Traditionally, the golf industry has been known to be stagnant and lacking in innovation.
In fact, for years the sport was on a decline.
Between 2003 and 2018, golf saw a decrease of over 6.8 million players and more than 1,200 course closures.
In 2024, that’s no longer the case.
Golf has exploded in the last few years.
The golf industry is estimated to be a $100 billion industry today and is expected to reach $160 billion by 2025.
Here are some other interesting facts:
- There are currently more than 41 million golfers in the US and over 80 million worldwide
- There are also currently more than 16,000 golf courses in the US and over 38,000 worldwide
- The average golfer is typically a male high-earner with an average household income of over $125,000
- 1 in 4 golfers own their own business
- 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs are golfers
In the past few years, we’ve seen new emerging leagues such as LIV Golf which merged with the PGA Tour, member-owned golf communities, and courses such as LinksDAO, and legacy brands launching tech-driven golf clubs.
We’ve also seen:
- The emergence of more consumer-entertainment golf experiences such as TopGolf, 5 Iron, Puttery, and DriveShack
- The emergence of golf-focused investment firms such as Old Tom Ventures, Backswing Venture, and EP Golf Ventures
- The emergence of golf-focused content creators and influencers channels such as Paige Spiranac, Garrett Clark, and Rick Shiels
This is all just the tip of the iceberg.
We asked LinkedIn to help us find some of the most exciting and some of the most under-the-radar golf startups.
Here are the results…
(There are several we missed so please email us at hello@vettedsports.com if you have another company you’d like us to take a look at).
22 golf startups you should be paying attention to in 2024:
Sportsbox AI
Founders: Jeehae Lee
Website: https://www.sportsbox.ai/
Location: San Francisco, CA
Year Founded: 2020
What they do: Sportsbox AI is a markerless and sensor-free 3D motion analysis studio that allows instructors to easily access 3D motion data with a single slow-motion swing video anywhere golfers practice and play.
Raised: $5.5 million Seed
Noteefy, Inc
Founders: Jake Gordon & Dathan Wong
Website: https://noteefy.app/
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: Noteefy has created the first automated tee time assistant/waitlist for golfers and golf courses to improve the golfer booking experience, while accelerating course revenue and efficiency.
Raised: $500k Pre-Seed. Currently closing $2.5 million Seed, led by Phoenix Capital Ventures
GolfForever
Founders: Dr. Jeremy James
Website: https://golfforever.com/
Location: Aspen, CO
Year Founded: 2016
What they do: Golfforever is the number one at-home golf training tool, app, and smart system.
Raised: $10 million Series A
Xonic Golf
Founders: Eileen Jurczak
Website: https://xonicgolf.com/
Location: Canada
Year Founded: 2020
What they do: Xonic Golf is the game’s first-ever AI-powered caddie app giving golfers of all skill levels instant, customized PGA professional quick fixes and tips while they play.
Raised: Not found
deWiz Golf
Founders: Christian Bergh & Markus Westerberg
Website: https://dewizgolf.com/
Location: Skane Lan, Sweden
Year Founded: 2015
What they do: deWiz Golf is a revolutionary new training aid that delivers instantaneous feedback within your swing. Its innovative approach accelerates the learning process by removing the guesswork and alerting you in real-time while you swing.
Raised: $3.9 million Series B
Graff Golf
Founders: Aaron Shapiro
Website: https://www.graff.golf/
Location: Baltimore, MD
Year Founded: 2019
What they do: Graff Golf empowers athletes with access to data-driven analytics & actionable insights. The Graff Golf system enables golfers to view detailed analytics of their golf swing and improve using custom practice programs–using only the Graff smart golf ball.
Raised: $1.6 million Pre-Seed
LoopGolf Club
Founders: Matt Rum
Website: https://www.joinloopgolf.co/
Location: San Francisco, California
Year Founded: 2021
What they do: LoopGolf Club is golf’s premium on-course betting app.
Raised: $2 million Pre-Seed
Clippd
Founders: Piers Parnell & Ed Crossman
Website: https://www.clippd.com/
Location: London, England
Year Founded: 2016
What they do: Clippd is data-driven technology that helps golfers to get better faster. The performance platform analyses every shot – both on and off the course – to reveal a golfer’s unique golfing DNA.
