The ModGolf Podcast

"I can only do so much and I am happy to let in anyone who can help us and who knows their area of expertise better than me. There's no ego motivation here. We just want to help golfers get better, grow the company and reach out to more golfers. We have the love of the game and that's our driving force. I think that's a strength that we have, the strength to know what we don't know and not have the vanity of trying to show something else." - deWiz Co-Founder Markus Westerberg
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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

"I started that round with an incredible start and have learned through experience not to then play conservatively in order to protect a good score. Hitting "pause" and trying to get off the golf course by making pars is the wrong mindset. If you do that you are sure to make bogeys so I knew I had to push myself. So I kept pushing and pushing into that "Zone of Discomfort", didn't bail on myself throughout the round and gave myself a chance to shoot 59 with a putt on 18. I'm really proud of that round as it was a magically exhilarating experience."

Click on the image below to watch our extended conversation with Markus on our Youtube Channel!

"We launched about a year ago and today and we are now 14 employees in the company. I'm not saying that we built deWiz all by ourselves. We are team players. I know some things and I don't know a lot of other things". I know golf and I've learned a lot about tech. I have a bachelor's degree in Psychology, which ties in very good to deWiz."

You can also connect with Markus on his bio page, along with checking out the deWiz website.

"Golf is an individual sport but no single tour golfer is out there alone. There is a family behind them, friends, a manager and multiple coaches that make up the team. So to suceed, you have to be able to handle your team regarding the physical, mental, financial and logistical challenges that arise. Golf is a brutal game and it's a game about managing mistakes. Looking at a professional golf career, you have more failures than successes and that gives you a thick skin that builds up your resilience. Golf gives you a North Star to define what success means to you and to appreciate the journey. You have to truly love the game, whether it's the game of entrepreneurship or the game of golf. And when you do that, I believe you will end up in good places."

Special Guest: Markus Westerberg, Co-Founder of deWiz.

"I got sick for a few years and I was getting tired of being in bed thinking about what I wanted to do. So I sent out a focus group study to golfers that had been on a list of mine from my previous business and it was a survey asking them multiple questions about what their pain points were in the golf industry. What I heard was the frustration around not knowing what club to buy, feeling like every club was marketed as better. Marketing had started to become more important than performance. The balance was out of whack. And in a moment it matched with my moral compass. My grandmother taught disabled children her whole life. I was around these kids and I didn't like seeing them being taken advantage of just like I felt golfers are being taken advantage of. I looked at my wife when I was still in bed and I said, "I'm going to start the Consumer Reports of golf" and she instantly said, "yes you are!". So I got my ass right out of bed and got to work."

We want to thank our partner inrange® for presenting this episode of The ModGolf Podcast!

inrange® is a radar-based ball-tracking company that enhances the driving range experience by offering the most engaging gameplay and precise ball-tracking on the market. From private clubs and standalone commercial ranges, to multi-storey “Big Box” entertainment venues and limited-flight ‘compact’ ranges, Inrange® creates unparalleled experiences for every type of player - and unleashes your business’ growth potential. They are also the only software in the world offering a bay vs bay link up feature - allowing large groups to play against one another in teams across the entire venue. To learn more check out www.inrangegolf.com.

We also want to thank Golf Genius Software for supporting The ModGolf Podcast since 2019!

Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com.

"The Golf Digest Hot List was the bible to tell golfers what to buy as a print publication at the time and they had staked claim to that. But they had yet to lay claim to the digital world, so like the wild west I wanted to put down my flag down before they did. I wanted to build trust with the most hardcore golfers out there, create a place where they could come and trust anything and everything that we put out there. Something that was honest and had integrity behind it rather than run by the manufacturers. I thought it would be 3-5 years before the manufacuturers got on board with it. I knew it would be a bit of a rub but man, was I ever wrong."

"The manufacturers not only didn't like MyGolfSpy, but they hated everything that we stood for. They tried to sue us and use any angle they could to shut us up. Manufacturers keep a lot of the small media companies quiet because of one simple thing: the small media companies and blogs didn't have a legal team but we did. I had a group behind me that knew what I was after and stood up for me as a legal team. None of these manufacturers didn't have a leg to stand on with any of these potential law suits and they knew it, and they wanted to threaten us to keep us quiet. But as soon as we fired back - and our biggest weapon was "if you want to sue us, great. But we're going to make it public and every letter you send us we be public record". To this day MyGolfSpy has never been sued and we have never taken an article down."

