Navigating Sports Business 96. Ryan Engle - GOLF+
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Jul 3, 2024 
Ryan Engle, founder and CEO of GOLF+, a VR golf pioneer making the sport more accessible. He talks product evolution from putting sims to full 18-hole play. Partnerships with Topgolf and the PGA TOUR come up. He explains how the app attracts non-golfers and his view on VR’s impending mainstream moment.
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VR Should Feel Like Real Golf
- Golf Plus aims to capture the essence of real golf inside a VR headset so players forget their physical surroundings.
- The company's mission is to make golf more accessible to attract people who don't currently play.
Pivot From AR To Putting-First VR
- Ryan pivoted from an AR green-reading app to a VR putting product called ProPutt after AR adoption proved too hard.
- They focused on putting first because the short game made or broke the golf experience.
Launch Weekend Saved The Company
- Launching ProPutt in May 2020 sold ~1,500 copies day-one which eased immediate survival fears.
- A holiday headset spike and a Topgolf partnership later helped them pay off early debts.