 10 years through my Sport Entertainment company, so I have seen first hand how innovative, passionate, and creative they are.

If you are considering an artificial landscaped grass lawn, a putting green, golf tee lines and hitting mats, a synthetic sports field, playground turf or a dog park, then I highly recommend STI for your next project. And all of STI's grass products are crafted completely in-house and proudly made in America.

To learn more about the endless synthetic turf application and installation possibilities that Synthetic Turf International has to offer, contact them at synthetic-turf.com.

"My dad was a serial offender in entrepreneurship. He has the right amount of crazy in him. Every entrepreneur needs that. To be misunderstood much more than anybody else who isn't an entrepreneur can tolerate. That's something that a lot of entrepreneurs need to hear. If you want to make it big, if you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to be ready to be criticized. You have to be ready to be misunderstood much much more than the general public because they don't want to put themselves in that situation. That's why they will never be entrepreneurs. It's just not up their alley and that is fine. There are different requirements for entrepreneurs than for somebody who isn't."

You can also learn more about Carolin and connect on her bio page.

The Golf Pitch Challenge & Mastermind Event
Do you have a new golf product or service venture that you want to take to the next level, even if it's only at the idea phase? If you do, we encourage you to apply for and attend the next Golf Pitch Challenge October 7-9 2024 in Miami Florida. Register now at https://golfpitchchallenge.com or email Carolin at c.pinegger90@gmail.com

At The 2024 PGA Show host Colin Weston recorded six conversations with golf industry innovators on the Show Floor Media Stage. First up was Carolin Pinegger, CEO at David Leadbetter Enterprises.

Carolin discusses the Golf Pitch Challenge that took place at the show, where six golf startups pitched to a panel of judges that included David Leadbetter and Shark Tank's Kevin Harrington.

The winning venture was The Grip Caddie https://gripcaddie.com who won $10,000 in consulting and partnership services.

We want to thank Golf Genius Software who have supported The ModGolf Podcast since 2019!
Are you a golf course owner, manager or operator looking to increase both your profit margins and on-course experience?

Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com.

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: Carolin Pinegger - CEO of David Leadbetter Entrerprises / The Golf Pitch Challenge / Online Golf Coach.

If you didn’t get the chance to listen to all of our ten Season 6 episodes, this bonus show gives you a recap of the great conversations I had over the past three months 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.

We're excited to announce our partnership with Golf Genius Software and look forward to telling you more about the elegant solutions they've created to simplify running golf tournaments. Go to https://www.golfgenius.com/ to learn more!

Our Season 6 guests were:

Episode 1
Professor Renée Mauborgne - Blue Ocean Strategy Co-author
Creating New Golf Markets That Make The Competition Irrelevant

Episode 2
Kevin Thistle - CEO of The PGA of Canada
Building Links That Welcome Newcomers To The Game

Episode 3
Tanelle Bolt - Founder, RAD Society / Adaptive Para-golfer
Finding a New Life and Purpose Through Golf

Episode 4
Dr. Roger Hawkes - Executive Director, The Golf and Health Project
Revealing The Health and Wellbeing Benefits of Golf

Episode 5
Gina Rizzi - Principal, Radius Sports Group
Connecting Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sport

Episode 6
Larry Gilhuly - USGA Agronomist with the TEE IT FORWARD program
TEE IT FORWARD To Increase Enjoyment and Participation in Golf

Episode 7
Rich Katz - Founder and Principal, buffalo.agency
Making a Positive Statement About "The State of Golf"

Episode 8
Adam Heieck - CEO of Youth On Course
Growing The Game By Providing Youth Access To Affordable Golf

Episode 9
Azucena Maldonado - Founder of Latina Golfers Association
Transforming Latina Women's Lives Through Golf

Episode 10
Dale Merritt - CEO of Golfpay
Creating Frictionless Customer Experiences For Recreational Golfers

Special Guests: Adam Heieck - CEO of Youth On Course, Azucena Maldonado, Founder of The Latina Golfers Association, Dale Merritt - CEO of Golfpay, Dr. Roger Hawkes, Executive Director for The Golf & Health Project, Gina Rizzi - President of ARCUS Marketing Group and Principal of Radius Sports Group, Kevin Thistle - CEO, The PGA of Canada, Larry Gilhuly - USGA Agronomist and TEE IT FORWARD program advocate., Renée Mauborgne - Co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift, Rich Katz - Katz Strategy, and Tanelle Bolt - Founder of The RAD Society and Adaptive Para-Golfer.

This week our host Colin Weston sits down for a conversation with Tanelle Bolt, an adaptive paragolfer who was paralyzed from the chest down resulting from an extreme sport accident six years ago. Tanelle shares her difficult yet personally rewarding journey of a life transformed after suffering this devastating injury.

Are you a golf course owner or operator struggling with the complexities of running tournaments? Do you want to spend less more running them while increasing revenue and profit margins? Check out our friends at Golf Genius to learn how they can help make the magic happen. >> https://www.golfgenius.com/

Tanelle is a passionate advocate for universal design and accessible barrier-free rights and still maintains an active outdoor lifestyle. Her love for the outdoors combined with her entrepreneurial spirit has led to the creation of Keener, which is an outdoor adventure app that allows adaptive athletes to “connect to disconnect”. Keenr completed the beta testing phase and launched in Q4 2019.

“My goal with RAD is to provide accessibility for people outdoors who can’t afford it and provide a platform for you to build your own inventory of adaptive equipment based on your own knowledge”. Click here to learn more about the work Tanelle does with The RAD Recreation Adapted Society. All donations go directly to getting an adaptive athletic out of the house and moving with joy in nature.

Special Guest: Tanelle Bolt - Founder of The RAD Society and Adaptive Para-Golfer.

Are you a golf course owner or operator struggling with the complexities of running tournaments? Do you want to spend less more running them while increasing revenue and profit margins? Check out our friends at Golf Genius to learn how they can help make the magic happen. >> https://www.golfgenius.com/

You can learn more about The PGA of Canada by visiting thier website.

We discuss The PGA of Canada / Golf Canada Future Links "Golf In School" Program

Kevin talks about the succes of The RBC PGA Scramble

RBC PGA Scramble presented by The Lincoln Motor Company Local Qualifiers Player Registration is NOW OPEN! >> https://rbcpgascramble.com/local-qualifiers/ With more than 150 Local Qualifiers across the country, you're bound to find a venue (or a couple) to tee it up at.

Local Qualifiers provide an opportunity for you and three friends to play a fun round of golf at your club or a course that you have wanted to play but never had the chance, all in an attempt to progress through the stages to the extravagant RBC PGA Scramble National Final at Cabot Links this October.

For more information about the RBC PGA Scramble presented by The Lincoln Motor Company of Canada, please contact Brittany Mullin at brittany@pgaofcanada.com

Special Guest: Kevin Thistle - CEO, The PGA of Canada.

To kick off Season 6 our host Colin Weston speaks to Professor Renée Mauborgne, co-author of the best-selling business books Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift. Renée provides a masterclass on how golf industry businesses and organizations can capture new demand, find new customers and make the competition irrelevant.

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

On this episode Renée and Colin cover a wide range of golf industry topics including:
• How non-golf oganizations like Cirque de Soleil, Airbnb and Apple have applied Blue Ocean Strategy to their success.
• How you can shift your organization from competing to creating with tools and a framework in a risk-minimizing way.
• If you want to create a blue ocean, you can’t look at what people are doing in your competitive set. You need to look outside to understand how to shift what you do to creat new value.

To learn more about how Blue Ocean Strategy has unlocked new growth in the golf industry, read Colin's blog post "Turning Green Fairways Into Blue Oceans".

Renée speaks about how successful companies have created new products/services/experiences that appeal to the ocean of "non-customers" that both Topgolf and Cirque de Soleil have captured. Rather than competing over the existing customers your industry fights over, Blue Ocean Strategy allows you to attact a much bigger audience found in the "Three tiers of non-customers".

To learn more about Blue Ocean Strategy, visit their website at https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/

Special Guest: Renée Mauborgne - Co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift.

If you didn’t get the chance to listen to all of our twelve Season 5 episodes, this bonus show gives you a recap of the great conversations I had over the past three months 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.

We're excited to announce our partnership with Golf Genius Software and look forward to telling you more about the elegant solutions they've created to simplify running golf tournaments. Go to https://www.golfgenius.com/ to learn more!