"The golf consumer saw that someone who was fighting for them, which is exactly why MyGolfSpy became successful. We put the consumer first and the companies last. I don't care about the corporations, I care about the golfer and how they spend their hard-earned money. I don't want golfers spending more if it does not help them improve compared to what they already own. This is a philosophy that companies are not accustomed to because it has been engrained in us that we need the newest club that comes out."

Click on the image below to watch our extended conversation with Adam on our Youtube Channel!

"When I first created MyGolfSpy my vision was to make the cream of the crop rise to the top and have all the junk go away. In order to do that there were small companies like Sub70, Vice and EvenRoll who now have bigger names partly because we leveled the play...

Colin met Steve Madden at The 2023 PGA Show in Orlando and after hearing his entrepreneurial story over a couple of pints of Guinness we had to invite him on the show to share his experiences with you.

"Five years ago my ex-girlfriend's dad invited me for a round, so I played an 18 hole round at Mountainside golf course. The next day I went and played the par 3 course there which had the massive holes and I became addicted to golf that weekend. When I got back to Calgary, I played three or four rounds next week and then I joined a golf course for the remainder of the season. Once new golfers feel that awesome shot or they hit that really close approach, smash that driver or make a long putt, that addiction really hits you. I made a decision a few years ago that I wanted to create a lifestyle, or a job where I could golf and do my own thing tech-wise. I've had two apps now that revolve around golf and Swingtweaks is the second one."... Steve Madden, Co-Founder of Swingtweaks

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.

Episode Chapters
[03:00] Steve opens the show by sharing his level of play after picking up golf only a couple of years ago. Spoiler alert - his handicap is waaaay lower than Colin's. 😂
[04:20] Steve tells us how a rugby-playing lad from Ireland ended up becoming a tech entrepreneur in Calgary Canada by way of Vietnam.
[05:20] Colin asks Steve to share his first golf experience five years ago and who invited him to try the game.
[06:50] Steve gives us the "Elevator Pitch" for his latest golf venture Swingtweaks.
[09:10] Steve talks about the rise in popularity of golf lesson and training technology ventures such as Sportsbox.ai
[10:05] We learn the back story and AHA moment of Swingtweaks
[12:45] Steve shares business model, user experience, value proposition and customer profiles for Swingtweaks.
[16:40] Colin asks Steve to share how they came up with the name Swingtweaks and the concept of users purchasing "Tweaks".
[18:45] Steve talks about how Swingtweaks generates revenue and how they developed the pricing model cost per "Tweak".
[22:00] Colin asks about the Swingtweaks strategy to acquire new users, retain/engage existing ones and how they incentivize PGA teaching pros to join the platform.
[27:00] Steve shares some stories from satisfied users and the most unexpected places around the world that golfers are using Swingtweaks.
[28:30] We learn about the future plans for Swingtweaks and which markets, countries and languages they look to expand into next.
[30:50] Steve shares some positive user experiences and how they are building community on Instagram and Reddit.
[33:00] Steve offers you - our ModGolfers - 20% OFF your first Swingtweak using promo code MODGOLF.*
*(FYI we don't receive a commision if you buy one! 😎)

Click on the image below to watch our extended conversation with Steve on our Youtube Channel!

To learn more and get 20% OFF your first Swingtweak using promo code MODGOLF, check out the Swingtweaks website.

You can also connect with Steve on his bio page.

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, bonu...

"It was a simulator venue that had six bays with lessons and it was going out of business. In the building I worked in there was a space for lease on the ground level. We ended up buying the business and moved it there for five years. An Indoor Golf Centre with 10 bays, an indoor bunker, massive putting green, a bar and a cafe. It did okay but the rent we were paying was huge so in the end we have to get out of there."

"Shortly after that I had an idea to pivot. 24-hour gyms were really booming in Australia at the time. Why don't we have a 24-hour golf simulator place where you can go and practice anytime? We built two bays and it did well. Then I opened a second venue and that one nosedived and just blew up. I closed it down, lost a lot of money with the four simulators that I had there. I put them on Facebook Marketplace and they sold in a week. I'm like "hmm, this is interesting." So I bought five more simulators to sell. Why am I busting my chops with these venues when I can just bring them in, sell them, make my money and never hear from the customer again? It was great. I pivoted the business. Ended up closing down my second venue and just went completely e-commerce." ... Igor Vainshtein

We want to thank Golf Genius Software who have supported The ModGolf Podcast since 2019!
Are you a golf course owner, manager or operator looking to increase both your profit margins and on-course experience?

