Interview: Game Golf Inventor John McGuire

Can you give us some background on the product?

There’s already a category in golf with is range finders which is all about distance to the flag. We’ve created a new category which is all about what club to put into your bag so that you can stand there with confidence and know the club you’re selecting will actually get you there.

The number one thing, what Game Golf is all about, is knowing  the distances of your clubs. It’s all about confidence and Game Golf gives you that.

Used in 79 countries worldwide, over 8 million shots in the database. Some features we added after launch was tee shot dispersion and approach to the green. One thing we know is that 80-90% of golfers out there end up short of the green. That’s why understanding your distances is really important. Most amateur golfers think they know which club to pull out but 90% of the time they are 10 yards+ wrong with that club.

Why should golfers be paying £199 for it?

So, you’re paying £199, and you use it for three, four hours of golf on the system, then you will see your number of strokes in a round come down. That in itself is worth it.

The second thing is for the lower handicappers. It allows them to understand their statistics and brings them to life and having that tee shot dispersion allows you to understand what you are doing off the tee box and not just having the raw data but being able to visualise it.

The third value is that we have launched challenges. It’s the social side to your golf and we think that’s very important because if it’s fun you’re going to do it more often. We also add a competitive element in there – right now you can log on and see Lee Westwood’s round at the Frys Championship and can compare.

That’s why the PGA of America invested in the company because not only does it help golfers improve but through social we will get more people golfing and those who are golfing, more often.

How has it been received by the market?

Phenomenal. The most powerful man in the word, President Obama, wore it on his vacation while playing golf and seeing that presidents are not allowed to endorse products officially or unofficially, I think that says an awful lot. I can go on and say it’s a fantastic product blah blah blah, but the fact someone like that was wearing the product speaks volumes.

What is the new approach to the green feature about?

 IF you hit half shots or use a five iron to get out from underneath trees and things like that, the algorithm actually does not include that in your stats. We made that change after launch after users called for it.

Are there any other celebrities using Game Golf?

In the US Andre Iguodala , he’s a Golden State Warriors basketball player and also an Olympian. He actually came into our office a few weeks ago – he’s an avid user of the product.

Donald Faison – Turk, out of Scrubs. He’s loves the product and then you’ve got various executives, there’s lots of those types using it as well.

Why choose GMac, Westy and Furyk as ambassadors?

I chose Graeme first and the reason I chose him is because of his personality and his social media following. So obviously Graeme is a fantastic person and I knew if I could get him interested I would have probably the best guy on Tour at representing us.

I had been introduced to Chubby Chandler by a number of different people and Lee is a phenomenal golfer and also a great guy . He’s a former World No.1 and now he’s got his old caddy back I think the Westwood we know will come back again – he already is coming back! Even being around him at the tournaments you can see there is a difference in his preparations – he,s more focused, more zoned-in.

In the years when Tiger dominated Jim Furyk was number two and on a one-on-one scenario he is as nice as the other two guys, really great guy, has a sense of humour that maybe doesn’t come across when media are involved or whatever but the guy is a phenomenal golfer and is very meticulous.  While he doesn’t have a social media following, for mid-American he is a very solid person.

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John, thanks for taking the time to speak to Golfmagic.com. Can you give us some background on the Game Golf product?

There’s already a category in golf (range finders) that is all about distance to the flag. We’ve created a new category which is all about what club to put into your bag so that you can stand there with confidence and know the club you’re selecting will actually get you there.

The number one thing, what Game Golf is all about, is knowing the distances of your clubs. It’s all about confidence and Game Golf gives you that.

Used in 79 countries worldwide, there are over eight million shots in the database. Some features we added after launch was tee shot dispersion and approach to the green.

One thing we know is that 80 to 90% of golfers out there end up short of the green. That’s why understanding your distances is really important. Most amateur golfers think they know which club to pull out but 90% of the time they are 10+ yards wrong with that club.

Review: Game Golf

So why should golfers be paying £199 for it?

So, you’re paying £199, and you use it for three, four hours of golf on the system, then you will see your number of strokes in a round come down. That in itself is worth it.

The second thing is for the lower handicappers. It allows them to understand their statistics and brings them to life and having that tee shot dispersion allows you to understand what you are doing off the tee box and not just having the raw data but being able to visualise it.

The third value is that we have launched challenges. It’s the social side to your golf and we think that’s very important because if it’s fun you’re going to do it more often. We also added a competitive element in there. Right now you can log on and see Lee Westwood’s round at the Frys Championship and you can compare, for example.

That’s why the PGA of America invested in the company because not only does it help golfers improve but through social we will get more people golfing and those who are golfing, more often.

What has been the response from the market?

Phenomenal. The most powerful man in the word, President Obama, wore it on his vacation while playing golf and seeing that presidents are not allowed to endorse products officially or unofficially, I think that says an awful lot. I can go on and say it’s a fantastic product etc, but the fact someone like that was wearing the product speaks volumes.

What is the new approach to the green feature about?

If you hit half shots or use a 5-iron to get out from underneath trees and things like that, the algorithm actually does not include that in your stats. We made that change after launch as users asked for it.

Are there any other celebrities using Game Golf?

In the US, Andre Iguodala, he’s a Golden State Warriors basketball player and also an Olympian. He actually came into our office a few weeks ago - he’s an avid user of the product.

Donald Faison, Turk, out of Scrubs, uses one too. He’s loves the product. Then you’ve also got various executives. There’s lots of those types using it as well.

What was the reason behind choosing Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk as Game Golf ambassadors?

I chose Graeme first, and the reason I chose him is because of his personality and his social media following. Obviously Graeme is a fantastic person and I knew if I could get him interested I would have probably the best guy on Tour representing us.

I had been introduced to Chubby Chandler by a number of different people and Lee is a phenomenal golfer and also a great guy. He’s a former World No.1 and now he’s got his old caddie back, I think the Westwood we all know and love will come back again. He's been showing signs he's coming back already. Even being around him at the tournaments, you can see there is a difference in his preparations. He's more focused, more zoned-in.

In the years when Tiger dominated, Jim Furyk was number two and on a one-on-one scenario he is as nice as the other two guys - a really great guy. He has a sense of humour that maybe doesn’t come across when media are involved or whatever, but the guy is a phenomenal golfer and is very meticulous. While he doesn’t have a social media following, for mid-America he is a very solid person.