Greg Norman Believes His Newest Venture Will Enhance Golf Experience

Greg Norman the businessman is always thinking. He’s pretty successful too so when The Shark announces an idea, it usually pays to listen. Some might remember his World Golf Tour idea back in 1997 that then Tour commish Tim Finchem blew off–then essentially stole.

Anyway, Norman’s latest epiphany is putting iPad-like screens into golf carts. GolfDigest’s Max Adler has the details.

So perhaps a truly web-connected golf cart that enables streaming music and entertainment isn’t a revolutionary idea, but it does seem overdue. We already have this in cars, airplane seats, treadmills, home refrigerators and so many other devices. Was it not inevitable that someday the computer in the golf cart was going to start acting like one?

Either way, give Greg Norman Company credit for being first. The Shark circled partners at Verizon, Club Car and GPSi (a provider of GPS systems to more than 75,000 carts in more than 50 countries), and in early 2018 will deliver a fleet equipped with “Shark Experience” to select courses. How facilities approach the revenue-sharing model will vary, but golfers might expect to pay a $5 or $10 up-charge to try the new cart.

 

He sees similarities between what this cart could do for golf and what snowboarding did for skiing. A way to loosen the vibe and get more people involved.

Among the early returns from the pilot program that tested the cart at two courses—one with a $140 green fee and the other at less than $40—was a happy dad who went 18 holes with his young son for the first time. The boy’s interest in hitting the ball went in and out over the four hours, but the screen always picked up the slack.

I’m a little more skeptical only because many players enjoy the quiet and serenity of golf. Yes, if you want to watch your favorite team live while swatting shots go right ahead. But we do have cell phones that do the same thing and I wonder how many will shell out the extra bucks for the added service.