Edinburgh-based start-up Shot Scope has raised £415,000 of investment to launch its world-first wearable performance tracking technology for golfers in the US as well as in the rather more staid UK market for golfing equipment.
Business angel syndicate Equity Gap was the main investor and was joined by the Scottish Investment Bank – Scottish Enterprise’s investment arm – and the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture capital fund, Old College Capital.
Shot Scope will use the investment to grow its team from 3 to 7, complete product development and start manufacturing ahead of its planned product launch in January at the golfing industry’s key annual gathering, the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida.
Aimed at golfers of all levels who want to improve their performance, Shot Scope’s technology automatically collects scoring and statistical data as a golfer plays. On completion of a round, data is uploaded to a website or mobile app where statistics, analytics and maps detailing every shot are displayed.
Shot Scope was founded in 2013 by David Hunter, a 33-year old electronics design engineer with seven years of product design experience who was working as a secondary school teacher when he won an innovation award, after which he decided to quit teaching.
A keen golfer himself, Hunter spotted a gap in the market after noting that, while other sports have seen a surge in wearable technologies designed to boost performance, nothing was available to track golfers’ stats automatically and to help golfers learn from their mistakes.
He said: “Golfers have always been obsessed with tracking performance and it is amazing that in 2015 so many golfers, even professionals, rely on data collected with paper and pen.
“Shot Scope changes that by automatically collecting over 50 performance indicators, to identify the most crucial areas for improvement. “
Although Hunter has explored the possibility of manufacturing his company’s hi-tech gear in China, Hunter said that quotes from potential manufacturers in Scotland had been competitive and he expected to sub-contract manufacturing work to a Scottish company soon.
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