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Long shot turns to green for golf course innovator

By Adam Handelsman

Arizona State graduate and Kyrene Corridor resident Douglas Lecker stood 250 yards into a long, hazard-filled par 5, looked into his golf bag and wondered which club to use.

It was one of those moments that has tempted nearly every golfer to wonder: With all of today’s innovation, why is there so little of it on the golf course.

As head of one of the strategic planning groups at a local engineering firm, Lecker was no stranger to innovation.

Standing there in the fairway, it dawned on him: Technology could help take the guessing game out of golf and let golfers improve their game. What followed was a classic story of the American dream-come-true.

Lecker and a research-and-development team he assembled spent 1993 creating, from Lecker’s garage, a golf course navigational system utilizing GPS technology.

Soon after they finished, ProLink, a Kyrene Corridor-based company with 85 local employees, was founded. The company’s primary focus: producing full-color, 10-inch monitors that attach to golf carts.

It’s the kind of innovation to which only a golfer could have given birth.

The monitor screen details a graphic overview of each hole and green, shows exact yardage to the pin, enables tournament scoring for corporate or group outings and even offers on screen tips for each hole from the club’s teaching pro.

The system’s interactive cross-hair feature lets golfers determine yardage from any point on the hole, alleviating the “what club do I use” quandary. An on-board communication system lets golfers order food and beverages from the cart.

The system, named Acutrak, incorporates three navigational sources: Global Positioning System, dead reckoning and map matching to provide 100 percent accurate cart locations, even under the most extreme course-terrain conditions.

As one of the first graduates of the Arizona Technology Incubator, the company was named National Graduate of the Year in 1994; soon after ProLink was rated the eighth fastest-growing company in Arizona.

In addition to solving problems plaguing golfers, the company also sought to benefit the golf industry. Lecker realized that pace-of-play was a significant factor in a course’s ability to generate revenue.

So he expanded his GPS system to double as a management tool for golf course operators.

ProLink golf courses have improved pace-of-play and show dramatically increased revenue as the system facilitates overall management efficiency.

Furthermore, the system has become the third largest revenue source for golf course operators.

Golfers typically pay a $5 charge that is included in the green’s fee; ProLink then shares a percentage of the revenue with the course.

The golfer has the option to discontinue the service after three free holes. There seem to be few dissatisfied customers, however. The company reports a 98 percent acceptance rate.

The course management services are Web-based, allowing operators to track course status even when they are off-site.

The management workstation, located in the clubhouse, tracks cart locations in real-time, records pace-of-play, monthly accounting and cart maintenance reports. The system also enables course employees to work more efficiently, say company officials.

One example is the ranger, who instead of traveling hole-to-hole looking for slow players can now see the slow moving players from his or her own cart.

The system is installed at more than 200 courses across the U.S. and around the world. Despite the current economic environment ProLink grew from $6 million in 2000 to $23 million by the end of 2001, with 60 percent growth projected for 2002.

“We are not stopping here,” says CEO Lecker.

“We are continuously improving the software and our sales team is signing up new courses everyday. We see the product evolving and our goal is to offer a completely customized golfing experience. The technology will let golfers who want to stay informed while on the course for four to five hours to choose to see a stock ticker, the news and possibly even email in the near future.” 

Scott Sugar, director of golf at Gold Canyon Golf Resort, is one of the system’s enthusiastic supporters.

“Since we are a destination resort, we wanted to enhance the golfing experience for our guests; ProLink gives them a technological advantage and increases the pace of play.”

ProLink is located at 7979 S. Kyrene Road, Tempe. Adam Handelsman is the New York City-based publicist for ProLink’s worldwide marketing efforts.

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