CHIP SHOT
RFID TRACKING SYSTEM AIMS TO HELP LOWER PLAYERS' HANDICAPS
Julie Patel
Mercury News
August 9, 2004
Lost balls spoiled many a round of golf for Chris Savarese,
until the former software executive decided to do something
about it.
His search of patent filings showed others had tried to
devise technological fixes to the lost-ball dilemma. Among
the not-ready-for-prime-time contraptions: golf-club-shaped
metal detectors that scout out metallic balls, a tube that
helped players sniff out scented balls and even Geiger counters
that could locate balls embedded with radioactive material.
Savarese thought he could do better. And his new hand-held
gadget, called RadarGolf, may prove he's a better entrepreneur
than he is a golfer.
RadarGolf helps players find balls embedded with radio
frequency identification chips. RFID chips emit a radio
signal that can be tracked with a scanner.
Savarese quit his job and formed RadarGolf about two years
ago. Steve Harari, a technology consultant and angel investor,
took a stake in RadarGolf early on and became chief executive
in November. The company recently moved its headquarters
from Los Altos to Roseville, a Sacramento suburb.
Harari showed off a prototype of the RadarGolf system
at the Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club. On his second
shot in the third hole, a par 4, Harari's ball flew high
toward the golden hills of the East Bay, bounced off a tree
and descended -- somewhere.
Savarese whipped out the hand-held scanner and turned it
on, sending a radio signal to the ball, which responded
by beaming signals back. The device began beeping, slowly
at first, and more quickly as Savarese walked straight and
then slightly to his right. Just as the ball was in full
view -- nestled in a patch of grass under some pine trees
-- the beeps coalesced into one continuous, high-pitched
whine.
''Bingo,'' Harari said. ''We got it.''
He found the ball within 10 seconds -- avoiding what might
have been a two-stroke penalty if he hadn't located the
ball within five minutes as golfing rules require.
On average, the device finds one out of four balls. But
if golfers hit into water, over fences or down canyons,
they're still out of luck.
Harari and Savarese are in discussions with two national
retailers about selling the products. They already have
started taking orders online at www.RadarGolf.com. The company
will begin shipping the finished products in November.
Some golfers might balk at paying $249 for a ball-finder
scanner and the first dozen balls, and then $39 for each
additional dozen. But that may not be RadarGolf's biggest
obstacle. Some serious golfers like MaryBee Johnston of
Portola Valley opt for the brand of golf balls they like
best, such as Titleist or Precept.
''We're picky about our balls, the feel of them, and how
they perform,'' Johnston said. ''I'm not going to want to
buy just any brand.''
RadarGolf balls are fine for tournaments because the flea-sized
microchip in each ball doesn't change its size, shape or
performance, say United States Golf Association officials.
But the ball-finder scanner is another story. According
to the golf association, the gadget is not allowed because
it would be considered a distance-measuring device that
would give players an unfair advantage. In other words,
Tiger Woods will have to find his lost balls on his own.
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