Why I Started FlingGolf Georgia and How I Did It

By David Woods, FlingGolf Georgia Group Manager

It all started with Shark Tank with Alex and John.

Or maybe it was Shark Tank mixed with a few YouTube videos. Either way, I remember watching someone throw a golf ball down a fairway and thinking, I can't believe somebody came up with an idea like this.

But the more I watched, the more interested I became.

I started watching videos on the FlingGolf Players page, the training section of the FlingGolf website, and especially on YouTube. I watched Ken Pytluk, Shawn Van Lancker, Lucky Jack Bovich, Sunny Walton, Austin Ebersole, and others. The more I watched, the more I began to think, You know what? This thing might actually take off.

So I decided to try it myself.

Back in February 2023, I ordered a FlingStick. When it finally arrived, I took it to a football field where nobody was around and started practicing.

The first few throws went only ten or fifteen feet.

I thought, Well, this doesn't look so good.

I found out later that this was pretty normal.

But I kept throwing. I remembered what I had heard: “Aim high and let it fly.”

Eventually, I worked my way up to 100, then 120 yards. Somewhere along the way, I realized something important:

This is fun.

Now I wanted somebody to play with.

Looking for FlingGolfers

I started looking around Facebook and on the FlingGolf Players page, asking questions and trying to find anyone in Georgia who was playing.

“Anyone in Georgia want to meet up and play some FlingGolf?”

Nothing.

No responses.

I thought, Okay, I guess I can do what other people have suggested. Just play a round with golfers while I play FlingGolf.

So that's what I did.

But I'll be honest. Sometimes I felt like the fifth wheel out there.

I was enjoying the heck out of playing, but I really wanted to find other people who played FlingGolf.

Every now and then, I would see a tournament pop up somewhere, but there was nobody from Georgia. Maybe the answer was to travel to one of these tournaments, meet some players, and go from there.

Still, I kept asking.

“Anyone in Georgia want to meet up and play some FlingGolf?”

Nada.

At some point, I realized that if I couldn't find a group to play with, maybe I needed to create one.

Then I thought about my background.

I had spent 50 years in the automotive industry, mostly on the management and customer-sales side. One thing you learn in business is that if you want people to know about something, you have to put the word out.

Advertising. Talking to people. Whatever it takes.

So I thought, Why not Facebook?

I didn't really know what I was doing.

I didn't know exactly how to set up a page, which boxes to check, what the etiquette was, or what I should and shouldn't post. And yes, I made mistakes. I probably did some things that weren't exactly the best Facebook etiquette, too.

But I had a reason for doing it.

I wanted people in Georgia to have somewhere they could go to see what was happening with FlingGolf in Georgia and around the world.

So I started FlingGolf Georgia.

In June 2023, I began.

Just Put It Out There

Once I started the page, the learning curve began.

In the setup, Facebook would ask questions, and sometimes I didn't have the answers.

So I winged it.

I started posting videos and pictures of players. I invited other FlingGolf players to join. I invited people I knew. I talked about FlingGolf at work. I talked about it at church.

I talked about it pretty much anywhere and everywhere I could.

Some people responded right away. Others didn't. Some of the people I knew personally weren't especially interested, and that's okay. People are busy.

I just kept going.

One of the things that amazed me was seeing how FlingGolf was spreading around the world.

Unbelievable.

And here I was, trying to get a handful of people in Georgia interested.

But little by little, things started happening.

I began figuring out what people responded to on Facebook.

Pictures of players playing worked. Action shots with captions worked. A few pictures with music worked. Videos with several pictures attached seemed to get people to stop and look.

Light humor worked.

Stories worked.

I also learned that three, four, or five pictures gave people something to look through and seemed to keep them on the post a little longer.

Facebook's statistics and insights became another useful tool. I started paying attention to which posts were getting attention and which ones weren't. What were people actually looking at?

That taught me a lot.

The important thing is that what works for one page or one person may not work for another. You have to pay attention to your own audience and learn as you go.

One thing I learned pretty quickly is that FlingGolf is aimed at all ages.

So the goal was to show people that this is something anybody can enjoy.

Sometimes You Just Have to Put the Stick in Somebody's Hands

One of the best ways to explain FlingGolf turned out not to be explaining it at all.

It's letting somebody try it.

I remember playing at Signal Hill Golf Course in Florida while I was on vacation with my family.

After nine holes, I went into the pro shop for a cold drink. One of the guys behind the counter looked at me and said:

“You've got one of those sticks, don't you?”

I smiled.

“Yes.”

He had seen FlingGolf on YouTube, and pretty soon a small group of employees was asking questions. I brought the FlingStick in and showed them how it worked.

That kind of thing started happening more and more.

Another time, I was playing a smaller course, and there were five teenagers ahead of me. They were two holes in front, but they kept watching me and waiting until I caught up.

Finally, they asked, “What is that you're playing with?”

I explained FlingGolf and asked if they wanted to try it.

One guy immediately said yes, and then the others wanted to try it too.

Some of them threw it pretty well.

A couple of them threw it straight into the ground.

Which, by the way, is pretty normal when you're first starting!

They were having fun with it, so I told them I was new to FlingGolf myself and had been taking pictures of people trying it. I asked if they minded taking a picture with the FlingStick.

They didn't mind.

It was just a simple little encounter, but that's the kind of thing that sticks with you.

And that wasn't the only time I found out how quickly curiosity can turn into a FlingGolf lesson.

Then there was the grandfather, father, and grandson.

