October 19, 2001

Cyber-golfing comes to FlatIron

Business Report Correspondent BROOMFIELD — It used to be that when you wanted a golf lesson, you’d go to a golf course. Seems reasonable — but not in the 21st century. Things are different.

Now, improving your drives and putts is as easy as stopping off at the local mall. Area residents can practice swinging their irons at FlatIron Crossing mall in Broomfield, and they don’t even have to worry about whacking shoppers.

Bogart Golf, a golf instruction company based in Bellevue, Wash., is putting a new swing on lessons, but be warned, these aren’t your father’s golf lessons. The company teaches golf in indoor training centers using digital video to record and then instantly replay golfers’ swings on monitors. Instructors then use special software graphics to show – frame by frame – how to improve swings.

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The company calls the lessons, aptly, The Bogart Way, developed by company founder and former PGA pro Brian Cooper. Cooper also developed the “10 Steps to Better Golf” program, which teachers also use. The company says its method, used for all ages and skill levels, has been proven to improve a golfer’s swing, and that it differs from other high-tech lessons in three ways.

First, the company says its teachers and students use the same methodology, a branded approach that includes the instructor, the Bogart Way training program, interactive digital video technology and the Internet for distance learning. Second, Bogart says its technology makes learning easier and quicker. Third, it blends lessons and training to teach students to really learn their swings, so that they can know when its on, when its off, why, and how to correct it and get it back both while practicing and on the course.

The company is now opening shops around the country, including three schools this summer in metro Denver. Besides FlatIron, there’s one at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, one in Centennial Promenade by Park Meadows Mall in Englewood, and a fourth is planned for the Denver Tech Center in the near future.

Jeremy Moreno, a Colorado native and a teaching pro, is the company’s regional director for Denver. He said the company’s market research showed expected growth in the FlatIron area along with good income levels among residents who are receptive to technology.

“We choose locations near where people live, work and shop so they don’t have to spend a lot of time to practice before or after work,” Moreno said. “They can practice during a 30-minute lunch break, on their way to or from the office, or before they head out to play.”

Moreno said lunchtime and 4 to 6 p.m. are busy times at the FlatIron store. The store expects to have between 250 and 300 members within six months. Moreno said Bogart Golf is currently offering 10 percent discounts for Storage Technology, Level 3 and Sun Microsystems employees.

“This area is still in a growth phase without as many residential customers as we’d like, so we’re developing partnerships with these companies,” Moreno said. “In three years, though, we expect FlatIron to be the number one store in the Denver metro area because of the expected growth here.”

Kass Sells, senior vice president of marketing for Bogart Golf, a private company, would not say how much money it takes to start a Bogart Golf store. But he did say the company is investing nearly $1 million in the Denver metro market, an investment that includes store leases, equipment, salaries, marketing and other expenses.

“Judging from our early returns in all three Denver locations, our investment looks great,” Sells said. “Specifically, FlatIron is ahead of projections in sales, customers and members, and store traffic. And, we expect the center to continue to improve as additional stores in the FlatIron Marketplace open in the upcoming months.”

Prices range from $70 for a 45-minute swing analysis up to $675 for an annual membership with unlimited lessons and training, with several packages between those two prices.

The company also uses its Web site, Bogartgolf.com, where students can access their own swings, schedule lessons, buy golf products, track handicaps, check leader boards, use message boards and research golf travel. Student can also review the swings of many of today’s top tour players.

This fall, Bogart Golf expects to open four centers each in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, the San Francisco Bay area and another metropolitan city. Bogart Golf anticipates opening 300 training centers within the next five years. About half of those centers will be in the United States and the rest will be in Japan, England and Australia.

Business Report Correspondent BROOMFIELD — It used to be that when you wanted a golf lesson, you’d go to a golf course. Seems reasonable — but not in the 21st century. Things are different.

Now, improving your drives and putts is as easy as stopping off at the local mall. Area residents can practice swinging their irons at FlatIron Crossing mall in Broomfield, and they don’t even have to worry about whacking shoppers.

Bogart Golf, a golf instruction company based in Bellevue, Wash., is putting a new swing on lessons, but be warned, these aren’t your father’s golf lessons. The…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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