Our Season 5 guests were:

Episode 1
Joanne Cloak / Founder and CEO of JoFit
Empowering Her Team To Reach Their Creative Potential

Episode 2
Jared Williams / The Golf USA Team Coalition
Embracing Technology and Diversity to Create a Bright Future For Golf

Episode 3
Mike Zisman / CEO of Golf Genius
Sharing A Passion For Building Elegantly Simple Solutions to Solve Complex Problems

Episode 4
Dogu Taskiran / CEO of Stambol Studios
How Virtual Reality Will Influence The Future of Golf

Episode 5
Steve Rosen / General Manager of Indian Wells Golf Resort
Re-imaging Golf Experiences With "Shots In The Night"

Episode 6
Gia Bocra Liwski / Founder of Golf Experiences for Her
The Emergence of The Golf Industry "Mompreneur"

Episode 7
Dale Jackson / Canadian member of The USGA/R&A Joint Rules Committee
Revealing The Process Behind Creating The New Rules of Golf

Episode 8
Marc Simon / Event Vice President of PGA Golf Exhibitions for Reed Exhibitions
Creating The Innovation Lab For The Golf Industry

Episode 9
PGA Merchandise Show Recap - Part 1
Featuring Aimee Cho, HYPE Sports Innovation and The Global Golf Innovation Competition

Episode 10
PGA Merchandise Show Recap - Part 2
Featuring Latina Golfers Association Founder Azucena Moldenado and Tagmarshal Co-Founder/CEO Bodo Sieber

Episode 11
Matt Pringle / The USGA's Senior Director of Research, Science & Innovation
Creating a "Lean Startup" Culture At The USGA

Episode 12
Laurence Applebaum / CEO of Golf Canada
Creating Golf Moments That Matter

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: Azucena Maldonado, Founder of The Latina Golfers Association, Bodo Sieber, Co-Founder and CEO of Tagmarshal, Chris Månsson - Founder & CEO of Kinexit, Dale Jackson - Past Joint Rules Committee Member to rewrite of the New Rules of Golf 2019, Dave Shultz - Founder & CEO of NextLinks / REALiTEE Golf, Dogu Taskiran - CEO of Stambol Studios, Fabio Peral - Founder & CEO of GOLFBOO, Gia Bocra Liwski - Founder of Golf Experiences for Her, Ilan Hadar - Partner & CEO at HYPE Sports Innovation, Joanne Cloak - CEO and Founder, JoFit, Jon Claffey - Vice President of Marketing for Tour Edge Golf, Laurence Applebaum - CEO, Golf Canada, Marc Simon - Event Vice President for PGA Golf Exhibitions / RX Reed Exhibitions, and Mike Zisman - CEO, Golf Genius Software.

On this episode Laurence and Colin cover a wide range of golf industry topics including:
• How Golf Canada is focused on bringing new people to golf: “We are here to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf, to have more people playing more golf and to succeed within the sport than ever before”
• “As a governance body we have a responsibility to take the obstacles down and make golf more welcoming as a sport"
• Laurence talks about Golf Canada’s High Performance Centre at Bear Mountain GC in Victoria BC, which is their Longterm Player Development Program.
• “We adopted an equity and diversity policy and this policy has become so renowned that it’s being picked up by other national sport federations and golf associations and it’s really been driving the growth in female participation”.
• The Brooke Henderson Effect on young girls and boys. “What makes Brooke so special is that she’s incredibly relatable. She’s kind and thoughtful but on the course Brooke is a fierce and focused competitor”.
• They discuss National Golf Day in Canada, taking place May 1st on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
• Laurence talks about the philanthropic side of golf: "Golfers in Canada raise over half a billion dollars for charitable endeavours. That is more than the next 40 sports combined".
• The environmental, economic and social sustainability of golf and golf courses.
• Laurence talks about the new rules of golf and the fine work Diane Barabé - Golf Canada's current rules chair - does
• How Golf Canada looks to "make golf fun, fast and accessible and understandable, speeding it up and make it more relatable".
• “The platform of diversity and inclusion is going to put this sport on a trajectory that we haven’t seen before”.
•Laurence leaves us with this: "If your best moment is being on the golf course, we want to create more moments like that. Our goal is to bring joy to people’s lives in some small way".

Would you like to volunteer for Golf Canada? Recruitment for 2019 Tournament Officials (Starting, Scoring and Rules) is now open. Please click here to register and apply.

Golf Canada supports several charitable initiatives, including Golf For The Cure to raise money for breast cancer research and support. To learn more click here.

Through Golf Canada’s Future Links “Golf In Schools” program supported by Acura, children in 25% of all schools in Canada will have participated by the end of 2019.

About Laurence Applebaum
With a sports management career spanning nearly 25 years in Canada, Europe and the United States, Laurence Applebaum proudly returned home when he was named Chief Executive Officer of Golf Canada, the National Sport Federation and governing body for golf in Canada in July of 2017.

In his role as CEO, Applebaum oversees the executive management and strategic direction of Golf Canada’s multi-faceted business which includes Membership & Sport; Commercial Operations overseeing all revenue and marketing activities; fostering key relationships at the provincial, national and international level; and conducting Championships including the RBC Canadian Open and CP Women’s Open. Applebaum also represents Golf Canada on numerous committees and advisory councils including the Golf Canada Foundation, National Golf Foundation, the International Golf & Health Initiative, the PGA TOUR’s President’s Cup, the Canadian Olympic Committee and We Are Golf comprising the leadership of the Canadian golf industry.

Special Guest: Laurence Applebaum - CEO, Golf Canada.

On this episode Matt and Colin refer to the "Lean Startup" approach to quickly experiment with and validate ideas/products/services. The USGA has embraces Lean Startup's abilitity to "Apply entrepreneurial management to drive innovation in any size organization or sector".

Matt's team also organized the 2017 North American Golf Innovation Symposium in Vancouver, BC and will be stage it again in 2019 in Tokyo.
5th Golf Innovation Symposium March 2019 in Tokyo

About Matt Pringle
Matt joined the USGA in 2000 after completing his doctoral thesis at McMaster University. He was hired to the position of Research Engineer and from 2000 to 2016, held the positions of Sr. Research Engineer, Research Manager, and Technical Director in the Equipment Standards group. Beginning in 2016, Matt has lead a new team at the USGA called Research, Science, & Innovation with a mission to create innovative tools that help golf facilities improve the golf experience and reduce the consumption of key resources. Most recently, his team organized the 2017 North American Golf Innovation Symposium in Vancouver, BC and unveiled the USGA Resource Management tool which enables golf facilities to quantify and conduct what-if scenario analysis on the resources used to maintain their course.

Some of Matt's contributions to the USGA include the invention of the pendulum test for spring effect in drivers, the USGA TruFirm turf firmness measurement system used at all USGA championships as well as many other PGA TOUR and major golf championships. Matt is also the co-inventor of the USGA’s GrooveScan portable groove measurement system and the USGA’s flagstick pace of play tool. He is also the inventor or co-inventor on seven United States patents related to golf.

In 2010 Matt was named to Sports Illustrated’s GOLF's 40 Under 40: The most influential people in golf under 40-years-old.

About The USGA
"The USGA promotes and conserves the true spirit of the game of golf as embodied in its ancient and honorable traditions. It acts in the best interests of the game for the continued enjoyment of those who love and play it". This is the USGA Mission Statement and these core values are embraced by Matt's Research, Science and Innovation Team. Visit http://www.usga.org/ to learn more about The USGA and www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rsi.html to see the fine work Matt and his RSI team are delivering.

Special Guest: Matthew Pringle - Senior Director of Research, Science & Innovation with The USGA.

Latina Golfers Association

Through their participation in the Latina Golfers Association, women are able to break gender and cultural barriers through golf as well as enhance their personal lives. http://latinagolfers.com/

Tagmarshal

Tagmarshal is a golf course intelligence and pace management platform that improves efficiencies and increases revenue through actionable data and intuitive technology. https://tagmarshal.com/

Golf Scope VR putting App

Golf Scope is an iPhone app that uses your phone's camera to understand the topography and speed of a putting green. http://www.golfscope.com/

Tour Edge Golf https://www.touredge.com/

New Balance Golf Shoes

You can watch the video of Colin's conversation with Perry Reynolds from New Balance Golf on our YouTube Channel >>

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: Azucena Maldonado, Founder of The Latina Golfers Association, Bodo Sieber, Co-Founder and CEO of Tagmarshal, Jon Claffey - Vice President of Marketing for Tour Edge Golf, and Ryan Engle, Founder and CEO of GOLF+.

The ModGolf Podcast was very active at this year's PGA Show, as our host Colin Weston had two educational series speaking engagements, talking first about "How to make your golf business more entrepreneurial and innovative by unlocking new customer markets", followed by moderating "The Golf Innovators Panel". The ModGolf Podcast was also invited to host a live show from The PGA Show Radio Stage and we've included our interviews Aimee Cho and HYPE Sports Innovation in this episode.