Raised: Yes but not disclosed
SquareFace
Founders: Paul Llano
Website: https://www.squareface.org
Location: Plymouth, MA
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: SquareFace is developing robotic swing trainers (full swing & putting) to develop rapid skill acquisition for all levels of golfers.
Raised: $1.725 million Pre-Seed & Friends/Family
Hole19
Founders: Anthony Douglas
Website: https://www.hole19golf.com
Location: United Kingdom
Year Founded: 2014
What they do: Hole19 empowers golfers with tools, engages through community, and excites through experiences, enriching every step of the golfer’s journey.
Raised: $4 million between 2013 and 2017
Leaderboard Golf
Founders: Riley Pratt
Website: https://www.leaderboardgolf.co/
Location: New York City
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: Leaderboard is a USGA-connected mobile app for golfers to track on-course games and wagers and share the results with friends.
Raised: Yes but not disclosed
Mogo Tech
Founders: Jonathan Xing
Website: https://www.mogo-app.com
Location: Irvine, CA
Year Founded: 2023
What they do: Mogo is an AI-driven social media marketplace platform for GenZ and Millennial golfers to expand their social network and monetize directly from platform engagement while playing their favorite sport.
Raised: Yes but not disclosed
Golf Live App
Founders: Keith Scioli
Website: https://www.golfliveapp.com
Location: Houston, Texas
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: Golf Live App is a virtual golf instruction app that powers a coach business to the future, and enables golfers to connect with a coach more conveniently and effectively, while also working B2B with companies providing them memberships for their employees and clients.
Raised: $2.5 million in 2022
Dryvebox
Founders: Adeel Yang
Website: https://www.dryvebox.com/
Location: San Francisco, CA
Year Founded: 2021
What they do: Dryvebox offers a turnkey golf experience in a trailer that can be delivered.
Raised: Yes but no disclosed
V1 Sports
Founders: Christopher Hart
Website: https://v1sports.com/
Location: Novi, MI
Year Founded: 1995
What they do: V1 Sports helps coaches and golfers improve with top-tier video analysis, pressure mat technology, and content production.
Raised: Yes but not disclosed
Play Today
Founders: Clive Mayhew
Website: https://playtoday.cc/
Location: Sydney, Australia+
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: Play Today is an interactive 3D virtual world built by golf players for golf players, allowing participants or “Players” from across the world to connect and experience new and exciting ways to explore the world of golf.
Raised: $3 million in 2023
Carry
Founders: Donnie Dotson
Website: https://www.carry.golf/
Location: Charleston, SC
Year Founded: 2021
What they do: Carry enables undervalued pro golfers who lack the funds to train and compete the right way to stay in the game and keep chasing their dreams by connecting them with a growing community of fans and brands who wish to invest in their careers.
Raised: $1 million+
Puttrax 360
Founders: Mark Colangelo
Website: https://puttrax.com/
Location: Orlando, FL
Year Founded: 2020
What they do: Puttrax 360 is golf’s first portable training & gaming technology for putting. Using a custom camera system with computer vision, Puttrax captures users’ putting performance data during practice, curates a personalized improvement plan, and enables users to play live games.
Raised: $50,000 in 2023
CourseIQ
Founders: Brian Bolten
Website: https://www.courseiq.club
Location: Orlando, FL
Year Founded: 2023
What they do: CourseIQ is a platform that establishes a unified operational platform across all departments of a golf venue.
Raised: Yes but not disclosed
Bantee
Founders: Billy Annesley
Website: https://www.banteegolf.com
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Year Founded: 2022
What they do: Bantee is a social app designed specifically for golfers.
Raised: $100K in 2023
Supreme Golf
Founders: Jonathan Wride
Website: https://supremegolf.com/
Location: Dallas, TX
Year Founded: 2011
What they do: Supreme Golf is a platform that connects golf courses to golfers worldwide, giving golf courses access to data, tools, and technology that maximize revenue and golfers the most extensive inventory of tee times from which to book and play golf.
Raised: Over $24 million since 2011
Sagacity Golf
Founders: Andy Seitz & Brett Darrow
Website: https://www.sagacitygolf.com/
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Year Founded: 2019
What they do: Sagacity Golf helps daily fee golf courses unlock new revenue in everyday tasks. Its simple performance tools help golf course owners & managers price with confidence, stay on track with bookings, and gain new insight into their course’s performance.
Raised: $1.1 million Seed round in 2019
