There is a wave starting to catch on—almost literally–at Las Vegas National Golf Club. That wave is the new and innovative Golfboard. Everyday golfers and media are loving the new product that brings surfing and snowboarding to the fairways creating a fun and exciting combination that brings a new element to the grand ole game.
The Golfboard at Las Vegas National Golf Club
The Golfboard was voted “Best New Product” at the 2014 PGA Show in Florida, and the historic Las Vegas National Golf Club was the first course in the world to officially embrace the potential future of golf. General Manager Coy Wood decided to lease 20 Golfboards and everyday since December golfers have been “hanging 10” on the fairways of Las Vegas National.
Maybe the line of the year came from Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Ron Kantowski when wrote about the new phenomenon. Kantowski, who hasn’t played golf in decades, took fingers to keypad and opened his column with the following prose: “I think I might start playing golf again. This is not a New Year’s resolution, nor an epiphany inspired by watching “Caddyshack: The Inside Story” on TV. It was a reaction to riding this thing called a GolfBoard at Las Vegas National Golf Club on Tuesday morning.” Check out Ron’s entire column here.
The Golfboard is easy to ride and the best thing about taking one out for the round is that you can ride up close to the tees and greens, and the pace of play can be sliced dramatically. This writer and a golf buddy played 9 holes in a whopping 53 minutes riding the Golfboards.
“We are always looking to attract new players to the game and bring new excitement to golfers who love the game, and offering the Golfboard is a perfect way to accomplish our goals,” says Wood, who admits that a lot of people scoffed at him when he made the decision to hit the deep water with Golfboards. “The Golfboard is thrilling for golfers plus it can speed up the game in addition to being just plain fun. Plus, Las Vegas is the perfect place to launch a new product like this, and we are thrilled to have them here at Las Vegas National Golf Club, one of the most historic golf courses in Las Vegas. So we are embracing the future while we still honor the tradition of the game.”
The history behind the Golfboard reads like a ‘who’s who’ in the sports, fitness, and technology world. The concept of a GolfBoard was formulated when self-described snowboard addict Don Wildman, founder of Bally Total Fitness, had the original idea to use an electric skateboard to ride the steep slopes of his local Malibu course as a fun way to ‘get in some turns’ during the summer months. Later he consulted with surfing superstar Laird Hamilton and a few other experts and the future was now.
Check out the Golfboard at Las Vegas National. The surf is up.