The growth in new gamers that golf skilled (a million extra between 2022 and 2023 solely within the territories administered by the R&A) with the pandemic has been adopted by one other: that of apps. A cascade of latest instruments for beginner golfers to handle their rounds digitally, an ocean of prospects during which Golf GameBook stands out, which mixes these functionalities with others from Instagram or Fb.
A social community constructed round golf.
Golf GameBook, information
Born in Finland, it’s the concept of Mikko Manerus and Kalle Väinölä. The mission emerged in 2006, and took the type of an app with the huge enlargement of smartphones up to now decade.
It took off by way of agreements with programs and organizations such because the European Tour and in 2016 it took the definitive leap with a brand new model that has positioned Golf GameBook because the “third utility on this planet and the primary in Europe” of its form.
Ignacio Bernaldo de Quirós, the corporate’s prime supervisor in Spain, advised AS about this. He has a crew that features skilled gamers corresponding to Juan Salama and Pedro Oriol, and collaborates with All In Sports activities Administration, a illustration company that features Ángel Ayora, Ángel Hidalgo and Santi Tarrio in its portfolio and whose golf division is led by Javier Ballesteros.
And that’s one among its robust factors, the likelihood it affords its customers to work together with elite golfers, test their outcomes, the place they normally play… The launch on this nation has attracted an funding of two.5 million euros.
Amongst those that have injected cash into the mission is the footballer Álvaro Morata, who has golf as one among his nice passions off the pitch, and Álvaro Taracena, supervisor of Hyrox, which is inflicting a sensation on this planet of health.
“Mikko (Manerus)’s purpose when he created this was to generate group, not cash,” Bernaldo explains. And they’re attaining it. They estimate that they have already got greater than 1.5 million customers unfold throughout 100 international locations.
“Even in Nepal,” Bernaldo factors out. Amongst them are well-known figures from the world of sport, who, whether or not deliberately or not, act as ambassadors for the app when utilizing it: the Norwegian tennis participant Casper Ruud, footballers corresponding to Marcos Llorente, César Azpilicueta or Álex Remiro, the Finnish skilled golfer Sami Valimaki…
“Álvaro loves golf, they supplied him the mission and he determined to get entangled. The timing was troublesome, as a result of Álvaro was on the Eurocup, however we had been in a position to organize it. Having Álvaro with us can be vital for the remainder of the traders.
This spherical is proof that we’re producing curiosity all through Europe, not simply within the Nordic international locations,” Bernaldo explains. They’re already analysing the American market in quest of new alternatives. The design of the app, out there on each Google Play and the Apple App Retailer, which might be accessed with a free profile or with a premium subscription (3.33 euros per thirty days) that unlocks some options, is recent and intuitive.
As soon as inside, you possibly can comply with the matches of mates you’ve beforehand added stay, share outcomes and pictures, see their handicap and the membership they’re affiliated with… Its database has some 50,000 programs, and is provided with a GPS that exhibits you their actual location in every nation.
A wildcard, which serves each to work together with different golfers, and to maintain monitor of your personal leads to the model of Strava (a mannequin with which, they admit, they really feel recognized), in addition to to decide on a journey vacation spot in case your precedence is to search out one the place you possibly can play a couple of holes.
An app that revolutionizes the best way of enjoying golf on the beginner course and that, in mild of its information and the figures whose consideration it has already attracted, is right here to remain.
