What do you think of my idea? Any golfers here?

[Vadim26]

Hello INSIDERS,

I have found what seems to be a great physical product to finally execute upon.

Lots of things to improve upon (many negative reviews), good demand, very niche, only a few competitors

What do you think? I am a mechanical designer by trade, and making the thing more stable and durable won't be a very big problem with some effort applied.

I've never played ** and looking to get advice from pro here. Is ** a big name in an industry, hence people buy this product?

 

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[reedracer]

Some thoughts....
You could definitely make it better, but remember to keep it like a rope so the golfer can see if it is spinning straight or tilted in one direction or the other.

You are going to have breakage and returns on anything you hit with a golf club over and over. Build that into your model.

I like the idea of building it to work on the deck or the yard or anywhere with enough room to swing a club. Add a mat to your design to save the club and floor.

Us golfers are idiots and will spend like crazy to make us better golfers without putting in the time. Sell it for more than $20

SKLZ probably are selling a knockoff of a better product. See if you can find it.

 

[Kak]

I could see this thing indicating a pull or push off line but I can not see it doing anything to indicate a fade or draw which is due to ball spin later in the flight.

If you can solve that problem... I think you'd have a product worth looking at.

SKLZ is not a big name at all.

People who play golf are generally referred to as golfers, not golf players. LOL

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Looks promising considering your background. If you weren't a ME, I'd say you should start off smaller and less challenging.

 

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[mikey3times]

There was a guy here a few years ago who made a putt assistant. Some interesting info there.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/catalyst-progress-thread-golf-product.50672/

Not sure what happened, but the product doesn’t seem to be available any more. I assume most of these products go out of style quickly. Who knows.

 

[Johnny boy]

Make it marginally better and prettier and charge 74.98 for it because any golfer with some money wants the better one. Give it a french name. Something with Chateau in it. You'll kill it.

 

[Vadim26]

Thank you guys, I have taken notes from all the comments posted. Really helpful!

Looks promising considering your background. If you weren't a ME, I'd say you should start off smaller and less challenging.

I am a half-engineer by the way, a technologist. We are capable of CAD, designing and building things but nerd-stuff like stress analysis, and all the complicated equations are left for ME. I was specifically looking for something that could fit my background, but is also hard enough that would require extra learning. Challenge is an opportunity, like you mention in your book.

I could see this thing indicating a pull or push off line but I can not see it doing anything to indicate a fade or draw which is due to ball spin later in the flight.

If you can solve that problem... I think you'd have a product worth looking at.

I wasn't aware what fade or draw were, thanks for letting me know. Definitely interested in figuring out how to solve it

There was a guy here a few years ago who made a putt assistant. Some interesting info there.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/catalyst-progress-thread-golf-product.50672/

Not sure what happened, but the product doesn’t seem to be available any more. I assume most of these products go out of style quickly. Who knows.

Very helpful!

Make it marginally better and prettier and charge 74.98 for it because any golfer with some money wants the better one. Give it a french name. Something with Chateau in it. You'll kill it.

Good to know. Thanks mate!

 

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[MTEE1985]

In golf there are essentially two groups.

Group one is the scratch/low handicap players. They use very simple but very effective props/aides for their game. They also would almost never use this for the reasons @Kak mentioned above. Not enough feedback on the actual shot. This group uses training aides where they can hit a real ball and get feedback.

Group two is the average golfer. As mentioned previously they typically have disposable income and are willing to spend it on anything that might give them 5 extra yards. The good news for your idea is that it would appeal to group two which is much larger.

One idea off the top of my head to improve this product is to find a way to release the attached ball if desired so you could use it at the driving range with real balls. That should appeal to many. Another thing I would do is focus solely on the increased distance benefit because that is what’ve 99% of golfers want and it’s why they spend $500 on a new driver every year.

In reference to the company SKLZ, they are not a large golf company however, they are the company when it comes to selling gizmos ad quick fixes in sports. Before being bought they were doing roughly $75 million in revenue. I would follow that lead of selling to the quick fix crowd like they do, but add in some testimonials from credible golf sources as every average golfer wants to do the same drills the pros do. I made the mistake of going the other way with a side project golf aide that would be more helpful than most everything out there but it isn’t pretty and all dolled up, it’s literally a custom shaped sponge. If you can combine the sizzle and the steak with your redesign than I see it being successful.

Feel free to reach out as I’m still connected to many people in this industry who could offer additional insights.

 

[Vadim26]

In golf there are essentially two groups.

Group one is the scratch/low handicap players. They use very simple but very effective props/aides for their game. They also would almost never use this for the reasons @Kak mentioned above. Not enough feedback on the actual shot. This group uses training aides where they can hit a real ball and get feedback.

Group two is the average golfer. As mentioned previously they typically have disposable income and are willing to spend it on anything that might give them 5 extra yards. The good news for your idea is that it would appeal to group two which is much larger.

One idea off the top of my head to improve this product is to find a way to release the attached ball if desired so you could use it at the driving range with real balls. That should appeal to many. Another thing I would do is focus solely on the increased distance benefit because that is what’ve 99% of golfers want and it’s why they spend $500 on a new driver every year.

In reference to the company SKLZ, they are not a large golf company however, they are the company when it comes to selling gizmos ad quick fixes in sports. Before being bought they were doing roughly $75 million in revenue. I would follow that lead of selling to the quick fix crowd like they do, but add in some testimonials from credible golf sources as every average golfer wants to do the same drills the pros do. I made the mistake of going the other way with a side project golf aide that would be more helpful than most everything out there but it isn’t pretty and all dolled up, it’s literally a custom shaped sponge. If you can combine the sizzle and the steak with your redesign than I see it being successful.

Feel free to reach out as I’m still connected to many people in this industry who could offer additional insights.

Appreciate the info and I've just PM'ed you

 

[James Fake]

@MTEE1985 nailed it. I am bordering along the first group and a gear junky, but just FYI; the only training aids I buy are ones that directly fix swing faults, and not so much for practice swings per say. In my bag; I have the putting mirror thing, an inflatable ball necklace I keep between my arms, and alignment sticks. Other than that; I spend most of my money on actual clubs, shafts, etc.

 

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