ProLink Solutions, On Course GPS Partner in South Africa


September 27, 2005. Adding to its explosive international growth, ProLink Solutions, the world’s largest provider of Global Positioning Satellite (“GPS”) systems for golf courses, today announces it has partnered with On Course GPS to install the state-of-the-art ProLink GPS system on golf carts in South Africa.

South Africa’s leading distributor of GPS products, On Course GPS will build the ProLink brand across the country’s golf-rich provinces. Courses that have already selected ProLink GPS include Eagle Canyon Golf Estate (Johannesburg); The Lost City Golf Course at the Palace of the Lost City (Sun City); Arabella Golf Course at the Arabella Western Cape Hotel and Spa; and Zimbali Golf Course on the Zimbali Lodge Estate (Kwazulu Natal).

The ProLink/On Course GPS partnership is the latest result of intensified demand for the ProLink GPS system worldwide. Elûmina Iberica SA, the fastest-growing GPS business in Europe and the Middle East, recently signed on as a distributor. Other global alliances will be announced by ProLink Solutions in upcoming weeks.

On Course GPS is uniquely positioned to expand ProLink installations at public, private and resort courses in South Africa. With a year-round golf climate, breathtaking scenery, favorable exchange rate and an abundance of complementary activities such as wine routes and safaris, the country has emerged as one of the world’s great golf destinations. Second to the U.S. in residential golf living, South Africa is rapidly increasing its golf course inventory.

Via its innovative financing programs, On Course GPS provides courses with flexible alternatives to install ProLink GPS. Golf courses can purchase ProLink outright or enter a fixed-lease agreement. They can also take advantage of a no-upfront-cost, pay-for-play opportunity whereby the golf course is invoiced on a monthly basis per actual cart round with no minimum guarantee. A small increase in cart fees of $5 per cart round is required and offset to the players.

Further increasing the accessibility of ProLink for all courses in South Africa, On Course GPS has developed an on-screen advertising program through which courses can offset the cost of the system with such revenues. Additionally, a “Corporate Day Package” provides GPS-based administration of tournaments and outings. On Course GPS is attracting advertisers of the highest quality through this exclusive medium that targets high net worth individuals and offers access to the country’s most significant spending power.

“We are excited to team with On Course GPS and add this dynamic company to our growing list of trusted partners,” says Lawrence Bain, President and CEO of ProLink Solutions. “Courses with ProLink GPS bolster customers’ experiences and realize incremental revenue – an awesome value proposition.”

ProLink’s industry-leading GPS system boasts a high-resolution, color display unit neatly affixed to each golf cart. The easy-to-read screen displays pinpoint-accurate distances to the hole, as well as vibrant and easy-to-understand graphics of fairways, greens, hazards and other on-course geographical features. Better navigating the course and taking guesswork out of the game aids golfers’ shot selections and, in turn, speeds pace of play. Other features include ordering food and beverage at the touch of a button on the ninth and 18th tees, as well as personal scoring and tournament leaderboards.

 

“ProLink’s technological superiority and On Course GPS’s intimate knowledge of the South African market provides a strong foundation for growing the use of ProLink systems at courses throughout the country,” says Andrew Nelson, President of On Course GPS.

With ProLink GPS systems, courses in On Course’s portfolio will streamline operations by optimizing tee-sheet yield and enhancing golf cart wear-and-tear monitoring. Courses will also be better equipped to manage large tournaments and corporate outings, thus attracting additional events and incremental profits. Through revenue generation, bottom-line savings and overall game-improvement and enjoyment features for golfers, ProLink GPS systems have become a necessary marketing and management tool for private, resort and daily-fee courses.

Course operators say the reliable and robust ProLink GPS system benefits food-and-beverage sales; green and cart fees; innovative and unobtrusive on-screen advertising for local businesses and course merchandise, tournaments and memberships; optimal tee-sheet yield; and marketing a competitive advantage to secure more golf rounds from new and repeat players.

Courses engaging with ProLink Solutions and its distributors substantially lower expenses by not having to hire additional on-course staff or develop costly, cumbersome yardage books. Courses also add up to four rounds per day from pace-of-play improvements, and can control messages from a central computer from which clubhouse staff can issue golfers “speed-up-play” and inclement-weather notices. ProLink GPS systems also allow for quicker reaction to on-course medical emergencies.

For more information about ProLink Solutions international sales, call 480.753.2326 or email info@goprolink.com.

About ProLink Solutions

Based in Tempe, Arizona, ProLink Solutions is the world’s largest provider of GPS services to golf courses. ProLink’s industry-leading technology and marketing richness is at more than 700 resort, private and public courses worldwide, more than triple the installations of all its competitors combined. World-famous course partners of ProLink include Valderrama Golf Club in San Roque, Spain, Dai-Takarazuka in Osaka, Japan and Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii.

The world’s largest golf-course management companies, including Pacific Golf Management, Meadowbrook, Kemper Sports, Evergreen Alliance Group and Billy Casper Golf feature ProLink, and the golf-industry trend shows a reported 20 courses are adding GPS to their golf-cart fleets weekly.

For more information about ProLink, visit www.goprolink.com, call 480.753.2337 or email info@goprolink.com.