TLDR
- GolfN raised $1.3 million in a pre-seed funding round from Solana ecosystem investors.
- The company aims to create a play-to-earn mechanism for physical golf using blockchain technology.
- GolfN released a Genesis Collection of NFT Golf Clubs on Solana in March 2024.
- The company is developing a mobile app to serve as a digital caddie and social platform for golfers.
- GolfN plans to offer rewards for playing and engaging with golf through its app and NFTs.
GolfN, a blockchain-based golf project, has successfully closed a $1.3 million pre-seed funding round, marking a significant step towards bringing play-to-earn mechanics to the physical sport of golf.
The funding round saw participation from prominent investors in the Solana ecosystem, including CitizenX, Fourth Revolution Capital (@DeFi_Dad), Nom (@TheOnlyNom), and Joe McCann of Asymmetric Financial.
Founded with the vision of redesigning golf engagement for the digital era, GolfN aims to be the first golf app to use tokenization and digital collectibles to reward members for playing and engaging with the sport.
The company plans to develop a premium digital caddie app that will compete with current market leaders while incorporating Web3 rewards.
Jared Phillips, CEO and Co-Founder of GolfN, highlighted the potential impact of their platform:
“Despite its high cost of play, golf has hooked nearly 67 million people globally. Currently, the more golfers play, the more they pay out. The free-to-use GolfN App will not only help users play better, but the more they play and engage, the more they will earn to play more and better golf.”
In March 2024, GolfN launched its Genesis Collection of NFT Golf Clubs on the Solana network. These digital collectibles, available in various rarities, serve as keys to earn scaling rewards within the GolfN ecosystem.
The initial release, hosted on Tensor Launchpad, a leading digital collectible marketplace, sold out in less than an hour, demonstrating strong interest in the concept.
The funds raised in this pre-seed round will be allocated to the development and scaling of the GolfN app, community, and ecosystem. The company plans to release its mobile application in open beta later this year, which will introduce GolfN’s Web3 gamification layer to real-world golf.
The upcoming GolfN mobile app aims to serve as both a digital caddie and a social platform for golfers. Users will be able to equip their digital collectible golf clubs to earn rewards during each round, track side games, and organize leagues with friends. This innovative approach combines the practical benefits of a golf assistance app with the potential financial incentives of blockchain technology.
For players who didn’t purchase GolfN’s digital collectible golf clubs during the initial mint, the company plans to offer monthly membership subscriptions.
Through these subscriptions, collectors will make rental NFT clubs available, ensuring that a wider audience can participate in the GolfN ecosystem.
GolfN’s approach to integrating blockchain technology with physical sports could potentially open up new avenues for engagement and monetization in the golfing world.
By offering rewards for playing and engaging with the sport, GolfN aims to make golf more accessible and potentially offset some of the costs associated with playing.
