Des Moines golf app GolfRz rewards users for what they already do

When Dustin Hemesath and his wife got married in 2007, they decided to help celebrate her father’s 60th birthday on RAGBRAI in lieu of a honeymoon. There was just one problem. “I hate biking,” Hemesath told Silicon Prairie News. “I hate it. So riding RAGBRAI wasn’t necessarily on the top of my list.” …


GolfRz rewards golfers for things they already do—like checking in and keeping score—while at the course.

When Dustin Hemesath and his wife got married in 2007, they decided to help celebrate her father’s 60th birthday on RAGBRAI in lieu of a honeymoon. 

There was just one problem. 

“I hate biking,” Hemesath told Silicon Prairie News. “I hate it. So riding RAGBRAI wasn’t necessarily on the top of my list.” 

Instead of biking across the state, Hemesath and his brother-in-law drove the team’s support vehicles and played at 10 different golf courses across Iowa in the span of a week. It was then that the idea for Hemesath’s app, GolfRz—which launched Wednesday–was born. 

“The whole time I was just thinking there has to be a way to make money doing this,” he said. “There are all of these really unique courses that I’d never heard of in Iowa and there’s about 17,000 across the U.S. There should be a way to reward people for enjoying them.” 

While Hemesath first had the idea for GolfRz more than five years ago, it wasn’t until 2011 that he began taking steps to make his vision a reality. Now—with the help of an external developer—he is launching the free mobile app at the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., a venue he believes is perfect for getting the word out about his company. 

“Out there in the marketplace you’ve got scorecard apps, you’ve got social apps, you’ve got GPS tracking apps and you’ve got training apps,” Hemesath (right) said. “Our app is simply a golf rewards app that allows you to do the things you’re already doing on the golf course—checking in, using a scorecard, inviting friends and sharing on social media—to earn points.”

Users can then redeem their points—just like a credit card rewards system—for things like free golf balls, a round of golf at their favorite course or, if you’re more ambitious, a golf getaway. GolfRz users also are able to make in-app purchases on anything from lost-cost items like divot repair tools to larger things like passes to golf events and vacation packages. Hemesath says GolfRz will generate revenue and pay for users’ rewards through advertising, commission on in-app purchases and, hopefully in the future, featured promotions from specific companies or courses. 

Hemesath says he’s very aware of the large number of competitors in the golf tech space, ranging from companies like GolfLogix with more than 1 million users to fellow startups like Lincoln-based GolfStatus. While GolfStatus also is a rewards-based app, Hemesath says the app is slightly different in that it focuses on merchandise manufacturers awarding rewards to users rather than rewards coming from the app itself.   

GolfRz currently is available for iOS, with an Android version coming soon. 
 

Credits: Product screenshots courtesy of Golf Challenges LLC. Dustin Hemesath photo from LinkedIn

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

Channels:

Get the latest news and events from Nebraska’s entrepreneurship and innovation community delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday.