The Pellucid Perspective - May 2014 - (Page 5)

TEE TIME TECHNOLOGY OpenTee opens our golf season By Harvey Silverman T here are many ways people mark the start of the golf The GolfSwitch brand will remain intact and all existing prodseason. For some, it's the Masters. For others, it's when ucts and service will continue to be offered and supported. The there's no more snow. And for most, it's that first well integration of the two businesses will only serve to elevate the struck drive off the first tee. level of support that is provided to both GolfSwitch and OpenHere at Pellucid, the golf season doesn't start without the Tee customers. introduction of a new third-party tee time company. OpenTee GolfSwitch's online retail site is GolfHub.com, and it too unveiled itself rather prominently at the 2014 PGA Merchan- will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. The long-term dise show but was still flying under the radar until announc- brand strategy will ultimately revolve around providing the necing last week the purchase of GolfSwitch. The significance of essary outlets to make it easiest for golfers to book the tee times this acquisition is that it places OpenTee directly in the path of they're seeking, while always operating in the best interests of GolfNow - worldwide. course customers and their respective brands. Why is this significant? GolfSwitch owns U.S. patent no. Their economic model has not yet been finalized, but all signs 7,016,875. The technology behind this patent enables the ag- point to a commission-based structure. The plan is to deliver a gregation of tee times across disparate tee sheet platforms to be model that works for, not against, their golf course customers. displayed in real time on the Internet. We wanted to know what will make OpenTee different, and Back in 2002 Brett Darrow, the founder and previous owner were told in an email response that "It would be a misnomer of GolfNow, was quoted as saying, "As our busito consider OpenTee just a tee time outlet or ness grows and the number of destinations we aggregator. OpenTee is a dynamic marketing cover increases, it's important to have a proven, So GolfSwitch is company. We connect golfers to courses through scalable Internet tee time solution. The Golfthe underlying a broad array of technologies including courseSwitch API met our tough testing standards and owned booking engines, database deployment, technology enables us to tap into the largest inventory of loyalty marketing, channel and pricing managepremium golf courses online. We also like that ment, not to mention the OpenTee distributhat enables GolfSwitch is an open solution that doesn't retion site. Our mission is demand creation and quire golf courses to be locked into one specific GolfNow, Golf18 we believe that course operators should be the electronic tee sheet." ultimate benefactors of that effort. We possess Network, So GolfSwitch is the underlying technology the largest database of active golfers in the world and others to that enables GolfNow, Golf18 Network, and and we think there is value in helping those golfothers to operate. That technology is now in the ers and our golf course customer establish a conoperate. hands of a new owner and competitor, OpenTee. nection." OpenTee and now GolfSwitch are wholly It's that large database that may be the key. owned entities of Club Holdings LLC. HeadOpenTee claims to have access to over six milquartered in Broomfield, CO and established in 2004, Club lion golfers gained and obtained through its various holdings, Holdings is a holding company that invests and operates busi- now including GolfSwitch. That dwarfs by several times those nesses in the private luxury hospitality, corporate entertainment of GolfNow, EZLinks (TeeOff.com), Golf18Network and anyand golf industries. On the golf side, these include PGA TOUR one else. It creates a huge advantage and captures the credibility Experiences, PGA TOUR Vacations, PGA TOUR Academy, needed to sell OpenTee as a demand-driving partner to golf PGA TOUR Caddie, Shotzoom, Golfplan, Golfshot, OpenTee, courses. and now GolfSwitch. Its luxury hospitality business is led by OpenTee made it clear that the primary reason for purQuintess. Its website is www.clubholdings.com. chasing GolfSwitch was its connectivity to over 60 tee sheets OpenTee is led by CEO John Fechter, a golf industry vet- worldwide. You can read this as a huge jump start to launching eran. Others include Rick Shoemaker, COO; Ron Ward, CSO the OpenTee website, as obtaining APIs (Application Program (Chief Strategy Officer and former general manager of Active Interface) from each operating company can be a tedious and Golf ), Kristofer Agren, CTO; and Michael Read, SVP Busi- laborious endeavor. With that, OpenTee stressed that they have ness Development. no plans to use the GolfSwitch patent as a weapon against othWe interviewed Fechter, Ward and Read for this article. ers, like GolfNow, that license the patent. While needing to hold some cards close to their collective vests, Is that a nod to golf 's traditional collegial nature, a good they were forthcoming with some pertinent information, in- business decision that will last, or a short-term strategy that cluding the following statements: might change as things progress? We don't know, but we'll be GolfSwitch will be incorporated into the OpenTee business. watching. n www.PellucidCorp.com The Pellucid PersPecTive 5 http://www.GolfHub.com http://www.TeeOff.com http://www.clubholdings.com http://www.PellucidcorP.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2014

TOC
Why defectors are the key to stabilizing golf's participation decline
OpenTee opens our golf season
PGA Junior League helping golf catch up
Powering up long-term savings
Tom Abts: It's always fun at the Run
April '14 golf weather impact: Two (in a row) positive months
Dallas, TX: 'Big D' indeed, relatively speaking
ClubCorp acquires TPC properties in Michigan and North Carolina
It ain't over 'til it's over

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2014