Interviewing HYPE Sports Innovation Partner Ilan Hadar and Global Golf Innovation Competition winner, GolfBoo Founder/CEO Fabio Peral as part of The ModGolf Podcast live at The PGA Show

We spoke with the creators and some of the startups involved with The "Global Golf Innovation Competition", a Shark Tank-like pitch event staged by HYPE Sports Innovation. Over 100 golf startups applied for the ten finalist spots at The PGA Show, where each company had five minutes to pitch in front of a live audience and judging panel comprised of golf industry entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders.

You can find out more about Kinexit and their techology powered AI golf fitness solutions at https://kinexit.com/

CEO Chris Månsson (far right) and the Kinexit team

Colin speaks with TDJ Golf Vice President Dante Reynolds after their participation in The Global Golf Innovation Competition. TDJ Golf has created the technology platform that combines on-course play with fantasy golf to create a "Virtual Pro-Am" that increases the fun factor and awards prizes. Go to the TDJ Golf website to learn more >> http://tdjgolf.com/

HYPE Sports Innovation Partner Ilan Hadar http://www.hypesportsinnovation.com/

Colin and previous guest Aimee Cho, Golf Instruction YouTuber "Golf With Aimee"

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: Aimee Cho - Golf Instruction YouTube Star on "Golf With Aimee", Chris Månsson - Founder & CEO of Kinexit, Dante Reynolds - Vice President at TDJ Golf, Fabio Peral - Founder & CEO of GOLFBOO, and Ilan Hadar - Partner & CEO at HYPE Sports Innovation.

Attention all you fabulous women golfers - we are partnering with our good friends at KINONA Sport to offer 20% OFF your purchase using promo code MODGOLF! CLICK TO SAVE on tops, shorts, pants, skirts, dresses, skorts, jackets, vests and accessories!

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This week our host Colin Weston speaks to Marc before the 2019 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando to learn what it takes to put on a Business-to-Business conference of this magnitude and what industry insights has he acquired over his 20 years working on it. To learn more about The PGA Merchandise Show, check out their website and this short YouTube video.

About The PGA Merchandise Show
The 66th annual PGA Merchandise Show took place January 22-25 2019 at The Orange Country Convention Center in Orlando FL. Featuring over 1,000 exhibitors and 40,000 attendees from 80 countries The PGA Merchandise Show lives up to its tagline: “The Major of Golf Business.”

New for 2019 was The Global Golf Innovation Competition, staged by HYPE Sports Innovation. This "Shark Tank-style" event featured 10 golf startup finalists who pitched in front a distinguished judges panel comprised of golf industry entrepreneurs, investors and influencers.

HYPE Sports Innovation Partner Ilan Hadar

Main Entry To The PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando

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We love and wear the premium, stylish golf accessories that Deuce offers up to take your golf look to the next level. Visit their website and use the Promo Code MODGOLF for 15% off your purchase of hats, gloves, belts, duffle bags and cigar pouches!

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About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the parent company of PGA Golf Exhibitions and a leading B2B events organizer, hosting more than 500 events in 40 countries. They manage two major PGA events, and their portfolio also includes New York Comic Con, ComplexCon and a recently launched show called POPSUGAR Play/Ground. They incorporate many innovations and best practices from those events into our events for PGA.

The first PGA Merchandise Show was in 1954, and they have been at the Orange County Convention Center each consecutive year since 1985. Reed's mission is to "Help companies drive revenue and customer loyalty through exceptional events".

The Exhibitor Floor at The PGA Merchandise Show

Special Guest: Marc Simon - Event Vice President for PGA Golf Exhibitions / RX Reed Exhibitions.

On this episode of The ModGolf Podcast, we hear Gia's inspiring story as she combines her golf instruction, broadcast journalism, event hosting and hospitality experiences to create a livestyle business that addresses the pain points and barriers most new women golfers face. Gia is one of a growing legion of "Mompreneurs": female entrepreneurs who simultaneously juggle the demands of building a business from the ground up while raising a young family.

With over 20 years industry experience, and having been recognized as one of America’s Top 40 Under 40 instructors, and most recently a Golf Digest Best of State Instructor, Gia brings a very personalized and special approach to Golf Experiences for Her.

Golf Experiences For Her are customizable, golf and lifestyle centered events providing female executives, clients, and members with an enjoyable opportunity to advance their golf game, while simultaneously incorporating sophisticated off-the-course group experiences – all in an empowering, first-class environment. We recommend going to Gia's website to learn more about Golf Experiences For Her >> https://www.golfexperiencesforher.com/

Are you a woman with an entrepreneurial idea but are overwhelmed and intimidated by where to start? There are plenty of great resources for pre-startup women-lead businesses, and SheEO is a great place to connect for support, tools and inspiration. Click here to learn more.

Special Guest: Gia Bocra Liwski - Founder of Golf Experiences for Her.

Rather than just talk about the problem of how to deliver a more engaging golf experience that appeals to a wider audience, Steve Rosen - who is the General Manager of Indian Wells Golf Resort - did something about it. And that something is the immersive, multi-sensory experience they call "Shots In The Night".

What is Shots In The Night?
Indian Wells Golf Resort - a 36 hole golf property with a 53,000 sq. ft. clubhouse - is owned by the City of Indian Wells and operated by Troon Golf. Troon realized that to create additional value they had to become more entrepreneurial and deliver a different golf experience that would appeal to a different customer. After Steve Rosen met Nextlinks founder Dave Shultz in 2016, he realized they had found their technology partner that could deliver an unexpected, compelling, gamified and fun golf experience that first time golfers right up to professional level players would love.

Lights, music, laser projections, lit targets, glow in the dark golf balls, food trucks and drinks overlayed on both the existing putting green and 12 hitting bay driving range are the mix of ingredients that successfully create Shots In The Night.

You can listen to our engaging episode with Nextlinks Founder Dave Shultz to learn about their technology solutions that transform the golf entertainment experience by clicking here.

Images from Shots In The Night

Special Guest: Steven Rosen - General Manager, Indian Wells Golf Resort / Troon Golf.

Dogu's professional design experience across multiple industries allows him to reference validators outide golf to see the trends and patterns that are emerging to influence the future of the game. Here are some of our favourite quotes and insights from this episode:

• “From a venue perspective, a location-based entertainment standpoint, I think golf experiences are moving in a direction that falls in the lines of the movie Ready Player One. There will be worlds over worlds, overlaid on top of the real world that we are experiencing and enhancing and golf is no exception”.
  

• “Virtual Reality in its core is not just about simulation, but to gather data to improve the overall experience as all of your body movements are being tracked".

• "Edgar Dale’s Cone of Learning quantifies the percentage of what we remember after two weeks based on how we experience the information. Virtual Reality creates the learning conditions that allow you retain 90% of the your experience because you are actively participating rather than passively observing".
  

• “Virtual Reality can trigger people’s imagination and trigger intense emotions, creating a bond between the experience and yourself”.

• “Volumetric Movies will be in our future, where you can engage in a first person experience and become a character within a movie, creating a real sense of empathy for the character by literally putting yourself in their shoes. Rather than watching Neo in The Matrix, you become Neo in The Matrix”.
  

• We also discuss the impact the burgeoning eSports industry will have on all traditional sports, including golf. Dogu shares how live streaming video platforms such as Twitch and global eSport tournaments staged by Red Bull Battle Grounds are attacting millions of concurrent users.
  

You can learn more about how Stambol Studios is "Creating Magical Worlds in New Realities" on thier website.

Special Guest: Dogu Taskiran - CEO of Stambol Studios.

The number of entrepreneurial insights Mike crammed into this episode is truly phenomenal. Here's our Top 10 list of what we're calling "Mike's Nuggets of Wisdom":

• “There’s a difference between building software and building software products. Software products rely on customer self-sufficiency if they want to scale and make money”.
• “What I love about the cloud is the elasticity, the scalability".
• “You have to listen very carefully to your customer because they usually have excellent ideas”.
• “When you look in the code and there is ‘if the customer equals ‘x’ do this, that is the death of you. You end up with this mish mash of spaghetti code”.
• “Great leaders always simplify” (actually a General Colin Powell quote!)
• “We are constantly working on the user experience by reducing complexity”.
• “Elegance is a simple solution to a complex problem. Not a complex solution to a complex problem.”
• “You will never be as smart as all your customers put together”.
• “We’re totally virtual, we live on Zoom and Skype for collaboration and sit on top of all these other software products. If we had to do this all this stuff alone it wouldn’t be very productive. Today you don’t have to do any of that. You can focus 100% of your energy on the business problem you are trying to solve.”
• “Someone will always come up your tailpipe” referencing Clayton Christiansen’s The Innovators Dilemma of how competitors solve a simpler problem for a smaller market that you’re not interested in.

