United States Patent and Trademark Office Recognizes GolfNow.com's Innovative Online Tee-Time Booking Technology

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued U.S. Patent No. US 7,634,426 B2, governing components of GolfNow's unique and innovative Online Golf Reservation System.  This patent is another step in GolfNow's dedicated efforts to offer cutting-edge technology solutions to golf courses while simultaneously providing golfers with the easiest and most user-friendly tee-time service available.  GolfNow.com, managed by Golf Channel, continues to improve and advance its services with a singular goal in mind: encouraging golfers to play more golf by providing convenient access to quality tee-time inventory.  

U.S. Patent No. US 7,634,426 B2 pertains to GolfNow's Delta Project, a multi-year effort to maximize accuracy, efficiency and speed within GolfNow's proprietary tee-time booking methodology.  In order to offer its users the most up-to-date and accurate menu of tee times, GolfNow's platform must frequently interface with or "poll" the golf course's tee sheets for available inventory.  To alleviate the infrastructure burden of over-polling a golf course's tee sheet, the patented Delta Project methodology allows GolfNow's Internet Marketing and Utilization Solution ("IMUS") to dynamically poll its golf course customers at variable intervals (more frequent polling for the most crucial inventory).  The patent enhances GolfNow's ability to accurately store, display and sell the available tee time inventory of the more than 1,800 golf courses utilizing its services.  Ultimately, this technological advancement allows for:

• More accurate and up-to-date, tee-time inventory being available to GolfNow users;
• Further harmonizing GolfNow's communication with its golf course partners, reducing processing delays and alleviating strains on course Web sites and servers;
• Overall enhancement of the customer experience, resulting in more tee times booked and more rounds of golf played.

GolfNow also is the owner of the registered U.S. Patent No. US 7,249,041 B2, a patent that governs GolfNow's proprietary Internet posting and display of available tee-time inventory.  As stated in the patent, it allows GolfNow to "offer available tee times from multiple courses so that golfers can view, select and reserve tee times from multiple courses at a single destination Web site."  Courses benefit from GolfNow's patented display methodology because GolfNow's distribution channels attract voluminous traffic, broadening its courses' ability to reach new and existing customers.  The technology further enables golfers to customize searches based on date, time of day, preferred course(s), geographic area and price – providing for a simple and user-friendly e-commerce experience.  

These patents highlight GolfNow's dedication to continual enhancement of its technology – setting it apart from its competitors and distinguishing GolfNow as a best in class service for golf courses and golfers.  The results are impressive:

• 3.8 million rounds of golf sold by GolfNow in 2009;
• More than $121 million in tee-time revenue generated in 2009 for partner courses;
• GolfNow users playing more rounds of golf and sampling a wider variety of golf courses as a result of utilizing the GolfNow platform (according to a recent National Golf Foundation survey).

The GolfNow technology is powered by Golf Channel Solutions, the industry leader in maximizing golf course revenue for its partners through online relationship marketing.  GolfNow gives golf courses unprecedented access to millions of golfers, and provides those golfers unparalleled choice.  With its powerful and proprietary technology, the largest network of online golfers, and extensive exposure through Golf Channel's various media platforms, GolfNow has become an instrumental mechanism for golf courses to market their products and capture new customers.

For more information on the patents, the GolfNow technology, or on Golf Channel Solutions' creative and innovative services for golf courses, visit golfchannelsolutions.com or golfnow.com.

About Golf Channel

Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla.  The Golf Channel cable network, co-founded by Arnold Palmer and a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), is available in more than 120 million homes worldwide through cable, satellite and wireless companies.  Exclusive partnerships with the world's top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, added to a programming schedule distinguished by golf's best news, instruction and original programming.  Golf Channel's digital platform of businesses is led by GolfChannel.com, the number-one golf destination on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that help the recreational player with how to play, what to play and where to play golf.

SOURCE Golf Channel