Golf Genius powers tournament management at over 10,000 private clubs, public courses, resorts, golf associations, and tours in over 60 countries. So if you’re a golf professional or course operator who wants to save time, deliver exceptional golfer experiences, and generate more revenue, check them out online at golfgenius.com.

"At the time it is horrendous. It feels horrible to lose a ton of money. I lost my money, I lost my parents money, which I borrowed from them and they had to bail me out again. It was embarrassing and as you are going through that pain, it's very difficult to see how you will come out of it. But if you're a true entrepreneur, perseverance and grit, you may not know how you're going to get there. But you've got to believe that you will get there. That's part of the job as an entrepreneur to find the "how". But if you don't believe that you'll get the you will never get there."

You can also learn more about Igor and connect on his bio page. And download the GolfTrak App for free at the Apple App Store for iPhone. https://golftrak.app

"I had extremely disastrous blow ups in my career. Moments where I thought there's no way I'm coming back from this. But if I look back now, I wouldn't change a thing because all those little "sliding doors moments" is why I'm here today. And I didn't go through the pain, maybe I wouldn't be able to appreciate the things and I would take things for granted and I wouldn't have the fun and the joy that I get out of life these days. For anyone who's experiencing that who's in that pain right now, I would say "You just don't know". There's a phrase "that it's gonna be alright in the end and if it's not alright, it's not the end."

Episode Chapters
02:40: How and when Igor took her first golf swing and who introduced him to the game
04:40: The story of Igor's family immigrating from the USSR to Melbourne Austrailia
06:20: Igor's early days as an entrepreneur and the experiences that have shaped his approach to life
08:15: Igor's return to golf and the creation of his 24-7 Golf venture
15:00: How a phone call with GOLFTEC CEO Joe Assel over the brand name grew over time into a flourishing collaborative partnership
18:00: The virtue of failure and how to learn from the experience and move on
22:00: We learn about the GolfTrak App, a "golf simulator in your pocket"
25:10: The camera technology and frame rate required to accurately track ball flight data
30:00: The business model behind GolfTrak App and the customer segment they appeal to
33:20: The GolfTrak App customer acquisition strategy
38:35: Igor shares his experience at the Golf Pitch Challenge and Mastermind Event in Orlando

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 bu...

"When Ely Callaway created the Big Bertha and Karsten Solheim created the Ping irons, they went to work on a driver and an iron that had perimeter weighting. And when they got done, the club looked the way it did because that's the way perimeter weighting looked. It wasn't the other way around. They didn't worry about the fact that this Big Bertha was an oversized metal wood that looked like a snow shovel with no hosel and then the iron looked like something that an alien designed. They had something that was radically different, but they could back it up with performance and they didn't worry about the looks. The looks was secondary to performance. Match it up with a quote from Booker T Washington, which is to "Do a common thing in an uncommon way". So when you mix those two things together and that's where SQAIRZ came from." - Bob Winskowicz, Founder of SQAIRZ
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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

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"A gentlemen I once worked for called me up and said "Bob I want you to work with me in the golf industry". He invited me to attend The PGA Show in 1995 and once I walked in it was like entering golf heaven. I was overwhelmed. I left there and said to him " I don't care what you pay me - I'm in! I want to work for you!". From that day on I never looked back."

Episode Chapters
[02:18] Bob shares being introduced to the game and his first golf experience.
[04:50] Colin asks Bob "what was the WORST job you ever had and what positives did you take away from it?"
[06:35] Bob's early professional work expience in the consumer goods sector and how that set the stage for a career shift into the golf industry.
[10:40] Bob tells the story of joining The Arnold Palmer Golf Company and the impact that "The King" had on his entrepreneurial endeavours.
[15:30] We learn about how outside influences like the creation of the Callaway Big Bertha driver shaped Bob's design philosophy for SQAIRZ.
[21:30] Bob tells us the exciting news about the next sport outside of golf that SQAIRZ is entering the high-performance shoe market.
[30:30] Bob shares his approach to empowering his team to embrace a culture of continuous learning, experimentation and innovation.

Click on the image below to watch our extended conversation with Bob on our Youtube Channel!

"I have the privledge of being around Arnold Palmer and one time I presented a new set of irons we were ready to launch and The King said to me "what is in it for the consumer?" I stumbled because I focused on the look of the clubs. We lost sight of how they benefited the golfer. So once I launched a shoe company I always asked the question "What's in it for the consumer?"

You can also connect with Bob on his bio page, along with checking out the SQAIRZ website.

Special Guest: Bob Winskowicz - Founder of SQAIRZ.