Michael referenced The Trough of Disillusionment" as one of five stages on Gartner Group's "Hype Cycle", which is a graphical representation of the stages a technology goes through from conception to maturity and widespread adoption. You can find out more about the technology Hype Cycle here.

To learn more about Golf Genius, check our their website and YouTube Channel.

Special Guest: Mike Zisman - CEO, Golf Genius Software.

A primary purpose of the NGCOA is to support a more competitive and balanced marketplace in public golf that is both supportive of the golf course owner, operator, PGA professional and the golf consumer. They accomplish this by promoting adoption of online tee time guidelines and best practices among technology companies, online agents, marketers, golf course operators, general consumers, and the media.

Want to learn more about Jared and The NGCOA? Check out their website.

Special Guest: Jared Williams - Managing Director of the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition.

For our opening episode of Season 5, Colin speaks with Joanne about her transformation from high school gym teacher to one of The LPGA Women's Network "22 Disruptive Women who are Spearheading a Revolution in Golf".

Combining a love for golf with insights gained during her modelling career, Joanne set her ambition on creating fashionable, athletic women's golf wear that actually fits properly. Joanne's mix of audaciousness, empathy, passion and tenacity are the character traits that have led to the success of JoFit as a distinctvie golf apparel brand.

After meeting Joanne at The PGA 2018 Fashion & Demo Experience in Las Vegas for a brief yet engaging interview as part of our final episode of Season 4, many of you listeners asked to hear the extended version of the JoFit story. We happily accepted the request, as Joanne is one of the most fun and straightforward guests we've had on The ModGolf Podcast.


Joanne at The PGA 2018 Fashion & Demo Experience JoFit booth

You can find out more about JoFit and Joanne on their website.

One of the themes on this episode was the representation and funding gaps that female founders still face. This Boston Consulting Group article titled "Why Women-Owned Startups Are a Better Bet" explains the situation and the opportunity.

Special Guest: Joanne Cloak - CEO and Founder, JoFit.

We are very proud to state that we met our personal goal to have women on as at least half of our Season Four episode. We managed to achieve this goal just as our friends at WE ARE GOLF and The LPGA Women's Network announced their #inviteHER campaign to introduce new women to the game of golf. We will continue to tell golf startup and innovation stories from a women's perspective as the golf industry starts to unlock the underserved female market segment and the massive business potential it holds.

If you didn’t get the chance to listen to all of our twelve Season 4 episodes, this bonus show gives you a recap of the great conversations I had over the past three months 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


Click to claim your exclusive ModGolf Podcast listener offer of $50 off a GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation and/or TECFIT Club Fitting ($125 value)

Our Season 4 guests were:

Episode 1
National Golf Day 2018
Letting Washington Know About Golf's $84 Billion Annual Economic Impact

Episode 2
Gianna Rojas / Founder, Adaptive Golfers
Giving The Gift of Golf: Passionately Advocating For Golfers of All Abilities

Episode 3
Engage. Empower. Support. - Stories from Women's Golf Day 2018
Covering Women's Golf Day from Fraserview GC in Vancouver BC Canada

Episode 4
Jennifer Poth / Operation Military Support Golf
Reviving The Golf Courses That Revitalize Our Heroes

Episode 5
Jay Karen / CEO of The National Golf Course Owners Association
Innovating and Advocating For A Vibrant Golf Industry

Episode 6
Aimee Cho
"Golf With Aimee" YouTube Golf Instructor and Social Media Influencer

Episode 7
RISE WITH US.
Stories From The Special Olympics USA Games Golf Event

Episode 8
Rhett Evans
CEO of The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

Episode 9
Michael Breed
Embracing Resilience and Gratitude to Shape His Approach to Golf and Life

Episode 10
KINONA
Shaping An Innovative Approach For Women’s Golf Apparel

Episode 11
Donna Hoffman / Founder and President, Women on Course

Episode 12
Innovation Stories From The Las Vegas PGA Fashion & Demo Experience

Special Guests: Aimee Cho - Golf Instruction YouTube Star on "Golf With Aimee", Clint Sanchez - Executive Director, The First Tee of Greater Washington, DC, Dianne Celuch - Co-Founder and CEO of KINONA women's golf apparel, Donna Hoffman - Founder and President, Women On Course, Elisa Gaudet - Founder of Women's Golf Day, Gianna Rojas, aka: The "One Handed Lady Golfer" - Founder of Adaptive Golfers, Jay Karen - CEO, The National Golf Course Owners Association, Jennifer Poth - Founder and CEO, Operation Support Military Golf, Joanne Cloak - CEO and Founder, JoFit, Lewis Myers - Commissioner of The Congressional Golf Association, Megan Coburn - Founder & CEO, ParTee Golf, Michael Breed - Host of "A New Breed of Golf" on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Rhett Evans, CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Rich Katz - Katz Strategy, Steve Jubb, PGA - CEO/Executive Director of The National Alliance for Accessible Golf, Steve Mona - CEO of The World Golf Foundation, Tami Fujii - Co-Founder of KINONA women's golf apparel, and Tom Monaghan - President, Monaghan Golf Group.

Although smaller in size than the January PGA Show in Orlando, this vibrant event coincides with Las Vegas International Fashion Week and is a trade-only event where PGA and Golf Industry Professionals come together in a relaxed and intimate setting. They preview the latest apparel, accessories, equipment, training aids and technology, while participating in a comprehensive education program taught by world-class industry experts.

Episode Highlights


Megan Coburn, CEO of ParTee Golf


Kevin and Jeff from RANGE BALL Golf Apparel


EeZee Golf Co-Founder and President Steve Fluke


JoFit CEO and Founder Joanne Cloak


Adaptive Golfers ambassador and MS fighter Brett Lang


Jeff and Todd from Dormie Workshop


Chris Esteves, President of P2 Golf Products


Alex DePallo, Brand Marketing Manager for Callaway Apparel


During the live fashion show


After the live fashion show


Mizzen+Main Phil Mickelson dance ad

Special Guests: Joanne Cloak - CEO and Founder, JoFit and Megan Coburn - Founder & CEO, ParTee Golf.

Click to claim your exclusive ModGolf Podcast listener offer of $50 off a GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation and/or TECFIT Club Fitting ($125 value)

Donna was recently named by the LPGA as a 'Disrupter' and one of 22 women Spearheading a Revolution in Golf.

You can learn more about Women on Course, their previous and upcoming golf travel getaways, sign up as a member and find an upcoming local women's golf event near you on their website.

You can find Women On Course on social media here:
Twitter and Instagram: @women_oc
Facebook: Women On Course
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4106240/profile

Special Guest: Donna Hoffman - Founder and President, Women On Course.

Click to claim your exclusive ModGolf Podcast listener offer of $50 off a GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation and/or TECFIT Club Fitting ($125 value)

You can learn more about KINONA, their Champions program and have a look at their spring/summer collection on their website.

You can find KINONA on Instagram to see how they are building community online around their hashtag #MyKinonaStyle, as fans and influencers share their outfits and stories. @_kinona

Special Guests: Dianne Celuch - Co-Founder and CEO of KINONA women's golf apparel and Tami Fujii - Co-Founder of KINONA women's golf apparel.

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

You can learn more about Michael on his bio page.

We want to thank our sponsor partner Golf Genius Software for helping support The ModGolf Podcast

Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com.

Michael’s story of transforming personal hurdles like Dyslexia and sport injuries into the superpowers that define him is truly inspirational. His genuine desire to embrace his shortcomings while demonstrating gratitude, patience, resilience and curiosity has helped pave the path for his entrepreneurial journey.

As promised, here are the links to the work from two of Michael's inspirational mentors and heroes: John Maxwell and Nick Vujicic.

John Maxwell's book “Thinking For A Change”

Nick Vujicic's YouTube video: "No Arms, No Legs, No Worries"

Special Guest: Michael Breed - Host of "A New Breed of Golf" on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.

This week's episode is brought to you by FAIRWAYiQ

Turning Golf Courses into Smart Courses
FAIRWAYiQ is a technology solution connecting golf professionals to their customers and superintendents to their equipment and labor resourses. Learn more at www.FAIRWAYiQ.com.

Episode Highlights
• Rhett shares his personal and professional background, along with his first connection with golf.
• The history and mandate of The GCSAA and how they support innovation throughout the golf industry.
• Rhett and The GCSAA's connection to WE ARE GOLF.
• The philanthropic side of The GCSAA's culture of “giving back” through volunteering and community building at National Golf Day.
• GCSAA innovative initiatives to help grow the game and the golf industry, including their Best Management Practices program.
• Environmental advocacy and stewardship through innovation thought leadership and sustainability practices.

