LinksPutt
Last updated | 20/06/2007
" There are many ways to achieve the dream of getting your product on the market, the route you choose can only be decided upon by talking to the right people - listen to them and heed their advice, even if you do not like what they tell you! "
This is the philosophy of Graham Gibbons inventor, manufacturer and leading light behind LinksPutt, the first affordable, fully contourable putting green.
Newly established in 2004, LinksPutt is the brainchild of Graham Gibbons, a design engineer, who spent many years developing solutions for other companies and took the decision to branch out on his own. An avid golfer, Graham spent time looking around for a contourable putting green to allow him to practice at home. There was nothing on the market in Europe, and only an expensive device available from the USA. Being a design engineer by trade, he quickly thought of how one could be made at an affordable price, and started thinking if there was indeed a market for such a device.
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" I would advise anyone contemplating a similar venture to that of mine, to make first contact with their local Business Gateway. Their advice has been invaluable, along with putting me in touch with the relevant Government Organisations for further advice and funding opportunities." |
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After extensive research into the putting green market and checking out existing patents, to see what other products existed in the market Graham embarked on his first prototype and was lucky enough to have it assessed by the pros at Gleneagles. The prototype was met with much enthusiasm and after some minor tweaking, was launched in April 2004.
Graham decided to market LinksPutt himself, bypassing shops and major golf retailers and enabling him to keep his selling price attractive to the end user. Setting up his own website was the first and easiest step to getting straight to his market and employing his sister to run the sales and marketing meant that Graham had time to meet with editors of all the golf magazines in a bid to secure free product reviews with a promise of paid advertising to follow.
A unique product, LinksPutt offers the enthusiast a choice of thousands of contours, its unique combination of stiffness and flexibility allows the replication of any contour found on a real green - straight up/down hill, left/right break, valley, plateau, swale, roll over, double break etc and any combination of these. Graham employs two staff and runs his operations from an office in his home in Perth selling his product to a worldwide audience.
"Living in Perth is a huge advantage to my business as it gives me easy road access to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, where I have many of my business contacts and suppliers. Being only 40 minutes drive to Edinburgh Airport is also a bonus, as I use this airport for all of my UK and overseas business flights (and holidays too!)."
The company although young is enjoying success in a variety of countries and with golfing enthusiasts around the world. This success is a direct result of the enthusiasm and flair of its founder who, with confidence in his product, has meant that he has the dedication and commitment to go that extra mile for an idea he believes in.
