"I’ve been very fortunate at this point in my life to put together my two passions - one is sports and the other one is innovation." On this episode our host Colin Weston sits down with Amir Raveh, Founder and President of HYPE Sports Innovation who shares his thoughts on innovating the golf industry through the Global Sports Accelerator they have built.

"The sports world is going through a massive disruption in terms of innovation. There are dedicated accelerators for many sports but I don’t see one yet in golf. We have the platform with hundreds of startups that would be very happy to change that."

Amir suggests that golf should embrace technology innovations and trends in eSports, blockchain, fan engagement, artificial intelligence, Virtual/Augmented Reality and gamified experiences in order to connect with a younger, more diverse audience.

HYPE has created the first Global Virtual Accelerator with over 350 startups already registered. Do you have a technology-led sport/golf innovation product or service that is past the early prototype stage and has the potential to scale? Then we encourage you to apply to participate in the HYPE Global Virtual Accelerator!

Special Guest: Amir Raveh - Founder and President, HYPE Sports Innovation.

“We’ve always recognized that we are a launch point for people who are picking up the game for the first time. We hold a critical role in growing the game just by the nature of the type of facilities we manage”.

On this episode our host Colin Weston chats with Nick Bednar, VP of Operations with Indigo Golf Partners who shares his industry insights in a COVID-19 "New Normal" world.

In his current position Nick oversees the management and operations of Billy Casper Golf’s portfolio in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia and he also passionately works with The Billy Casper Golf Futures Program.

The BCG Futures Program is centered around bringing access to golf for kids around the country. The program is aligned with the PGA Jr. League. To learn more about one of the many Futures Programs being introduced across BCG’s 151 courses, click to watch this short explainer video.

Special Guest: Nick Bednar - VP of Operations at Billy Casper Golf.

Our host Colin Weston sits down for an engaging conversation with Shayain Gustavsp, Founder & CEO of SJG International and LPGA Certified Golf Coach. With over ten years of experience in the sports industry, Shayain specializes in corporate sponsorship, premium hospitality, customer retentions and event planning.

Shayain is an LPGA Certified Teacher with a passion for creating a safe and welcoming space for all to learn the game of golf. During her time in the corporate world Shayain recognized her ability to play golf and do business on the course was instrumental in fast tracking her career. Her motivation now lies in helping a diverse spectrum of women do the same.

Shayain also runs her own consultancy, SJG International, which services Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams and the entertainment industry. It's services include, VIP Events, Premium Sales and Service, Customer Retention and Corporate Partnership.

Check out and subscribe to Shayain’s YouTube Channel for her fun and informative take on golf, health and business. You can also follow Shayain on Instagram.

Special Guest: Shayain Gustavsp - Entrepreneur / LPGA Certified Coach.

"Making Transrover was like going back to my childhood of creating toys out of what was lying around when I just wanted to make the coolest water gun or air compressed bamboo cannon. That’s all I wanted to do, make something cool for myself and see if I could commercialize it later when I finish college and save some money, because engineering and manufacturing are expensive. At the beginning this method was cheap, just doing it to please myself and to see if I could do this. I knew when Transrover was polished up I'd be ready to take the next step."

After testing the deWiz biofeedback swing analysis product we were so impressed with the results that we invited them to offer you an exclusive 10% OFF your purchase using promo code MODGOLF! CLICK TO SAVE on deWiz to see (and feel) lasting results in your swing tempo, length and path improvement.

On this episode our guest is Thinh Tran, who is the Founder/CEO of Transrover, The All In One Golf Cart. Thinh shares with us his entrepreneurial and personal journey starting when he joined his family in California from Vietnam at the age of 15, his first exposure to golf and the "AHA Moment" that lead to the idea and creation of Transrover.

What's a Transrover? It's a golf bag and pushcart hybrid. Transrover can transform from a cart bag into a pushcart in seconds. Yes, seconds. It also fits perfectly on any riding cart. No more lugging your golf bag over the shoulder or putting up with the cumbersome pushcarts. We invite you to think "outside the bag" and give Transrover a spin. You can learn more about Transrover and Thinh's story on their website .