Our favorite Rhett quotes...
“We are founded on a culture of benevolence, giving back and helping one another” 11:29
"We need to form strategic partnerships in order to develop innovative ideas and achieve entrepreneurial success" 13:25
“We are much stronger when we come together and have a unified voice, which is the premise behind establishing the WE ARE GOLF coilition” 13:38
“In any business, to be able to form those alliances and add strength to your portfolio were you may not have them really bodes well for creating a recipe for success” 14:20

The GCSAA is the top professional association of golf course superintendents. Thier mission is to serve members, advance the profession and grow the game.

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America is the professional association for the men and women who manage and maintain the game’s most valuable resource — the golf course. The golf industry recognizes the association as a key contributor in elevating the game and business.

To learn more about The GCSAA, visit their website at https://www.gcsaa.org/

Special Guest: Rhett Evans, CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

You can check out Andrew's enaging work on his Boston Sports Mania blog, along with the impactful work being done by The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.

To learn more about The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games golf event that Andrew covered, have a listen to our full episode >> https://modgolf.fireside.fm/044-special-olympics-usa-games

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

Episode Highlights
• Aimee shares her early days in golf, including the first time she picked up a club with her dad growing up in Orlando and her college playing days at The University of Florida.
• Aimee's "AHA" moment which led to giving her the courage to launch the "Golf With Aimee" YouTube Channel.
• Aimee shares her thoughts on the future of golf, especially the women's game and her place in it.

Aimee and Colin meeting at The 2018 PGA Show Demo Day in Orlando

Special Guest: Aimee Cho - Golf Instruction YouTube Star on "Golf With Aimee".

Episode Highlights
• Jay shares his early love affair with golf, along with the purpose and mandate of The NGCOA.
• We learn the history of The NGCOA and how the organization has organically evolved over time.
• The NGCOA's involvement in the creation of Golf 20/20, WE ARE GOLF and National Golf Day, along with help removing golf from the federal government's "Sin List".
• The value of National Golf Day to help educate legislators on the importance of golf as a $84 billion / year industry.
• NGCOA's mandate to plan and stage events such as The Golf Business Golf Tech Con in Las Vegas and The Golf Industry Show.
• How The NGCOA reconciles the complexity of pursuing environmental sustainabilitiy practices with a sound golf operation business model.
• How enabling data-collecting technology helps golf course operators make better maintanence decisions.
• Jay shares how The NGCOA supports adaptive golf to enable more people with disabilities access and enjoy the game.
• Jay's look into the golf crystal ball to tell us what he thinks the game will look like twenty years from now.

Jay Karen and World Golf Foundation CEO Steve Mona at The 2018 National Golf Day press conference

Special Guest: Jay Karen - CEO, The National Golf Course Owners Association.

Click to claim your exclusive ModGolf Podcast listener offer of $50 off a GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation and/or TECFIT Club Fitting ($125 value)

About This Episode

Operation Support Military Golf (OSMG) – the non-profit organization which exists to enhance service members’ morale, welfare, and recreation by improving golf courses and associated facilities at 145 base facilities worldwide – invites those who value all that current and former U.S. service members give their country, to back their appreciation with a donation during Military Appreciation Month (May).

As a groundbreaking, global, military supportive, 501(c)(3) non-profit, OSMG’s goal is to provide a $1 million infusion to each military golf facility. Helping increase accessibility for our wounded and aging veterans, reducing golf facilities maintenance costs through modernized equipment, and increasing overall visual enjoyment are just some of the specific benefits from the upgrades.

Click HERE to learn more about and how to donate to OSMG.

Special Guest: Jennifer Poth - Founder and CEO, Operation Support Military Golf.

Click to claim your exclusive ModGolf Podcast listener offer of $50 off a GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation and/or TECFIT Club Fitting ($125 value)

Episode Highlights
We get the Women's Golf Day 'big picture' as Colin speaks with Founder Elisa Gaudet while attending National Golf Day in Washington D.C. Elisa discusses her motivation for creating Women's Golf Day and the sense of purpose that it has created. She also talks about the power of partnerships with likeminded groups like Pinehurst and Evian Resort that provide the resources, connectivity and credibility that has allowed WGD to quickly scale around the world.

At the Women's Golf Day event at Fraserview GC in Vancouver, Colin speaks with event organizer Joan Probert and Head Teaching Professional Tom Monaghan to learn about their previous WGD hosting experience and what they have planned for the 60 women that evening.

Colin then reveals the fun, engaging stories from the women participating at the Vancouver WGD event, both during the two hour skills clinic and post-golf social time.

Like what your heard and want to hear a bit more? You can find our previous engaging conversation with Elisa Gaudet on our Season 1 Episode HERE

You can learn more about Women's Golf Day by visiting their webite.

Special Guests: Elisa Gaudet - Founder of Women's Golf Day and Tom Monaghan - President, Monaghan Golf Group.

Click to claim your exclusive ModGolf Podcast listener offer of $50 off a GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation and/or TECFIT Club Fitting ($125 value)

About This Episode
• Gianna starts her story at birth, when she was born without fingers on her left hand. She shares the pain of childhood isolation and bullying due to her physical challenge, which eventually became a source of strength once she became The March of Dimes poster child.

• We learn how the support of her husband, friends and a meeting with Arnold Palmer gave Gianna the confidence to embace her calling to create Adaptive Golfers.

• Gianna shares the touching story of David Finn, a wheelchair-bound golf nut who gets the chance to take - and make - a putt for the very first time. You can watch the video of David draining that putt here.

You can learn more about the impactful work Gianna is doing with Adaptive Golfers here along with the opportunity to donate to this life-changing initiative.

Special Guest: Gianna Rojas, aka: The "One Handed Lady Golfer" - Founder of Adaptive Golfers.

Sponsored By:

• GOLFTEC Season 4 Title Sponsor: GOLFTEC, our Season 4 Title Sponsor has generously offered our ModGolf Podcast listeners a $50 credit!

Are you a golf course owner or operator struggling with the complexities of running tournaments? Do you want to spend less more running them while increasing revenue and profit margins? Check out our friends at Golf Genius to learn how they can help make the magic happen. >> https://www.golfgenius.com/

Overview
A coalition of the game’s leading associations and industry partners hosted its 11th annual National Golf Day on April 24-25, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

National Golf Day celebrates the game’s nearly $84.1 billion economy, nearly $4 billion annual charitable impact and many environmental and fitness benefits. More than 300 industry leaders met with Members of Congress, the Executive Branch and federal agencies across 230 meetings on April 25 to discuss golf’s 15,000-plus diverse businesses, two million jobs impacted, tax revenue creation and tourism value.

"With one in 75 U.S. jobs impacted by golf, the industry plays a significant role in stimulating our economy nationwide,” says Steve Mona, CEO of World Golf Foundation, administrator of WE ARE GOLF. “Last year, a record 2.5 million people tried golf for the first time, further cementing why it is vital to share golf’s interests with our country’s lawmakers, showcasing the game’s many economic, charitable and fitness benefits.”

2018 Recap
Golf industry leaders arrived Monday, April 23 to participate in the second annual Community Service Project on the National Mall the morning of Tuesday, April 24. The project featured 175 participants across 18 projects focused on beautification, preservation and helping the National Park Service with turf deferred maintenance.

Following the Community Service Project driven by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, WE ARE GOLF Board Members, media and other special guests headed to the National Press Club for a special release of the U.S. Golf Economy report, which reported a total economic impact of $84.1 billion for the industry and a 22% increase since the previous report five years ago.

(L to R: Jay Karen, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association and WE ARE GOLF Chairman; Steve Mona, CEO of World Golf Foundation)

On Wednesday, April 25, golf industry leaders participated in a record-high 230 meetings with Members of Congress representing 40 states to discuss the game's economic, social and environmental contributions to society.

Conversations with Senate, House of Representatives, Executive Branch and federal agencies’ directors coincided with Tuesday’s release of the new U.S. Golf Economy Report. It shows $84.1 billion in activity was directly driven by golf in 2016, a 22% rise from $68.8 billion in the 2011 report. The industry supported $191.9 billion in total annual activity, including 1.89 million jobs and $58.7 billion in wages and benefits. Demonstrating golfers’ and businesses’ commitments to charity, $3.94 billion was raised in 2016 through tournaments and other golf activities.

