SO
UTHAMPTON, NY – In a partnership with the Shinnecock Nation, fans on hand for the 118th United States Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (Southampton, New York) will have the chance for a sneak-peek of NextLinks, the golf industry’s hottest trend in alternative, interactive golf experiences.
The Shinnecock Indian Nation worked closely with the United States Golf Association (USGA) to develop and provide the space that will be hosting the interactive attraction that showcases the NextLinks technology-driven brand of golf. The Shinnecock Nation hospitality space will be in a prime location, a short walk from the U.S. Open Championship’s Train Station and the championship’s Gate 2 (near the baseball fields).
The Shinnecock Nation has been part of the fabric at Shinnecock Hills since before 1896, when the second U.S. Open was played. The land was once owned by the Shinnecock Nation and the course was built by members of the Shinnecock Tribe. Since then the Shinnecock have been part of the club working as caddies and on the grounds crew. During past U.S. Open’s, the Shinnecock and USGA have worked together in a variety of ways to help the Shinnecock and this year is no different.
“The Shinnecock Indian Nation is extremely excited to partner with NextLinks. The Shinnecock People have 126 years of golf experience dating back to the very beginning of golf in this country,” says Lance Gumbs – Shinnecock Tribal Councilman. “We were very impressed with the accuracy and realism of this technology and felt it needed to be represented here during the 118th U.S. Open Championship week. We look forward to all of the golf fans stopping by our Shinnecock Indian Nation NextLinks booth to test out this amazing product.”
Leaders from the Shinnecock Nation recently discovered NextLinks at a technology conference and were so impressed, they agreed to a revenue-share-based partnership for this week-long exhibition.
“We’re honored to partner with the Shinnecock Nation and to be able to showcase our innovation and business model to help them achieve their goals during the event,” said NextLinks founder and president Dave Shultz. “Their belief in us inspires us to put on a great show.”
Throughout U.S. Open week, June 11 – 18, fans will use the innovative, trade-marked Pinpoint Spotlight Technology on a custom-designed putting green to putt and play a sampling of Nextlinks’ skills-based golf games.
NextLinks gamifies putting and the short game through technology that tracks multiple players’ positions on the green while playing various target-oriented games. Imagine golf versions of Darts, Horse, Shuffleboard and Cornhole-and projects colored lasers on to the green to guide each player on where to putt from on the expertly-designed putting green.
“After watching the greatest players in the world take on one of the all-time great courses, fans are going to be excited to get their hands on some golf clubs and come putt in this uniquely-immersive golfing environment,” says Shultz. “A typical NextLinks venue combines golf with the energy of a sports bar or night club. I have a feeling these great New York golf fans are going to bring that energy to us.”
Shultz believes presenting the sport in a fun, gaming-based fashion is a logical way to capture new golf fans.
“A beginning golfer can go to a NextLinks-powered venue and learn the game from the hole out,” Shultz says. “We can get them hooked on golf by exposing them to fun games that incorporate real skills they can build on for as long as they play the game.”
In addition to providing this unique golf experience, NextLinks executives will be presenting the NextLinks scalable business opportunity for venue owners and entrepreneurs as well as an attractive turnkey solution for high-end “golf cave” installations in homes or businesses. A standard NextLinks build-out brings expertly-designed putting greens and the laser gaming technology together with golf simulators adding the long time missing link creating an alternative real-life indoor golf experience.
“Our expandable software and pinpoint technology means you’re never going to get bored with your golf entertainment space.”
The newest NextLinks venue opened recently at the picturesque nine-hole Putting Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort (Indian Wells, Calif.) as part of the innovative “Shot in the Dark” night-time golf attraction. Shultz thinks he and his team can bring some of that West Coast magic to Long Island.
“The U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills is history in the making,” he says. “The atmosphere will be electric and we’re looking forward to feeding off of that and showing golfers the future of alterative golf experiences.”
For more information, visit nextlinks.com.
To view a studio version of the NextLinks experience, click on the link below:
youtube.com/watch?v=J1IcEIx9ovU&feature=youtu.be
Media Contact:
Kevin Frisch PR
Kevin Frisch
(989) 614-0241
kevin@kevinfrischpr.com
About NextLinks
In the Spring of 2015, David Shultz, a veteran technologist, followed his passion for golf and began working to realize his vision for NextLinks and REALiTEE Golf, immersive golf experiences designed to make golf accessible to beginners as well as seasoned golfers. Shultz spent more than two decades as an electrical engineer and operations executive at General Electric. As an aviation electronics technician in the United States Navy, Shultz discovered a knack for problem solving on the avionics systems of A-6 and F/A-18 aircrafts. The seasoned technologist was also a key team member on the Boeing 787 development project while at General Electric. NextLinks is a fully scalable business opportunity meaning venue owners with 850 square-feet of space up to 100,000 can license this unique golf entertainment platform and develop a fun alternative golf experience. Using proprietary software that seamlessly blends golf simulator play with realistic short game play and putting on expertly-designed putting greens, NextLinks revolutionizes indoor golf for participants of any skill level. Visit nextlinks.com.
