Kierland Resort - 2005 - Resort “Segways” Golf Experience to a Higher Playing Field

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Resort “Segways” Golf Experience to a Higher Playing Field
Mar 01, 2005

SCOTTSDALE/PHOENIX (Tuesday, March 01, 2005) — Additional photos, b-roll and information available at www.kierlandresort.com/segway

For decades, golfers have been attracted to the Valley of the Sun for its almost year-round moderate climate, picturesque mountains, and desert landscape of saguaro cacti and mesquite trees. However, even perfection needs a trick shot every once in awhile. This spring, there’s a new way to play the game in the golf capital of the West – cruising the links on a Segway® Human Transporter (HT) at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa.

Using gyroscope technology, microprocessors and electric balancing motors, the two-wheeled devices will be offered as an upgrade to the traditional golf cart. According to Segway LLC, the maker and manufacturer of the Segway HT, The Westin Kierland is the only golf resort in the U.S. currently offering its guests the option to play on its 27 holes using the device.

The Westin Kierland has custom designed its Segway HTs to hold scorecards, tees, golf balls and drinks. The resort currently offers Segway’s flagship “i Series” model equipped with a golf bag carrier, but will upgrade to the Segway GT model, which was released today by Segway LLC. It offers extended-range batteries, enhanced traction tires and a special standby key.

“The impetus behind the resort’s investment in the $5,000-plus devices was to reinvigorate travelers' appetites for the game,” said J. Bruce Lange, general manager of The Westin Kierland, which opened in November 2002. “Segways bring a new element to the golf experience. There’s a financial upside as well. We’ve found that use of the Segway can decrease playing time by 30 percent, which will eventually turn into earnings through increased rounds.”

Use of Segways is part of Westin Kierland’s multi-faceted approach to raise the bar on the Arizona golf experience. “In the highly competitive golf resort market of Scottsdale and Phoenix, you must spend the time and resources necessary to stand out of the pack,” said Lange. At Kierland Golf Club, guests will find expert instruction led by industry-lauded professionals, a fitness training system guaranteed to increase driving distance while improving overall fitness and stamina, and a custom golf equipment supplier – all within the environment of a hip, luxurious Scottsdale resort.

According to the National Golf Course Owners Association, rounds played in 2004 finished on an upswing albeit slight (0.7 percent nationally), representing a welcome relief to the declines of the prior two years. However, according to a nationally based consulting firm, Golf Profit Builders, although golf may bring in 1.5 to 3 million new players a year, it loses about the same number.

“Arizona did see numbers drop from 2003 to 2004 by at least three percent,” said Shawn Connors, president of the Golf Industry Association of Arizona. “Golf needs to attract – then retain – more demographics to the game, which means using a bit of creativity. If it [Segway] gets people to pick up a golf club for the first time, who otherwise would not be interested, then I say go for it.”

In Arizona, golf is a major component of the tourism in industry, estimated at $1 billion annually. Each year, Scottsdale, home of the PGA’s FBR Open, hosts an estimated 12 million rounds of golf with tourists accounting for 40 percent of total play, according to the Scottsdale Covention & Visitors Bureau.

With their low-impact on fairways and greens, especially on days when it’s cart-path only, Segway HTs also bring relief to golf course superintendents. Play delays on full tee sheet days are also minimized. The devices are much quieter than traditional golf carts and run on emission-free battery power.

Golf course designer Scott Miller was one of the first to play 18 on Kierland Golf Club, a course that he designed. “It was a great experience. While I prefer to walk courses over driving carts, the Segway was a great alternative. One-person travel allows for more concentration. The pace of play was definitely quicker.” Miller also designed We-Ko-Pa Golf Club located by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in Scottsdale and Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course in Idaho.

The devices self-balance using a technology called dynamic stabilization, which works in the same way our own sense of balance does. The Segway has gyroscopes, tilt sensors, high-speed microprocessors and powerful electric motors performing to keep it balanced. Working in concert, these systems sense the rider’s center of gravity, instantaneously assess the information and make adjustments at one hundred times a second. Segway intuitively balances the way humans do: moving forward and backward, responding to changes in the body’s position. To turn, the user rotates the steering grip in either direction.

“We’re already aware of the immense application of the Segway HT in factory and airport industries,” said Bill Johnson, managing partner of Segway Experience LLC of Phoenix, Chicago and Kansas City, Mo. “As it relates to golf, the Segway technology adds another element to the game which is important today as golf isn’t gaining as many new players as it did in the past. The Segway HT golf experience reaches out to new players considering the game and looking for something more unique, but it’s also a draw to the longtime player who may have put their clubs aside.”

The resort has also applied the Segway HT travel mode to its security and engineering departments, resulting in quicker response times to guest requests, increased work order completion as well as improved productivity.

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa features 735 rooms that provide the ultimate in luxury: Westin’s Heavenly Bed® and Heavenly Bath®. The full-service resort’s eight unique dining experiences, full-service spa; elaborate water park; Westin Kids Club®; and the 27-hole Kierland Golf Club. As an added benefit, The Westin Kierland is a short walk from upscale, boutique shopping.

The Westin Kierland is part of Westin Hotels & Resorts, with 120 hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories, owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 750 properties in 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.westin.com.