Golf social media influencer and WE ARE GOLF ambassador Paige Spiranac being interviewed during National Golf Day

Special Guests: Clint Sanchez - Executive Director, The First Tee of Greater Washington, DC, Delphine Tseng - Founder and President, Landseer Communications & Consulting, Elisa Gaudet - Founder of Women's Golf Day, Jennifer Poth - Founder and CEO, Operation Support Military Golf, Lewis Myers - Commissioner of The Congressional Golf Association, Michael Breed - Host of "A New Breed of Golf" on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Rich Katz - Katz Strategy, Steve Jubb, PGA - CEO/Executive Director of The National Alliance for Accessible Golf, and Steve Mona - CEO of The World Golf Foundation.

Sponsored By:

• GOLFTEC Season 4 Title Sponsor: GOLFTEC, our Season 4 Title Sponsor has generously offered our ModGolf Podcast listeners a $50 credit!

We heard some amazing stories from a diverse group of guests who discussed how technology, entertainment experiences, music, celebrity, hospitality and community building combine and intersect to shape the future of golf.

If you didn’t get the chance to listen to all of our 12 Season 3 episodes, here’s a recap of the great conversations I had over the past three months.

Our Season 3 guests were:

Episode 1
Sal Syed / Arccos Golf CEO and Co-Founder
Harnessing Big Data, Machine Learning and AI to Create a Paradigm Shift in Golf Game Improvement

Episode 2
Dean Reinmuth / The "Dean of Golf"
Stories From Four Decades Passionately Dedicated To Golf Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Episode 3
Dr. Michael Cooper / Chairman of the GOLF 20/20 Diversity Task Force
Transforming The Golf Industry to Align With a Changing World

Episode 4
Pete Charleston / GolfLogix Co-Founder and President
Empowering All Golfers To Read Greens Like A Pro

Episode 5
Sandy Cross, Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion for The PGA of America
"You're Invited!" Growing Golf With the Power of Diversity and Inclusion

Episode 6
Alex Myers / Golf Digest Senior Writer and Host of The Grind
Expanding Golf's Fanbase by Not Taking The Game So Seriously

Episode 7
Pascal Stolz / CEO of eGull Pay
Creating the Uber of The Golf Industry

Episode 8
YuChiang Cheng / President, Topgolf Media
Telling Impactful Stories That Build Community Beyond Golf

Episode 9
Tajma Brown and Rechel Mabee, PGA WORKS and PGA REACH
Attracting and Nurturing Diverse Talent To Ensure a Strong Future For The Golf Industry

Episode 10
Dave Cavossa / Founder & CEO of CaddieNow
Harnessing Technology to Transform One of Golf's Great Traditions

Episode 11
Dr. Christopher Cain / Director, PGA Golf Management University Program at UNLV
Creating A Golf Education Culture That Is Different, Daring and Diverse

Episode 12
Dennis Riedel / Co-Founder of Chef's Cut Real Jerky
Transforming a Golf Course Friendship Into A Deliciously Innovative Business Model

Special Guests: Alex Myers - Golf Digest Senior Writer and host of The Grind, Dave Cavossa - Founder and CEO of CaddieNow, Dean Reinmuth - The Dean of Golf / Swing Coach, Dennis Riedel - Co-Founder of Chef's Cut Real Jerky, Dr. Christopher Cain, Ph.D., PGA, CHE, Director, PGA Golf Management University Program at UNLV, Dr. Michael Cooper - Chairman of the GOLF 20/20 Diversity Task Force, Pascal Stolz - CEO of eGull Inc., Pete Charleston - GolfLogix Co-Founder and President, Rachel Melendez Mabee - PGA WORKS Program Specialist with The PGA of America, Sal Syed: Co-Founder and CEO, Arccos Golf, Sandy Cross - Chief People Officer at The PGA of America, Tajma Brown - PGA WORKS Fellowship Intern, and YuChiang Cheng - President, Topgolf Media.

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If you love golf, we have exclusive deals on golf gear and services that we use and support! We launched The ModGolf Pro Shop to offer you - our ModGolfers - 10-20% OFF exclusive discounts using promo code MODGOLF. We have curated a diverse selection of awesome brands like KINONA, deWiz Golf, ODIN Golf, Back2Basics Golf, Deuce and Project72Golf to help you play better and look great while doing it. CLICK TO SHOP AND SAVE.

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In this episode we learn:

• The value of having a co-founder with opposing skill sets, but with an aligned passion for the sustainable culture and vision of the company.

• That without meticulous execution, attention to detail and an unrelenting focus on quality. the most innovative company will not thrive and scale.

• The challenges faced and the difficult choices to be made by all successful startups as they quickly grow, whether they're in the tech sector or the food industry.


Blair, Colin and Dennis at the Chef's Cut Real Jerky booth - 2018 PGA Show

To learn more about Chef's Cut Real Jerky...

Want to try some Chef's Cut Real Jerky? Go to their website and subscribe to save 15% on your orders.

Follow CCRJ on Instagram Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and special offers.

Click here to watch The Chef's Cut Real Jerky Story.

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After testing the deWiz biofeedback swing analysis product we were so impressed with the results that we invited them to offer you an exclusive 10% OFF your purchase using promo code MODGOLF! CLICK TO SAVE on deWiz to see (and feel) lasting results in your swing tempo, length and path improvement.

Special Guest: Dennis Riedel - Co-Founder of Chef's Cut Real Jerky.

Episode Highlights:

• How Topgolf and competitors like Drive Shack and Flying Tee have created gamified hospitality experiences that appeal to both golfers and non-golfers to help spearhead what Chris refers to as "Golf's Renaissance".

• Chris and Colin discuss Simon Sinek's TEDx talk "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action" and how golf industry leaders would benefit from aligning their organizational culture with this mindset. You can watch Simon Sinek's YouTube video >> here

• How the UNLV mantra of "Differnt. Daring. Diverse." has helped create an inclusive and purpose-driven culture at The PGA Golf Management University Program.

• Discussing the ways golf looks to innovate and maintain its long term sustainability without disrupting the traditions of the game.

• How The Major Series of Putting in Las Vegas not only levels the competitive playing field between men and women, it also serves as a test lab for the development of "skills-based gaming".

• Chris shares his excitement for the opening of their new Center for PGA Golf Management, named in honor of their golf coach Dwaine Knight.


"People don't buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it"... Simon Sinek

If you or one of your high school age children are interested in learning more about The PGA Golf Management Program at UNLV, have a look at their Facebook page and website

Special Guest: Dr. Christopher Cain, Ph.D., PGA, CHE, Director, PGA Golf Management University Program at UNLV.

CaddieNow is dedicated to bringing caddies (loopers) back to the game and giving every golfer the option of taking a caddie at every course. CaddieNow enables everyone to "Play Like the Pros," exercise more, and help employ and grow the game with the crucial 14-20 year-old demographic.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

• Dave's love of golf and experience caddying as a young adult that have both informed and inspired the creation of CaddieNow.

• How CaddieNow has created a Blue Ocean Strategy that looks outside the golf industry for a business roadmap that opens up an uncontested market space.

• CaddieNow's ability to build a three-sided marketplace, solving problems and creating opportunities for golf course operators, golfers and on-demand caddies.

• How CaddieNow embraced The Lean Startup Methodology when they launched in 2016 by starting with a "Minimal Viable Product" in the Washington DC golf market. After their first year of using the build/test/measure/learn feedback loop of validated learning, CaddieNow refined and enhanced their product offering before scaling up to over 100 golf courses nationwide in 2017. CaddieNow will more than double the number of golf courses offering their on-demand caddie booking service in 2018, positioning themselves to scale across the 15,000 golf courses in the US.

You can watch The CaddieNow Explainer YouTube video >> here

Special Guest: Dave Cavossa - Founder and CEO of CaddieNow.

Under the guidance of Program Specialist Rachel Mabee, the PGA WORKS mission is to establish a deep bench of diverse talent who are prepared to ascend to key employment industries in the game and business of golf. Starting with two Fellows in 2017, PGA WORKS looks to scale up in 2018 to place interns in at least eight of the 41 PGA Sections. Their goal is to eventually have PGA WORKS Fellowship programs in all 41 PGA Sections across the US, acting as a catalyst to start reshaping the $70 billion/year golf industry to look more like America does.

Tajma shares her story as a sports business professional who currently works for the Middle Atlantic PGA of America as their inaugural PGA WORKS Fellow. As a Fellow, she works with the junior golf department coordinating tournaments, assists with communication efforts for the office, but most importantly she engages with the community to inspire and encourage young people from diverse backgrounds to consider golf as both a recreational pursuit and career option.

As Rachel Mabee mentioned in this episode, if you are or know someone like Tajma who is a recent college graduate with a passion for sports, there is still time to apply for the 2018 PGA WORKS Fellow positions. Go to www.pgareach.org to apply now.

Links to topics we discussed in this episode:

The mission of PGA REACH is to positively impact the lives of youth, military, and diverse populations through the game of golf.