Special Guest: Thinh Tran - Co-Creator of GimmePro and Founder of Transrover.

“Living in Ireland opened my eyes to a whole different type of golf experience in golf societies, which led to the launch of NewClub Golf ten years later”.

On this episode our guest is Matt Considine, Founder and CEO at NewClub Golf. Modeled after golf societies in Great Britain and Ireland, NewClub is a society of golfers, playing the game as part of a diverse and dynamic community at a selection of compelling courses and honored clubs.

NewClub Golf Core Values

COMMUNITY We are a friendly, generous, and humble society connected by our love for the game of golf. The post-round hang.

INTEGRITY We are honest and trustworthy, unconditionally treating others well, both on and off the golf course.

REVERENCE We share a deep respect and gratitude for golf, its participants, and all those who contribute to its enjoyment.

INCLUSIVITY We cherish the perspectives and experiences of others from diverse backgrounds, living by the principle that we have far more that connects us than divides us.

MINDFULNESS We believe golf is a metaphor for life, striving to learn and improve through its journey and those we share it with.

To learn more, go to https://www.newclub.golf and find them on social media at NewClubGolf.

Special Guest: Matt Considine - Founder & CEO at NewClub Golf.

"One of the things entrepreneurs need to understand is that before you take the leap there are a lot of steps that you need to prepare before doing it because there will be a period of time when you are building the business with no revenues coming in. You need to sustain yourself so you’re not pressuring the business in order for it to succeed. Because what that leads to is you taking shortcuts and doing things that are detrimental to the business and do not move it forward."

On this episode our guest is Shella Sylla, who is a Career Strategist, Business Golf Professional and Founder/CEO of SisterGolf. SisterGolf specializes in showing professional women how to combine the game of golf with the art of business to gain a higher level of access to more opportunities and accelerate their career advancement.

After testing the deWiz biofeedback swing analysis product we were so impressed with the results that we invited them to offer you an exclusive 10% OFF your purchase using promo code MODGOLF! CLICK TO SAVE on deWiz to see (and feel) lasting results in your swing tempo, length and path improvement.

Mission Statement

Executive Summary

While reaping the rewards of this new found “secret” to success, Shella noticed that very few women, if any at all were taking advantage of the business development and relationship building opportunities that golf has to offer. This prompted her to create SisterGolf as a tool for helping women to learn and leverage the game of golf for business and career success.

Shortly after launching a series of workshops, clincs and events designed to help women get in the game, Shella began getting numerous requests from male executives and professionals to provide a similar program for them. As a result, what began as a quest to empower women in the workplace, expanded to include a curriculum that will benefit both male and female professionals interested in using golf as a tool for relationship building and professional engagement.

If you love golf, we have exclusive deals on golf gear and services that we use and support! We launched The ModGolf Pro Shop to offer you - our ModGolfers - 10-20% OFF exclusive discounts using promo code MODGOLF. We have curated a diverse selection of awesome brands like KINONA, deWiz Golf, ODIN Golf, Back2Basics Golf, Deuce and Project72Golf to help you play better and look great while doing it. CLICK TO SHOP AND SAVE.

Special Guest: Shella Sylla - Founder/CEO of SisterGolf.

"Extraordinary can happen with a belief that you can change the world. A conviction that gives you the boldness and the creativity to imagine something better, something different We developed a division of a great brand that really had no reason for being, but we gave it one. We created purpose to our approach to golf and the result was changing “the uniform” of the game".

On our first episode of Season 7, Colin speaks with Honma Golf NA President John Kawaja about his three decade career in the golf industry. John shares his experience at TaylorMade adidas Golf where they disruptively innovated the performance apparel side of the game, along with how being part of a world champion curling team helped shape his approach to business leadership.

