Which brand-new golf technology was everybody talking about at this year’s Golf Trade Show in Harrogate? Answer: the new SkyTrak personal launch monitor and golf simulator, which dominated the front of the exhibition hall with hourly demonstrations and regular queues among customers keen to have a try.
With the full SkyCaddie GPS 2016 range and the successful SkyPro personal swing analyser also on display, SkyCaddie was emphatically one of the most popular stands at this year’s Harrogate show.
The SkyTrak packs the knockout combination of a professional-grade photometric golf launch monitor, suitable for custom-fitting, and a high-definition golf simulator with a wealth of world-class golf courses to play, into a low price point – just £1,695 RRP – previously thought unachievable for this technology.
SkyTrak therefore serves a market of people – golfers, professional coaches and golf retailers – who never thought they would be able to afford a launch monitor, let alone a high-grade golf simulator.
The first CE-certified SkyTrak units arrive in the UK in mid-November, which crucially means that golfers will find them in their pro shops in the month before Christmas. Demand across the UK and Europe has been exceptional, with retailers advised to place their SkyTrak orders now to guarantee pre-Christmas delivery.
“It was the busiest we have ever been at Harrogate” said Jacqui Surman, Senior Vice President International Sales and Marketing for SkyCaddie. “SkyTrak’s starring role at the show made it a fabulous week for us, justifying the stellar effort which our UK team has put in to bring this product to market this autumn.
“Harrogate is always well-timed for us, with Christmas around the corner and SkyCaddie being such a popular gift for golfers, but this year interest levels in the new SkyTrak were off the charts. The regular demonstrations attracting attracted constant stream of customers to the stand, which produced record footfall throughout all three days.
“Order levels for SkyCaddie, SkyPro and SkyTrak were correspondingly excellent, and as a result our sales team have filled their autumn diaries with follow-up appointments.”
Several visitors to the SkyCaddie stand admitted that they had visited this year’s Golf Trade Show in Harrogate simply to see the SkyTrak demonstration.
“We brought in significant new business from people to whom we haven’t sold before” said SkyCaddie’s Internal Sales Manager, James Holmes. “Although we came prepared for high levels of interest, we actually ran out of order forms by tea time on the second day. Luckily the show staff were able to re-print a new batch, and sales remained strong through to the finish on Thursday”.
Srixon Sports Europe, which had a stand adjacent to SkyCaddie at the entrance to the show, supplied a fully-stocked fitting cart which enabled SkyCaddie staff to demonstrate the custom-fitting capabilities of SkyTrak before the ever-present audience of pros and retailers.
SkyTrak drew particular praise from onlookers for its accuracy when compared to other far more expensive launch monitors; for its stunning high-definition visuals when in simulator mode; for its extremely compact nature, being small and light enough to be easily transported; and for its wireless simplicity, enabling golfers, coaches or retailers to set SkyTrak up more or less anywhere a golf ball can be hit.
SkyTrak www.skytrakgolf.com
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