PGA WORKS, including a wonderful video showcasing Tajma's journey.

PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is the flagship military program of PGA REACH. PGA HOPE introduces golf to Veterans with disabilities to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.

Special Guests: Rachel Melendez Mabee - PGA WORKS Program Specialist with The PGA of America and Tajma Brown - PGA WORKS Fellowship Intern.

Topgolf now has 41 US venues that served over 13 million customers in 2017...and growing. They are expanding globally, starting with Australia, Mexico, Canada and Dubai, along with bringing to market complimentary products, services and experiences.

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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

Topgolf Media has been entrusted to not only tell the Topgolf story, but to create innovative brand-extending content such as Topgolf Tour, Chef Showdown, The Hook and the In Focus series. Topgolf Media also helps facilitate new market growth with products such as Topgolf Swing Suites, TopTracer, TopTracer Range and Topgolf Crush.

YuChiang shares how his personal entrepreneurial journey of experimentation, curiosity and the occasional failure has shaped his leadership style that encourages staff members to embrace a startup mindset that looks for new opportunities to make things better.

Related links discussed in this episode:

Topgolf Tour
Shotmakers, which premieres April 9 on Golf Channel
Topgolf Chef Showdown
In Focus | Topgolf
TopTracer
TopTracer Range
The Hook with Charles Kelley
Topgolf Crush
WGT - World Golf Tour
The Lean Startup Methodology

Some of YuChiang's podcast picks (after The ModGolf Podcast, of course):

Freakonomics

Hidden Brain: A Conversation About Life's Unseen Patterns

This American Life

Special Guest: YuChiang Cheng - President, Topgolf Media.

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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

Just like Uber and Lyft - where you can see in real time where your ride is - eGull Pay is built on the same principles to optimize existing physical assets and create a more customized experience for the consumer.

Once logged-in and issued a code by the golf course, the eGull Pay App enables GPS tracking and follows the player during their round. eGull Pay overlays the golfer's path over precise geo-coordinates to know how many holes have been played. When leaving the course the golfer is billed only for what they played, with no need to go back to the pro-shop.

eGull Inc CEO Pascal Stolz (left) at The 2018 PGA Merchandise Show

To Learn More About eGull Pay:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eGullGolf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIo7-_ZYdQMljlfNyksPTbw
Website: http://www.egull.golf/
Product Review: https://mygolfspy.com/egull-pay/

Special Guest: Pascal Stolz - CEO of eGull Inc..

Alex Myers is a senior writer for Golf Digest, where he has worked for nine years. Alex plays a wide variety of roles for GolfDigest.com, but most notably, he's the creator of The Grind, a weekly column and video series. Prior to that, he spent four years covering golf and other sports for The Journal News. In his spare time, Alex is an avid golfer with three green jackets from his annual buddies trip. But please, don't ask him if he's ever had a hole-in-one.

On this episode of The ModGolf Podcast, Alex speaks with host Colin Weston about:

• His introduction to golf as a kid traveling twice a year to Florida to hang out with his grandfather

• A "week in the life" as a golf and entertainment journalist

• How Golf Digest approved the creation of both The Loop and The Grind and the entrepreneurial approach Alex took when pitching them

• The ability for golf to expand by attracting a new audience through alternative formats and experiences such as GolfBoard, MSOP The Major Series of Putting, The European Tour's Golf Sixes and Topgolf

• How influential pro athletes like Steph Curry and Kelly Slater help raise the cool factor of golf in the eyes of their huge fan base

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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: Alex Myers - Golf Digest Senior Writer and host of The Grind.

As Chief People Officer, Sandy tenaciously works to educate, train, promote and implement the need for the $85 billion/year golf industry to change its operating philosophy and the way it conducts business.

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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

On this episode of The ModGolf Podcast, Sandy Cross speaks with host Colin Weston about:

• how The PGA of America is working to build diversity and inclusion into the fabric of the golf industry. Watch Sandy's Golf Channel interview to learn more: http://www.golfchannel.com/video/pga-americas-cross-talks-diversity-inclusion-golf/

• PGA REACH, their charitable foundation with the mission to positively impact the lives of youth, military and diverse populations by enabling access to PGA Professionals, PGA Sections and the game of golf. You can learn more at: https://pgareach.org/

• The PGA WORKS Fellowship, which aspires to be the most valuable entry-level employment opportunity for individuals from diverse backgrounds to garner experience in all facets of the golf industry. You can learn more at: https://pgareach.org/services/pgaworks/

• PGA HOPE, which is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. PGA HOPE introduces golf to Veterans with disabilities to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. The Hero video, featuring Jack Nicklaus, highlights the positive impact that PGA HOPE has on the lives of our Military Veterans: https://pgareach.org/services/pgahope/

Sandy Cross, The PGA of America and PGA REACH on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SandyCross and https://twitter.com/PGAREACH
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PGAcom/ and https://www.facebook.com/PGAREACH/

Special Guest: Sandy Cross - Chief People Officer at The PGA of America.

We also learn about the strong company culture of Pete's Scottsdale Arizona based company, along with the volunteer work he does with The Thunderbirds in help make the Waste Management Phoenix Open the charity juggernaut that it has become.

You can learn more about Golflogix and Putt Breaks here:

Website:http://www.golflogix.com/page/putt-breaks/
Twitter: @golflogix
Instagram:@golflogix
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GolfLogix/

You can download the Golflogix App for free for iPhone or Android.

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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: Pete Charleston - GolfLogix Co-Founder and President.

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After testing the deWiz biofeedback swing analysis product we were so impressed with the results that we invited them to offer you an exclusive 10% OFF your purchase using promo code MODGOLF! CLICK TO SAVE on deWiz to see (and feel) lasting results in your swing tempo, length and path improvement.

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On this episode of The ModGolf Podcast, Dr. Cooper speaks with host Colin Weston about:

• How Golf 20/20 and The World Golf Foundation is working to build diversity and inclusion in the golf. Watch Dr. Cooper's Golf Channel interview to learn more: http://www.golfchannel.com/video/golf-2020-task-force-aims-diversity-throughout-golf-industry/

• His involvement as a Board Member with The National Black Golf Hall of Fame. Learn more about the NBGHF at http://www.nationalblackgolfhalloffame.com/

• Celebrating Black History Month by honoring the contributions of Charlie Sifford, Renee Powell, Calvin Peete and Lee Elder. This African American Golfer’s Digest article covers all four of them nicely: http://www.africanamericangolfersdigest.com/honoring-golfs-legends-during-black-history-month/ and Golf Digest wrote a strong piece on Charlie Sifford and his courageous golf journey: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/charlie-sifford-mcdaniel

• The power of partnering with existing African American Golf Community Builders to fast track the diversity mandate. The African American Golfer’s Digest http://www.africanamericangolfersdigest.com/ is a helping bring all these groups and initiatives together.

• Dr. Cooper's work as Tournament Director of The Advocates Pro Tour, which provides the platform for young African American men to play professional golf on a mini tour and connect with the inner city communities where they play. Learn more about the Advocates Pro Tour at: http://www.protour.advocatesgolf.org/

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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: Dr. Michael Cooper - Chairman of the GOLF 20/20 Diversity Task Force.

Learn more about Swing Coach by watching Dean's explainer video on our YouTube Channel >> https://youtu.be/bYi8bjNeveU
and on the Swing Coach website: https://www.swingcoachclub.com/

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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: Dean Reinmuth - The Dean of Golf / Swing Coach.

We’re now going to take a couple of weeks off to develop Season Three, which we’ll startup up in late January. We already have some great guests with engaging stories lined up, along with the plan to finding the newest and brightest golf innovations while we attend the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

Speaking of the PGA Show, I’ll be there moderating “The Golf Disruptors Panel” on January 24, where I sit down with five of my previous episode guests to discuss their entrepreneurial journey. If you plan on being at The PGA Show, please join us if you want to hear some inspirational stories and learn how you can transform your business approach to become more innovative and entrepreneurial.

We just launched our ModGolf Podcast YouTube channel, where we posted videos from the MSOP Championships, including a Stadium Tour and a Skills Based Gaming Putting Demonstration. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA63EnBgsW86r1jTtyHyo9w/videos

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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: Dave Grant - Burke Putters and Guillaume Béland - Président & General Manager at MSOP / Lune Rouge.

The Major Series of Putting (MSOP) 2017 inaugural season staged over 200 local North American local qualifiers, culminating with the 10 day Las Vegas Championships.

