The Pellucid Perspective - November 2017 - 14

THE LAST WORD

Shark Experience unlikely to break golf 's chains

uch like the current tenant at
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Greg Norman doesn't shy away
from hyperbole. When Norman let on to
a group of golf writers at his latest new
golf course design unveiling last December that he would have them down to his
Florida office in mid May, he didn't just
promise them a Fosters and some shrimp
on the barbie. Instead, he pronounced
that he would be sharing something that
would "break this cast iron that's been
wrapped around golf for so long," then
doubled down by vowing "We're going
to shatter it!"
Well, May, the summer and most of
the fall came and went without any invitations to Norman's office or any further word of the glorious freedom from
shackles awaiting golf. Then, earlier this
month, the "Shark Experience" was announced, consisting of a partnership between the Norman Company, Verizon,
Club Car and GPSI to produce a multimedia offering of everything from music to televised sports events, news and
entertainment in addition to existing
fleet management and course operations
applications currently offered with Club
Car's Visage technology package. Typical
of Norman's tendency toward the dramatic, the press release termed the Shark
Experience "an innovative and disruptive
new golf technology that enhances the
on-course experience." I knew the game
had some issues, but I wasn't aware that
it needed to be "disrupted." I'm presuming this particular disruption is the one
that's supposed to shatter the cast iron
wrapping around golf for so long.

14 The Pellucid PersPecTive

Given the quality and technological
expertise of both Verizon and Club Car, I
have no doubt that the Shark Experience
can dramatically enhance the on-course
experience ... if you've always craved your
favorite tunes, the latest from Fox News
or CNN or a Seinfeld rerun as a companion piece to your boring old round of
golf. Actually, I guess I can see where the
"disruption" might come in, particularly
when a foursome or two of well-lubricated 20-somethings decides to stage
a battle of the bands one fairway over
while you grind over a 4-foot putt.
The release indicated that the Shark
Experience is still in pilot, and will officially preview at the 2018 PGA Show
in Orlando. It is scheduled to roll out at
selected golf courses throughout the U.S.
throughout 2018. Obviously there will
be an upcharge for Shark Experienceequipped carts, but that will likely vary
according to local market factors.
I'm sure that for those who feel a need
to be uber-connected or entertained on
multiple levels at all times, the Shark Experience will be an amusing innovation.
I have to admit that I don't see it moving the needle any on golf participation,
however. If people are that interested in
catching the latest news, watching their
favorite team, or rocking out to their personal top 10, it seems to me that they'll
find somewhere to do that where they
won't continually have to be interrupted
by people reminding them that they're
away. On the other hand, I suppose it
might help to retain any golfers who
were introduced to the game at TopGolf
and figure it's supposed to be accompa-

nied by blaring rock n' roll, live sports or
trash talk.

Chips & Putts
...For those of you who lament that
the Christmas season seems to start earlier every year and blame it on greedy merchandisers, I give you the United States
Golf Association. I opened my Sunday
copy of the San Diego Union Tribune
last week to behold the new logo for the
2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. There
were some relatively minor changes from
the familiar Torrey pine that graced the
merchandise from the fabulously successful and historic 2008 Open at Torrey,
otherwise known as Tiger's last (major)
stand. Interestingly, the logo also identifies the 2021 Open as the 121st, rather
than including the year. The salient fact is,
though, that it's freaking 2017! Take that,
early Christmas decorators.
...One of the more intriguing recent
headlines, found in the online GolfBiz
briefing: "Under Armour stock drops
15%; Touts Spieth Endorsement."
Makes one wonder how bad the 3rd
Quarter sales decline and 15 percent
drop in share price would have been if
Jordy wasn't knockin' 'em dead.
...Speaking of celebrity endorsements, think I've got the tagline for
Louis Vuitton's next sunglasses release:
"So good even overindulged NCAA
recruits will steal for them." Guess the
boys, including LiAngelo Ball, are lucky
they didn't heist the glasses in some
country ruled by sharia law - be tough
to double dribble with only one hand.
-Jim Dunlap

November 2017

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