You can learn more about Honma Golf by visiting https://us.honmagolf.com/

Special Guest: John Kawaja - President of Honma Golf NA.

That's a wrap for Season 6 of The ModGolf Podcast! Our passionate team of content creators are feverishly working on your next twelve episodes for Season 7, which launches early January 2020. We heard some amazing stories from a diverse group of guests who discussed how technology, entertainment experiences, music, celebrity, hospitality and community building intersect to shape the future of golf.

If you didn’t get the chance to listen to all of our ten Season 6 episodes, this bonus show gives you a recap of the great conversations I had over the past three months with some of the golf industry's top influencers, innovators and entrepreneurs. Hopefullly this will inspire you to listen to a couple of the episodes listed below.

Our Season 6 guests were:

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Special Guests: Adam Heieck - CEO of Youth On Course, Azucena Maldonado, Founder of The Latina Golfers Association, Dale Merritt - CEO of Golfpay, Dr. Roger Hawkes, Executive Director for The Golf & Health Project, Gina Rizzi - President of ARCUS Marketing Group and Principal of Radius Sports Group, Kevin Thistle - CEO, The PGA of Canada, Larry Gilhuly - USGA Agronomist and TEE IT FORWARD program advocate., Renée Mauborgne - Co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Shift, Rich Katz - Katz Strategy, and Tanelle Bolt - Founder of The RAD Society and Adaptive Para-Golfer.

"I focus on the behaviours of the modern consumer. It's a fascinating topic to me. How, and why golf is so far behind embracing the customer experience, how it is affecting the golf business, and how it can be solved." On our final episode of Season 6, Colin speaks with entrepreneur and Golfpay CEO Dale Merritt about harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning and experience design to create a frictionless mobile golf round check-in platform that removes pain points and frustration for both recreational golfers and the course operators.

Almost half way through their second full year in the market with Golfpay (V2), they project to increase mobile check-ins by around 42% in terms of the ratio of reservations to mobile check-ins from 2018 to 19'. This is a 750 to 800% increase in total reservations, averaging 2.41 customer files per reservation across all operators, all collected automatically without a single operator manually collecting contact data like email, mobile phone number, zip codes.

Learn more by visiting www.golfpay.co

Special Guest: Dale Merritt - CEO of Golfpay.

"We teach women how to leverage golf as a business tool so they can shatter the glass ceiling with a golf ball”. On our latest episode, Azucena Maldonado, Founder of The Latina Golfers Association joins us to share how she has built a nationally scalable business that empowers women in the Greater Los Angeles area both on and off the golf course.

Azucena Maldonado is a trailblazer on a mission to transform women’s lives through golf. She founded the Latina Golfers Association (LGA) in 2008. Introducing women of all ages to golf for their professional development, personal enjoyment, and to promote a healthy lifestyle. With over 1,200 members in Los Angeles County, Azucena has received numerous awards and recognition for making an impact on growing the game of golf in the Latino community including being inducted in the Latino Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

To learn more about The Latina Golfers Association, visit their website.

Join our mission to make golf more innovative, inclusive and fun... and WIN some awesome golf gear!

As the creator and host of The ModGolf Podcast and YouTube channel I've been telling golf entrepreneurship and innovation stories since May 2017 and I love the community of ModGolfers that we are building.

I'm excited to announce that I just launched our ModGolf Patreon page to bring together our close-knit community of golf-loving people! As my Patron you will get access to exclusive live monthly interactive shows where you can participate, ask-me-anything video events, bonus content, golf product discounts and entry in members-only ModGolf Giveaway contests.

I'm offering two monthly membership tiers at $5 and $15 USD, but you can also join for free. Your subscription will ensure that The ModGolf Podcast continues to grow so that I can focus on creating unique and impactful stories that support and celebrate the future of golf.

Click to join >> https://patreon.com/Modgolf

I look forward to seeing you during an upcoming live show!... Colin

Special Guest: Azucena Maldonado, Founder of The Latina Golfers Association.