The yachting industry prides itself on offering one-of-a-kind experiences, but when one crew member noticed a lack of onboard golfing experiences, it sparked a new idea, a new business for Off the Deck and an entirely new product.
Ashley Hare, chief technical officer at Off the Deck and a former chief mate in the yacht industry, started as a deckhand in 2007 and worked on vessels ranging from 50 to 135 meters. He explains that throughout his career as a crew member, he only used very basic golf equipment: cheap golf mats, old golf clubs, and water-soluble golf balls. That’s very 1990s-style and simply won’t work in an industry that demands the very best, he says.
“The technology and entertainment offerings are usually a step ahead of what you can do on land,” he said. “But when it comes to golf, [yachting] “We were 30 years behind. There was a big gap in the market and in the offering. We saw an opportunity.”
Ashley and her co-founders, CEO Alex Hare and CCO Alan Shbotham, have capitalized on that gap. Alex’s background in finance and as the former CFO of an indoor golf entertainment business, Alan’s entrepreneurial background and deep ties to professional golf, combined with Ashley’s extensive yachting knowledge, created a dream team.
Their concept aimed to tackle the idea of transforming every yacht beach club into “the most exclusive golf entertainment experience in the world.” Off the Deck was born, and with it, a plan to “reimagine golf entertainment on board a superyacht and bring the latest in golf simulation technology to every yacht with the space to swing a golf club, without the need for modifications or reconfigurations,” Ashley said.
Ashley’s plan to scale down golf simulation products into small, lightweight, portable systems came to fruition as a golf simulator solution: SeaDriveCX. Off the Deck partnered with Formula One engineering firm Hooper Quinn for the technical design and manufacturing.
Made from Formula 1-grade carbon fiber and designed by Formula 1 engineers, the SeaDriveCX weighs just 40 kilograms and measures one metre by 37 centimetres, making it easily portable. The screen rises from the unit and features a bright 2,000 nits touchscreen suitable for daytime use. For better visibility at night, it features a full LED lighting system. To drive the ball into the water, the machine is tailored to fit the Off the Deck B1E golf ball, which is non-toxic and biodegradable, giving golfers virtual access to 245 golf courses around the world.
Need to keep the kids entertained? It can also be used for other interactive games like darts and bowling. Off the Deck also hosts competitions for guests and crew, which can be accessed directly through SeaDriveCX. Play against the boat next to you at the marina or against friends on the other side of the world.
“SeaDriveCX has been designed from the ground up to have a beautiful design that will look great on any superyacht, and to operate in the marine environment,” Ashley said. The system is IP54 rated and can be left outdoors. It is designed to operate in ambient temperatures up to 44 degrees, and requires access to power within 25 metres of the installation site. SeaDriveCX is handcrafted in their UK manufacturing facility and can be customised to suit each owner’s requirements.
Perhaps most importantly, the product is easy to use with just the touch of a button: “We’ve developed the world’s first golf system that requires no installation or renovation – it’s 100% plug and play and you just pack away,” says Alan.
Off the Deck is working with software designers to map the B1E golf ball into a normalization algorithm. “Biodegradable golf balls don’t perform like real golf balls; they don’t fly as far,” Alan says. “But we’ll turn on a setting that tells the system that we’re using a B1E golf ball, and then it will use the normalization algorithm to calculate exactly how a real golf ball would behave from the flight of the B1E golf ball.”
“A key principle for us is ‘Golf Anywhere’ – all you need is access to power, and you can install the SeaDriveCX on a yacht, lakeside property, pier, private beach, and more,” Ashley says.
Orders are currently being accepted and Off the Deck aims to deliver the units by mid-season next year, and the Off the Deck team can be expected to be seen at the upcoming Monaco Yacht Show.
Want to know more about Crew products? Check out Captain Grant Morgan’s new book.
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