MSOP entertains, challenges and thrills people with the simplest and most important golf element – Putting. To achieve such, MSOP sanctioned the largest series of putting tournaments in history with millions of dollars in total prize money. In fabulous Las Vegas, MSOP built a temporary stadium one block off of the famous Strip, adjacent to Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Participants from all walks of life had the opportunity to test their skills - and nerves - as they competed over several days in high-stakes championship putting tournaments on a 20,000 square foot putting surface created by world-leading Nicklaus Design and fabricated/installed by Southwest Greens. The fun was open to all as qualifying events were held around North America in collaboration with local golf courses.

MSOP is a subsidiary of Lune Rouge Innovation, a new creative company inspired and controlled by Cirque du Soleil Founder Guy Laliberté. For more information, visit www.MSOP.com.

Take a tour of The MSOP Las Vegas Stadium with host Colin Weston and subscribe to The ModGolf Podcast YouTube channel to watch our latest video content: MSOP Vegas Stadium Tour

MSOP Stadium Las Vegas

Brad Faxon and Alex Phillips at The MSOP Las Vegas Championships

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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: Alex Phillips - MSOP and World Long Drive Competitor, Bobby Sloan - Project Manager and Designer / Senior Associate at Populous, Brad Faxon - MSOP ambassador and Fox Sports 1 golf analyst, Brent Walker - Project Manager, SMT Sports Media Technology, Guillaume Béland - Président & General Manager at MSOP / Lune Rouge, Jeff Keas - Principal in Charge for MSOP Stadium / Senior Principal at Populous, Marcia Mendonca - MSOP Las Vegas Amateur Competitor, and Melissa Mabanta - Professional Golfer.

Indoor Golf Arena® plans to first build in the Netherlands at a location close to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The innovative concept has been developed by Indoor Golf Solutions International, a co-operation between Dutch companies Outstanding Enterprises and ZJA Zwarts & Jansma Architects.

Key Project Features:

• 12.000 m2 of undulating synthetic grass practice areas, designed by Nicklaus Design and installed by Southwest Greens
• State-of-the-art Foresight Sports golf simulators, all set in a comfortable, golf-themed Spike Bar
• Hitting bays providing facilities to practice awkward lies
• An unconventional indoor driving range, with extensive food and drink menu, served at the bays by hosts
• Wellness and golf fitness facilities
• Top quality restaurant, bar and lounge areas
• Comprehensive conference and meeting facilities
• A 200 room, four star hotel
• PGAs of Europe Training Center
• Environmentally controlled indoor facilities, allowing golf to be played and practiced all year round

According to Jon, "The concept of Indoor Golf Arena® is based on a thorough understanding of the current trends in the golf market (supported by extensive market research in cooperation with Colliers International and AECOM), and a clear vision for the future of golf which includes developing the Indoor Golf Arena® brand as a complement to traditional outdoor facilities".

To learn more about Indoor Golf Arena® and Jon Standing:

Website: Indoor Golf Arena®
Twitter: @IndoorGolfArena
Facebook: @indoorgolfarena
Jon's bio: On LinkedIn

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

Project Images

Special Guest: Jon Standing - Founder, Indoor Golf Arena.

Sharing the belief that technology can make a huge difference in elevating the game of golf, 18Birdies creates more ways to conveniently enjoy golf by looking to enhance and improve the entire golfing experience. Eddy realized "technology could make golf more accessible, engaging, social and fun, so when you bring all these elements together you can reshape how the game is played, perceived and experienced. To fundamentally change golf you need connectivity and integration for everything and everyone on the same platform in order for the magic to happen".

There are golf apps out there that focus on one aspect of the game, but Eddy realized that to truly succeed, a mobile golf app needed to "close the circle by connecting everyone in the golf industry". 18Birdies set out to create the big, ambitious vision with a platform that delivers everything that golf can possibly do.

To learn more about 18Birdies, visit their website and download their free app for either iOS or Android.

Twitter: @18BirdiesApp
Facebook: @18birdies
Instagram: 18birdiesapp

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

In this episode you'll learn:

• Eddy’s “AHA” moment and the inspiration for creating 18Birdies.
• The golf problem 18Birdies looked to solve by harnessing the power of technology to create fun, social and globally connected experiences.
• How customer feedback revealed the popularity of realtime gaming and betting during your golf round as the key to driving growth.
• The importance of building a powerful brand that reflects your purpose and culture.
• Identifying what value 18Birdies can bring to each user and partner, then stringing them all together.
• Creating the one portal that manages everything a user does across their golf life.
• “Every hole is a new game” - Eddy describes how Game Bets and Targets work.
• The gamification of 18Birdies through Dream Games and Golf Bucks.
• Launching the concept of 18Birdies at the 2016 PGA Merchandise Show.
• The power of partnership like they have with NextGenGolf to propel themselves forward.
• The 18Birdies team and the entrepreneurial culture that passionately inspires them to build best golf experiences possible.
• Supporting their remote, high-performance corporate teams based in Oakland and Shanghai
• Next steps - the future of 18Birdies in 2018 and beyond.

Special Guest: Eddy Lui - Founder and CEO, 18Birdies.

On this episode we discuss the Women's Golf Day movement and how in only five years has become a significant platform to help grow the game of golf. Topics include:

• Elisa's professional experience and insights that inspired her to create Women's Golf Day, including the creation of Executive Golf International https://execgolfintl.com/ and the writing of her "Two Good Rounds" book series https://twogoodrounds.com/

• The power of partnerships that have provided Women's Golf Day with the resources, relationships, influence and expertise needed to scale up this global event to over 900 locations in 68 countries with over 500,000 participants. Partners include:

• The World Golf Foundation http://www.worldgolffoundation.org/
• Executive Women's Golf Association EWGA http://www.ewga.com/
• Club Corp http://www.clubcorp.com/
• Billy Casper Golf https://www.billycaspergolf.com/
• PGA Tour Superstore http://www.pgatoursuperstore.com
• The European Golf Course Owners Association EGCOA http://www.egcoa.eu
• The Ladies European Tour http://ladieseuropeantour.com/
• The International Golf Federation IGF https://www.igfgolf.org/

• Building your tribe, starting with grass roots relationship building through their Country Ambassador Program volunteers, such as Dominika Antoniszczak (Poland), Lisa "Longball" Vlooswyk (Canada) and Lynn McCool (Ireland).

• The global economic influence and purchasing power of women and how golf has struggled to capture this massively lucrative demographic. We discuss the Golf Digest article "Is this golf's $35 billion opportunity?", based on a report titled "The Global Economic Value of Increased Female Participation in Golf" which concludes golf's global economy could be boosted by $35 billion if it converted more interested women into the game. http://www.golfdigest.com/story/is-this-golfs-dollar35-billion-opportunity

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

ABOUT WOMEN'S GOLF DAY:

From the US to Australia, South Africa to Switzerland, International Women's Golf Day (WGD) has grown in scope and size, increasing its global reach 68% in only its second year. Thousands of women from Silicon Valley to Wall Street to the Square Mile in London will converge in 68 countries at more than 900 locations for the one day event on Tuesday, June 1, 2021.

The 2017 event venues included public and private golf courses, driving ranges and retail outlets around the globe. All locations conducted a two-hour golf clinic or offer a nine-hole round of golf, and will culminate with a two- hour social affair where the expected 50,000+ participating women can network and socialize. WGD responded to the COVID pandemic with a virtual global event in 2020 and are excited to be back in venues around the world in 2021 for a safe and fun golf experience that both beginners and accomplished players will enjoy.

Women's Golf Day (WGD) is a global golf initiative launched in 2016 to introduce women of all ages to the game and encourage existing female golfers to "tee it up" in a fun and highly inclusive environment. The inaugural one day event was held June 7, 2016 at over 485 locations in 28 countries and went on for 24 hours straight around the globe. Women teed it up starting in Australia and ending in Hawaii, introducing thousands of new golfers to the sport while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community. WGD is a collaborative effort by a dedicated team, golf management companies, retailers and organizations all working together worldwide to Engage, Empower and Support girls and women through golf.

To learn more about and to sign up for Women's Golf Day and its upcoming event on Tuesday June 1, 2021 visit www.womensgolfday.com, @womensgolfday, #WomensGolfDay

Special Guest: Elisa Gaudet - Founder of Women's Golf Day.

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 recently launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! By joining you will get access to exclusive live weekly 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

We'd love to hear from you! Have any ideas or guests you'd like to hear on future episodes? Email me at colin@modgolfpodcast.com to start the conversation.

Want to listen to our most downloaded episode? That would be our conversation with Blue Ocean Strategy co-author Professor Renée Mauborgne! Click to listen in.

CREATING NEW GOLF MARKETS THAT MAKE THE COMPETITION IRRELEVANT - RENÉE MAUBORGNE / BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY

Special Guests: Jared Solomon, CEO and Co-Founder of Five Iron Golf and Renée Mauborgne - Co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift.