Greg Norman announced his latest business venture as part of an interview that closed out Day 1 of the ’17 Stadium Sports Marketing Symposium. Norman revealed details behind The Shark Experience powered by Verizon, which will work with Club Car to install 10-inch video screens in golf carts to provide connectivity on courses across the country. Golfers will be able to not only track their shots and distances, but listen to music and watch live video. Norman said the deal was more than four years in the making. Carts with the connected video screens will make their widespread appearance early next year after being tested at two courses this year. Norman said he had the idea after years of being involved in GPS tracking on golf courses. “I thought, 'Wouldn’t it be cool if we could put a screen on every golf cart that Club Car produces, which is about 50,000 a year ... and be able to give everybody the opportunity of doing what a hotel does, which is give you a choice of what you want to watch,'” he said (THE DAILY). Norman promoted the venture on NBC's "Today" this morning, with he and Lauer arriving on the show's outside set in one of the connected Club Car carts. Lauer said the cart is the “coolest thing you’ve seen in a long time.” Lauer: “This is about improving the golf experience.” NBC’s Megyn Kelly: “This I would actually do.” Lauer said this will “open golf up to a whole new audience” (“Today,” NBC, 11/2).
NEW AGE GOLF: GOLF.com's Ryan Asselta noted the cart itself is "just like any other, until you look up." The HD-screen is "loaded with options" like CNN headlines, ESPN radio and even cooking programming. Norman said, "Golfers have had little bits and pieces of this available to them with their iPhone, earbuds and bluetooth speakers. Now it's all integrated into one. They now have all of this technology brought into one place, in a golf cart." The speakers are "angled so that the bulk of the sound is directed at the driver and passenger in the cart." The carts will also have "food and beverage options, shot tracer and eventually hole in one technology that will give golfers an opportunity to win prizes if they record a hole in one" (GOLF.com, 10/30). FORBES.com's Erik Matuszewski wrote the idea is "as much connectivity as a user would want." There are "different price points that would tack $5, $7 or $10 onto the standard cart fee, with course operators getting a share of the revenue" (FORBES.com, 11/1). GOLF DIGEST's Max Adler noted a "truly web-connected golf cart that enables streaming music and entertainment isn’t a revolutionary idea, but it does seem overdue." These are already "in cars, airplane seats, treadmills, home refrigerators and so many other devices." The best feature of the cart are the two speakers "designed and angled to project sound directly at the center of the bench." The tone is "loud and rich, but diminishes to a point of near inaudibility 40 feet from the cart" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 11/1).
