Triple attack tees up profits for site of duffers' dreams.(Business Times)(The Browser)

The cozy relationship between golf and business has long been a profitable one, and a California company has uncovered new potential through a Web site aimed at the world's duffers.

GolfWeb (http://www.golfweb.com) boasts a strong target demographic of more than 1.5 million visitors, mostly professionals with incomes in excess of $60,000 per year.

The site's user demographic makes it a valuable advertising buy for high-profile goods and services such as American Honda Motor Co. Inc.'s high-end Acura unit (http://www.acura.com), Price Waterhouse World Firm Services (http://www.pw.com) and BMW of North America Inc. (http://www.bmwusa.com). On-page banners provide links to the advertisers' promotional sites on the World Wide Web.

"We are receiving 10 million page views per month," Brent Knudsen, GolfWeb's chief executive officer, said from his Palo Alto office. "The high number of visitors we are receiving is what drives our advertising revenue."

The National Golf Foundation reported that in 1996, 477 million golfers played a total of 25 million rounds of golf . The NGF has predicted an upswing in these numbers as baby boomers reach their 50s and find more time and money to spend on the course.

The NGF forecasts that the influence of young professionals such as Tiger Woods and Karrie Webb will bring to the game more echo boomers, the children of the first baby boomers.

The GolfWeb site was founded by husband-and-wife team Edward Patterman and Cynthia Typaldos, who both worked for Sun Microsystems. GolfWeb is backed by the Knight-Ridder organization, Stanford University, and Palo Alto companies Institutional Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures. It is a privately held company that plans to go public someday.

GolfWeb has an initial three-tier strategy to create revenue from the site by selling advertising, golf equipment and membership to a virtual golf club.

GolfWeb charges advertisers $35 per 1,000 page views, or visits, to the site. The Pro Shop features recognizable name-brand items at competitive prices that can be shipped within 24 hours of an order. The Players' Club, a virtual club where golfers can meet, compare scores, discuss techniques and analyze their games, costs $29.95 per month.

"The Players' Club area will not contain advertising - it is sort of a special area," Mr. Knudsen said, "though we are providing co-branding opportunities to business where they can establish a private Players' Club for their customers or employees."

The GolfWeb Players' Club exhibits some of the unique attributes of a revenue-producing Web site.

GolfWeb is sanctioned by the U.S. Golf Association to calculate players' handicaps based on the scores they enter, something Mr. Knudsen said is important to the estimated 20 percent of golfers who know their handicaps.

Another benefit of the Players' Club is the on-line pro who will answer questions from golfers. The feature also offers a type of "golfing calculator," where the user can input statistical information on his game and receive advice on areas that need attention.

"What is most compelling about the club is the community aspect - you can join groups of friends and alumni or a company golf club, and effectively you compete with each other through leader boards," said Tom Romary, director of marketing. "We have 10 buddies together on line, and we can watch who is leading in terms of score, handicap, improvement, and it's really a lot of fun. It extends the foursome that you play in."

GolfWeb also provides free classified ads to users, up-to-the-minute tour news, celebrity player profiles - including a feature called "Tracking the Tiger" - a 20,000-course database complete with user comments, and information on the Professional Golf Association and Ladies Professional Golf Association circuits.

The site also offers discussion groups, message boards, a feedback area, a guest book and an extensive library filled with book suggestions, Internet links, travel information, and articles from leading magazines and other golf-related periodicals.

GolfWeb, established in 1994, has about 45 employees. The site expects to reach profitability in mid-1998 and is taking in revenue in the millions of dollars through advertising and the pro shop.

* Have an interesting site? Write to Joseph Szadkowski at the Business Browser, The Washington Times, 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington, D.C. 20002; call 202/636-3016; or send e-mail to zadnet@aol.com.

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