Being an outdoor sport is one of the things that makes golf great. But it also means weather can sometimes be a problem. And there are few things as aggravating as a storm that puts the kibosh on a much-anticipated round during a much-needed golf vacation.
Now, players can find relief from rainouts on the road through Sensible Weather, a Los Angeles-based climate technology and insurance company that earlier this year announced a strategic partnership with EP Golf Ventures, an association between the PGA of America and Elysian Park Ventures, the private investment arm of the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group. And the principals appear to be quite high on what Sensible Weather can do for the sport.
Essentially, what Sensible Weather offers is something called Weather Guarantee coverage. Company CEO and founder Nick Cavanaugh says the service works a lot like travel insurance, adding that this deal extends to all PGA-affiliated golf facilities.
“The idea is to give golfers peace of mind when they are booking tee times and lodging for golf trips,” said Cavanaugh, a climate scientist who started Sensible Weather in 2019 and has been providing the same sort of service to other parts of the outdoor recreation industry, such as concert venues, theme parks and glamping.
“Those who purchase a Weather Guarantee will automatically recoup their costs if rain or any other types of undesirable weather over a set period of time interferes with their rounds. They will have to pay a bit more money to get that coverage, but they are guaranteed a refund in those kinds of conditions, with the refund coming from Sensible Weather and not the golf facility.”
As for the price of the Weather Guarantee, that is based on the proprietary climate data and risk analytics Sensible Weather has developed to assess the probability of rainouts and other bad weather in different locales.
Say you are playing a resort course, and it appears that rain is on the way. Sensible Weather, which uses cutting-edge satellite imagery and other technology developed from more than a decade’s worth of research in industry and academia, will send a text, alerting you to the fact that your round will be refunded.
“Now, you can forgo your golf game or play through the bad weather, and do so for free,” Cavanaugh said. “Either way, you will have gotten some relief in the form of a refund, which can be saved for another tee time on the same trip or at a later date. The idea is to give the golfer some satisfaction at not being out the money for a rainout.”
According to a news release at the time that Sensible Weather announced its partnership with EP Golf Ventures, PGA members “will now have access to Sensible Weather’s innovative Weather Guarantee protection, eliminating the burden of issuing rainchecks and giving golfers the option to protect against the risk of volatile weather.”
“Having a company and product that is good for our members, their facilities and golf consumers is an all-around winning formula.” – Arjun Chowdri
It adds that the service is also designed to “streamline operations for PGA members, reduce cancellations and generate incremental revenue for golf facilities.”
The people at the PGA seem very pleased with what Sensible Weather can bring their constituents.
“The weather is something out of our control and affects the lives of our PGA professionals and their facilities every day,” said Arjun Chowdri, the association’s chief innovation officer. “Having a company and product that is good for our members, their facilities and golf consumers is an all-around winning formula.”
Kris Hart, the senior director of growth and ventures at the PGA of America, agrees.
“More than anything else, we are helping Sensible Weather introduce their concept of Weather Guarantee into the golf industry,” he said. “And that is an important move when you consider that of all the things that are out of our control in the golf industry, weather is No. 1.
“When we first looked at the company, we saw that it was doing amazing things outside of golf, and that got us thinking about how it could help our professionals and the facilities that they run make money on bad weather days while also making golfers happy, even if it rains.”
Sensible Weather is the third investment made by EP Golf Ventures, which officially came on line last summer and is designed to support innovation in the $85 billion golf industry, the other two being Sportsbox AI, an AI-powered technology company that develops coaching applications through markerless 3D motion capture, and Dryvebox, a mobile golf simulator.