Golf entrepreneur Jim Hwang says booking tee times should be as easy as booking flights

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Golf entrepreneur Jim Hwang says booking tee times should be as easy as booking flights

Published: 16 Nov. 2024, 07:00

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Jim Hwang, founder and CEO of golf tech startup AGL, poses for a photo during an interview at the company's office in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Jim Hwang, the founder and CEO of domestic golf tech startup AGL, envisions a future where golfers can effortlessly book tee times at any golf club with a single click. His goal is to integrate reservation systems across clubs globally, making the process as seamless and convenient as booking airline tickets is today.

The golf industry lags in online booking capabilities compared to sectors like airlines and hotels, where global distribution systems (GDS) enable real-time reservations and the comparison of prices across multiple platforms. The landscape, however, is shifting, in part due to the efforts of AGL. Its GDS for tee-time bookings has become one of Google's partners via its “Reserve with Google” feature, which enables users to book appointments or make reservations at nearby businesses.

Hwang’s startup was born out of his experience and passion for the sport. His relationship with golf dates back when he was still in high school, when lived near a golf course while studying in the United States as an exchange student.

“I love nature, so I simply thought it would be cool to work at a golf course,” Hwang reminisced in a recent interview with the JoongAng Ilbo.

Following his brief stay, the idea resonated with him. After receiving bachelor’s degree in Sungkyunkwan University in Korea, Hwang flew back to United States and started his career as a course manager at Troon, one of the largest golf management companies based in Arizona. He later moved to Japan to manage Troon’s Japanese branch and oversee oversee mergers and acquisitions.

He also helped to open two golf clubs in Korea: one in Incheon that is now known as Club72 and owned by Incheon International Airport, and The Anyang Benest Golf Club in Gupo, Gyeonggi, one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious golf clubs operated by Samsung C&T, for which he acted as a consultant.

With experience working at golf courses in Korea, Japan, and the United States, Hwang realized that booking systems varied greatly across countries. He eventually envisioned these disparate platforms converging into a single, unified infrastructure, inspired by GDS used in the airline industry that allow carriers to openly share data.

Hwang founded AGL in 2018 and released golf booking platform “Tiger GDS” the following year, aiming to become a hub for golfers around the world to freely make reservations.

The platform was released before the Covid-19 pandemic, and Korean golf courses initially showed no interest in registering, as they were content with domestic market. Southeast Asian companies, on the other hand, struggling with a lack of tourists, began to adopt the system.

Jim Hwang, founder and CEO of golf tech startup AGL, speaks during an interview at the company's office in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“I was infected with coronavirus six times while traveling across Southeast Asia trying to promote GDS integration,” the CEO said.

So far, AGL has raised 45 billion won ($32 million) in funding, with 30 billion won coming from major financial groups in Korea.

Google, seeing the potential for profit, partnered with AGL to integrate its Reserve with Google with Tiger GDS. The service launched globally on July 10 after undergoing 18 months of internal testing and operates in more than 25 countries.

The partnership has been a raving success, and it is being proven in numbers, according to Hwang.

“Tiger GDS has seen traffic increase by 4,000 percent compared to before the launch in Google, and 84 percent of the users are foreign. With our system, Americans use it to book tee times in Britain, while Taiwanese golfers reserve courses in Vietnam or Thailand.”

Hwang acknowledges that challenges remain in persuading the market, especially in regions like Korea where the industry is already thriving based on domestic demand and lacks the incentive to adopt open systems. Japan is another market that has been slow to modernize, with many courses still having to rely on manual reservation logs.

“A transparent GDS system could resolve information asymmetry, allowing consumers to book tee times at low prices and enabling enterprises to market themselves globally without the extra cost.”

About 2,100 golf clubs worldwide are registered to AGL’s system, with 1,500 connected via Tiger GDS and 780 available through Google, covering roughly 2 percent of some 38,400 golf courses across the globe.

Despite such hurdles, AGL has partnered with Jeju Air, allowing passengers to book golf courses at their destination through Tiger GDS. It marks the first integration of an airline and golf GDS, with similar discussions underway with Germany’s Lufthansa Group.

“AGL aims to secure the top spot in Asia through partnerships in Southeast Asia and Japan before expanding into Europe and the U.S.,” Hwang said. “Although adoption in Korea is slow, I believe that the domestic market will eventually follow the global trend. We are already seeing interest from golf courses in Jeju, which are integrating with Google, as market conditions are difficult there."

BY SUNG HO-JUN [[email protected]]