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Screen golf guru takes the game off the green

Published: 01 Jan. 2010, 23:37

Kim Young-chan

When Kim Young-chan first came into contact with a golf simulator, the computerized golfing system was only being used as a training tool for professional golfers in the United States.

But the former Samsung Electronics executive saw its potential as an indoor game that could be marketed to anyone, anywhere in the world, and he decided to make that vision a reality.

In 2000, he developed a golf simulator for the general public, and the business took off.

This year, Kim and his Daejeon-based company Golfzon earned 12 awards for excellence in business. The awards were given by the Blue House, the Knowledge Economy minister, the Labor minister and the Daejeon City mayor, among others.

The company also received the state-awarded Korean Brand Award, which was given to the company for its role in making Korea a dominant exporter in the golf simulator industry.

According to market watchers, the golf simulators made by Golfzon and smaller local companies account for more than 50 percent of the golf simulators in the world.

Golfzon produces a golf simulator that is known in Korea as a screen golf machine. The company estimates they have posted 145.0 billion won ($124.7 million) in sales this year alone. That figure is more than the domestic sales of golf-related products generated by Callaway and TaylorMade, two major companies, combined.

“We were able to surpass the 100 billion won mark [in sales] with technologies and services that are distinct from those of other companies,” Kim said.

According to industry data, the number of people who play screen golf in Korea is already greater than the number of people who golf on a real course. The golf simulator market is estimated to have grown to over 1 trillion won since its inception in 2000. One simulator sells for more than 30 million won.

Kim’s new dream is to bring about that kind of change - the shift from real golf to virtual golf - in the rest of the world.

Golfzon, which has more than a 60 percent share of the local screen golf market, exports products to around 20 other countries. It has a market share of around 50 percent in China and a 40 percent market share in Japan.

“Korea commands the screen golf industry. We develop technologies that become industry standards,” Kim said. “That can create enormous opportunities for us.”

By Sung Ho-jun, Moon Gwang-lip[[email protected]]