Zol Fairway: A Digital Caddie with Real-time Golf Advice
Zol Fairway is an app and digital caddie system designed by first-year student José “Achi” Martín. A wearable wireless chip offers golfers suggestions on how to play the specific course the user is on, much as how a real-life caddie would. José explains that the Zol app is intended to facilitate the learning process of the sport for beginners but also functions as a correction and tracking tool for more experienced players.
“The Zol app is intended to facilitate the learning process of the sport for beginners but also functions as a correction and tracking tool for more experienced players.”
The design process started with one hundred ideation sketches as well as physical prototypes. Let's take a look at some of José's early project sketches and ideas:
As part of the brand's mission, the app also educates the user in sustainable golf lifestyles and how to give back to the communities that make the sport possible. In one hypothetical example, Zol intends to partner with the Colombian Coffee Federation to create a sustainable golf club in Colombia. The goal is to boost tourism while educating customers on the importance of responsibly sourced coffee. In another speculative partnership with the United States Postal Service, the brand intends to organize the USPS Pro Cup, which would take place in over three different locations around the United States.
"After creating the wearable chip, I felt like it was important to break the negative stigma around golf," José shares. "Zol expanded into Zol Labs, a collaborative and multidisciplinary space which focuses on creating a better future." He says that this branch of the company would focus on projects such as the "Greener Greens Certification" project, which offers education to golf clubs on becoming fully sustainable.
