Taking Flite

GOLF’S NEW AGE

PGA WEST in La Quinta, California, the PGA Tour venue and destination of golfers’ dreams, is taking golf entertainment technology to the next level in partnership with Flite Golf & Entertainment

Take it from PGA Tour pro golfer Hudson Swafford: there is something special going on at PGA WEST, the nine-course golf and sports hideaway in La Quinta, California, in the heart of the idyllic Coachella Valley. (And yes, you read that correctly, that’s nine courses—including the Citrus Club next door—not nine holes.) “I’ve fallen in love with this place,” said Swafford in January, as newly crowned champion of The American Express, one of the PGA Tour’s more historic tournaments (once known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic). In fact Swafford has won The American Express at PGA WEST twice—the first time in 2017—which sees him join an elite list of double winners led by Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Johnny Miller and Phil Mickelson. (Palmer actually won the title five times but that was a love affair already covered in Kingdom.) Success—in any pursuit—breeds contentment, but Swafford’s devotion to PGA WEST is about a lot more than winning. “This is kind of my West Coast home, honestly,” said the 34-year-old Floridian, now a three-time winner on the PGA Tour. “I come out here early [in the season], get some work in. Things just click here.” Swafford is right: things do just click at PGA WEST, which has become known as “The Western Home of Golf in America”, typically attracting more than 250,000 visitors a year. It sounds like a crowd, but when PGA WEST boasts nine courses, five clubhouses, two private clubs— including a sports club—a resort-style pool and an array of other immaculate sports facilities, the visitor numbers are comfortably manageable.

“Our goal at PGA WEST is to bring it into the top five golf resort destinations in the country, along with Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, Bandon Dunes and Whistling Straits,” starts Doug Howe, Partner and C.O.O. of Century Golf, which has part-owned and operated PGA WEST since the beginning of 2020.

“We want PGA WEST to be in that discussion and so we renovated the Arnold Palmer private course and Greg Norman resort course last year, and this year we will begin returning the Pete Dye Stadium Course to its original design. We are creating an exceptional golf experience.”

Highlighting the off-course entertainment options at PGA WEST this summer will be brand new Flite Golf & Entertainment facilities. Flite provides custom-built, first-of-its-kind, interactive golf practice and entertainment technology, and its full capability will be showcased at PGA WEST.

Flite’s proprietary technology will give golfers tour-level feedback on the driving range at the Stadium Course. Ultraprecise shot tracking data reveals shot distance, clubhead speed, ball speed and shot shape on every shot, so golfers can get fully dialled in before they step onto the first tee.

If tour champ Swafford loves PGA WEST now, think how smitten he’ll be next winter when he can tune up for the new season with a steady stream of Flite shot data.

“We have built our own proprietary technology platform that is patented and protected,” starts John Vollbrecht,

Everything clicked for Hudson Swafford in The American Express at PGA West

Flite technology is adding a new and innovative layer to the golf facilities at PGA WEST

“We learned early on that our technology platform is second to none”

founder and CEO of Flite. “We spent two and a half years on a driving range creating a system that can track every single golf ball without requiring RFID chips in the balls. We use real golf balls and we track every shot—and not just the ones that hit a target, because we understand there are a lot of bad golf shots out there, and to the dedicated golfer they are just as important as the good ones.”

In Pete’s Grill at the Pete Dye Clubhouse at PGA WEST, Flite will also provide an entertainment golf center with state-of-the-art simulators, where groups may hire out bays, hit golf shots, order food and drinks off the menu and enjoy waiter service to the comfy lounge seating area behind the driving bay. Ensuring that golf is fun, relaxed, lively and entertaining to all ages and abilities, the Flite bays will feel like a living room—but with one side removed to watch the action in full swing.

Groups will be able to play a variety of interactive golf games with Flite’s shot-tracking technology; driving range darts, blackjack and H.O.R.S.E, while an exclusive handicapping system enables golfers of varying abilities to compete in a long-drive contest. Flite also provides a “course gameplay” option, through which golfers strike shots that appear on screen at the golfers’ choice of iconic golf courses, including Pebble Beach and the Old Course, St Andrews.

“We learned early on that our technology platform is second to none,” adds Vollbrecht. “It has become even better than we could have dreamed at the start. We want to license our technology platform into as many driving range bays as possible around the world, whether they be at entertainment venues or at green-grass locations. Our partnership with PGA WEST is seeing the opening of our first green-grass, hybrid entertainment facility. The project is incredibly exciting and we could not have asked for a better venue to showcase our products.

“Century Golf does operations really well. We do the technology really well. Each partner is concentrating on what they do really well and then making them mesh in a way that no-one else in the industry has the capability to do.”

Beyond PGA WEST, the Flite and Century Golf partnership is going to provide its golf entertainment offering to other venues, including Flite’s entertainment flagship, Atomic Range, in Las Vegas.

“Most likely, every driving range that succeeds over the next few years is going to have to have some sort of technology and entertainment,” says Vollbrecht.

Chimes Century Golf’s Howe: “The relationship with Flite has been fantastic. We have integrated very well into a cohesive team to deliver an exceptional experience for our guests. Now we are going to bring all this expertise to other parties who want an independent golf entertainment venue. We are the only supplier of the whole package, including design consultation, technology, operations and comprehensive services, so this is a unique offering to the market.”

The challenge with already being one of the finest golf resorts in America is how to keep improving when everyone around you, like Hudson Swafford, loves how things are right now. It must be tempting not to fix what ain’t broke, but ultimately that philosophy leads to stagnation. Building on success comes from embracing new ideas, making brave decisions and working hard to make sure they work. That is what we are seeing at PGA WEST, with a technological solution provided by Flite. Exciting times ahead.