Fast Growing Sport, FlingGolf® to Pitch ABC’s Shark Tank
AMESBURY, Massachusetts, May 6, 2021 – FlingGolf®, a sport played with the specially designed FlingStick® thrower to accurately launch and putt regulation golf balls and play the game in a whole new way, will have its national television debut on ABC’s Shark Tank on Friday, May 14 at 8PM EDT. Entrepreneurs Alex VanAlen and John Pruellage will pitch the TV show’s Sharks including Mark Cuban, Daniel Lubetzky, Lori Greiner, Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec with the casual, inclusive and quickly-emerging sport.
“After years of establishing the sport, working closely with golf courses and growing our grassroots player base, we are psyched to present FlingGolf and New
Swarm’s FlingStick to the Sharks and to introduce this rising sport to millions of viewers,” said Alex Van Alen, Founder and CEO of New Swarm SportsLLC, FlingGolf’s parent company, which manufactures the FlingStick out of CI Works in Amesbury, MA. “People love FlingGolf because it uses just one FlingStick to accurately launch and putt regulation golf balls. It’s much easier to get started than golf, but can be played with traditional golfers so everyone can have fun on the course.”
FlingGolf can be played on golf courses everywhere and since its inception has been played on over 1,200 golf courses in more than 27 countries. With similar rules as golf and played in the same format, FlingGolf is infusing new energy into the golf industry, attracting a more diverse, younger generation of players. From 2014 to 2019, FlingGolf has increased play averaging 160 new courses a year. In 2020, despite the pandemic FlingGolf outpaced that rate and anticipates 2021 will be the fastest growth year to date. Early adopter golf courses that include rental FlingStick packages and group activities have reported generating as much as $50,000 in incremental revenue every year and averaging over 1,500 rounds by filling empty tee times.
“There is an opportunity to both rejuvenate the interest of lapsed golfers and to attract an entirely new segment of players to golf courses looking for additional revenue” said John Pruellage, New Swarm’s President. “It’s like what snowboarding did to the ski industry decades ago, ultimately propelling innovation and bringing new crowds to resorts. Similarly, FlingGolf has created a way for friends and family to enjoy being outside together, on the same terrain but with different equipment.”
Stevan Bloom, New Swarm’s Vice President, believes that the company’s appearance on Shark Tank will not only grow the business for New Swarm nationally, but will have a local effect on Boston’s North Shore as well. “We think we are going to see a big boost in sales, both nationally and regionally, as many businesses do when they appear on Shark Tank. That will not only help us, but will also grow local play by expanding the regional player base, and that inevitably drives revenue for local golf courses as well. A Shark Tank appearance is bound to have a very positive ripple effect at every level and we are happy it is going to support more local businesses beyond ours.”
The idea for FlingGolf started in the childhood backyard of Van Alen and his brothers combining equipment and competing in their own “original sports” programs. Football on skates, ultimate frisbee on dirt bikes and one that stuck, golf with a lacrosse stick. Fast forward and the obsession to throw a golf ball 200 yards turned into the patented FlingStick and the new sport of FlingGolf.
About FlingGolf® and New Swarm
FlingGolf® is an alt-golf-sport, played on a golf course and with a golf ball where, instead of striking the ball with one of 14 clubs as in traditional golf, players use a single New Swarm® FlingStick® to throw a golf ball long distances and with great accuracy. Players are able to shape every shot from tee to hole with the FlingStick thrower. The FlingStick allows players to quickly be proficient enough to get out on a golf course, even in the same foursome as golfers, and golf courses don’t need to make any changes to their course to allow play. To date, FlingGolf players have been welcomed on over 1200 golf courses across the US and in 27 countries.
New Swarm Sports LLC is the parent company that promotes FlingGolf and manufactures and distributes its patented FlingStick thrower through its e-commerce platform, www.flinggolf.com. New Swarm is based in Amesbury, Massachusetts, where it manufactures the FlingStick out of the CI Works collaborative innovation facility.