They were a couple of holes ahead of me when the grandfather saw what I was doing.

He said, “I see what you're doing. You're not throwing your club. You're throwing your golf ball. That's cool.”

They waited for me to catch up, and they wanted to try the FlingStick.

They had a lot of questions.

They loved it.

I told them I'd be at the driving range after the round if they wanted to try it some more.

Sure enough, they showed up.

The grandfather bought a bucket of balls and went through the whole bucket with the FlingStick. His son and grandson tried it too. The grandson was a lacrosse player, so needless to say, he seemed to take to it pretty naturally.

Afterward, one of the guys from the pro shop came out and said something like, “I feel like I need to give you another bucket of balls because this guy just used up all your balls.”

I told him, “You know what? Not a problem.”

Those are the moments that make this worthwhile.

Don't Be Afraid to Let People See You

I've had people come up and ask, “What is that club you're using?”

I've had one guy ask, “Is that a prototype? Some new piece of golf equipment?”

I was tempted to tell somebody it was spycraft or some kind of ninja weapon.

I didn't.

I explained FlingGolf instead.

And then I handed them the stick.

That's the important part.

Don't be afraid.

Let people ask questions.

Let them try it.

Put the FlingStick in their hands.

And have some business cards with you. You never know when somebody is going to get the hang of it and want to try it again.

Getting FlingGolf Onto Golf Courses

Getting golf courses interested was another learning experience.

The challenge was simply that people didn't know what FlingGolf was all about.

There is no expense to the course. It is an opportunity to increase the bottom line and fill empty tee times.

Keep trying by building value for the course.

Eventually, you find the right person.

Fox Creek Golf Club and Legacy Golf Links in Smyrna, Georgia, managed by the Bobby Jones Golf Group, have become especially important to me. Operations Manager Matty Van Bockern and his staff have done an excellent job with the course and taking care of us.

We have played there several times. We now have FlingGolf Georgia get-togethers there. Sometimes we've had three or four Georgia players. One time, we had seven players.

Other times, it's only been one or two.

And that's okay.

You are getting to play with other FlingGolfers. The course and FlingGolf get exposure.

And we're building a relationship that could eventually lead to bigger events and tournaments.

You Don't Have to Have All the Answers

One thing I've learned through all of this is that you don't have to know everything before you get started.

I certainly didn't.

There was a learning curve.

There was trial and error.

And there were some embarrassing moments.

But if you're trying to introduce something new, you can't wait until you know everything.

You have to do something.

When it comes to getting FlingGolf onto a golf course, I've learned that you don't always need to give somebody a twenty-minute explanation.

When you walk into a golf course or driving range and ask, “Is it okay if I play FlingGolf here?”, sometimes the person behind the counter has absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

You can almost see the blank stare.

Then comes, “No, we don't allow that here.”

But the problem is, they don't know what it is. They may be thinking about Frisbee golf. You have to explain what FlingGolf is and show them the value it can bring.

FlingGolf can be played on golf courses with the same basic fees golfers pay. It doesn't damage the tee area, it has a faster pace of play, and it gives the golf course another way to bring people onto the course—especially people who may not be good at golf but still enjoy being out there. It's another way for the golf course to make money.

You also don't want to overlook the people who work around the course. The rangers, groundskeepers, cart attendants, and others see you playing.

Let them ask questions.

Let them see what FlingGolf is about.

Let them try it.

Sometimes those people can become your best word-of-mouth advertising.

So sometimes the best approach is simple.

Pay your fees.

Get your gear.

Go play.

At a driving range, pay for your bucket, get your FlingStick, and maybe start at the farthest bay from the pro shop.

Practice until you feel comfortable.

Then move a little closer.

Eventually, you will get comfortable being right out front.

It takes a little boldness.

Sometimes you just have to act like you own the place.

Practice More Than Just the Drive

And if you're getting into FlingGolf, don't make the mistake of thinking it's all about how far you can fling the ball.

Chipping matters.

Putting matters.

Practicing those parts of the game is important, too.

The more complete your game becomes, the more fun you'll have when you get out on the course.

If You Can't Find It, Build It

There is a line in a movie that says, “Build it and they will come.”

That may be the biggest lesson I've learned from starting FlingGolf Georgia.

If you're sitting somewhere thinking you're all alone because you can't find anybody else playing FlingGolf, maybe that's your opportunity.

Maybe you need to start your own FlingGolf group. FlingGolf Georgia worked for me. If you're in another state, put your state's name on it and start there. It's easier for others to find you.

That's essentially what I did.

I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to create a place where other people could find it.

It started with one FlingStick, a football field, a Facebook page, and a guy who really didn't know exactly what he was doing.

But I kept at it.

And now I'm seeing FlingGolf players, golf courses, tournaments, friendships, and opportunities that I never imagined when I first watched somebody throw a golf ball down a fairway.

It didn't happen overnight.

So if you find yourself in the same situation, don't wait until you have all the answers.

Step up.

Try something.

Make some mistakes.

Embarrass yourself a little.

That's okay.

At least you're trying.

There are 50 states, and plenty of regions so there is plenty of room for more FlingGolf pages.

And when you don't know exactly what to do next, maybe there's really only one thing left to do:

Step up to the tee and fling it with everything you've got. Go for it!

Have a FlingGolf day!

Find your FlingGolf Group on the FlingGolf Players Page.

Haven't started yet? Find your FlingStick here.

New Swarm welcomes players to create FlingGolf Group pages for the purpose of growing play. FlingGolf is a registered trademark of New Swarm Sports, LLC.