(TEMPE, Ariz.) – Adding to its explosive international growth, ProLink Solutions, the world’s largest provider of Global Positioning Satellite ("GPS") systems for golf courses, today announces an exclusive agreement with Pacific Golf Management ("PGM"), the second largest owner/operator of golf courses in the world and first in Japan, to install the state-of-the-art ProLink GPS at PGM courses.
PGM will feature ProLink GPS at properties within its rapidly expanding portfolio of more than 100 courses. Thus far, golfers enjoy the user-friendly system at four of PGM’s flagship courses: Segovia, Imperial, Ami and Diatakarazuka Golf Clubs. More installs are planned for fourth quarter 2005. Other renowned PGM courses include Miho and Katsura Golf Clubs by famed designer Robert Trent Jones.
Its partnership with PGM is the latest result of intensified demand for the ProLink GPS system worldwide. ElÅåÇmina Iberica SA, the fastest-growing GPS business in Europe and the Middle East, and On Course GPS, the leading provider of GPS to golf courses in South Africa, recently signed on as ProLink distributors. Other global alliances will be announced in upcoming weeks.
Following a highly competitive, international search, PGM selected ProLink for its superior on-screen graphics, customer service, technical support, fleet management and other capabilities. Moreover, ProLink’s advanced radio system is the only network capable of transmitting a clear, reliable and government-approved signal in Japan’s mountainous terrain.
Via its engagement with ProLink, PGM is ushering in a paradigm shift within Japan’s golf industry. Hole-by-hole graphics on a non-intrusive, high-resolution color monitor affixed to golf carts give golfers precise distances to targets and provide vibrant, easy-to-understand graphics of fairways, greens, hazards and other geographical features. Moreover, better course navigation and less guesswork aids golfers’ shot selections and, in turn, improves pace of play. The technologically-advanced ProLink GPS system is available to golfers for a nominal fee.
Further increasing the accessibility of GPS for all courses in its portfolio, PGM is working with ProLink to develop a national on-screen advertising program. Courses taking part in the program can offset the cost of, or even profit from, the installation of the system. ProLink and PGM are attracting brand-name advertisers to utilize this exclusive medium to get their products in front of a captive, "sticky" audience of high-net-worth Japanese golfers.
"ProLink Solutions and Pacific Golf Management are uniquely positioned to grow the rapid acceptance of GPS at courses throughout Japan," says Joe Lenihan, President of Pacific Golf Management. "So far we have experienced 100-percent golfer satisfaction with ProLink GPS, leading to the creation of many loyal customers."
Lawrence Bain, President and CEO of ProLink Solutions, says golfers at PGM courses and the courses themselves greatly benefit from the system.
"Pacific Golf Management is one of the most dynamic companies in the golf industry and we are excited to add it to our growing list of trusted partners," Bain says. "Japanese golfers are extremely passionate about their games, and ProLink GPS bolsters their experiences, if not scores. By the same token, ProLink provides courses with a value proposition for incremental revenue and more efficient operations."
With ProLink GPS systems, PGM courses are streamlining operations by optimizing tee-sheet yield and enhancing golf cart wear-and-tear monitoring. They are also better equipped to manage large tournaments and corporate outings, thus attracting additional events. Through revenue generation, bottom-line savings and overall game-improvement and enjoyment features for golfers, ProLink GPS has become a critical marketing and management tool for private, resort and daily-fee courses.
Course operators say the reliable and robust system benefits food-and-beverage sales; green and cart fees; innovative and unobtrusive on-screen advertising for local businesses and course merchandise, tournaments and memberships; optimal tee-sheet yield; and marketing a competitive advantage to secure more golf rounds from new and repeat players.
Courses engaging with ProLink Solutions and its distributors substantially lower expenses by not having to hire additional on-course staff or develop costly, cumbersome yardage books. They also add up to four rounds per day from pace-of-play improvements, and can control messages from a central computer from which clubhouse staff can issue golfers "speed-up-play" and inclement-weather notices. ProLink GPS systems also allow for quicker reaction to on-course medical emergencies.
For more information about ProLink Solutions international sales, call 480.753.2326 or visit www.goprolink.com.
About ProLink Solutions
Based in Tempe, Arizona, ProLink Solutions is the world’s largest provider of GPS services to golf courses.
ProLink’s industry-leading technology and marketing richness is at more than 700 resort, private and public courses worldwide, more than triple the installations of all its competitors combined. World-famous course partners of ProLink include Valderrama Golf Club in San Roque, Spain, Dai-Takarazuka in Osaka, Japan and Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii.
The world’s largest golf-course management companies, including Pacific Golf Management, Meadowbrook, Kemper Sports, Evergreen Alliance Group and Billy Casper Golf feature ProLink, and the golf-industry trend shows a reported 20 courses are adding GPS to their golf-cart fleets weekly.
For more information about ProLink, visit www.goprolink.com, or call 480.753.2337.
Contact:
Rich Katz / Shane Sharp
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3319 / 803.547.2118
rkatz@billycaspergolf.com
ssharp@billycaspergolf.com
