Gamblinggolfers.com seeks to ride two trends at once

Grady Holdridge always looks for the trend not a mere fad, mind you, but a real trend to be his friend.

And if he can ride two trends simultaneously, so much the better.

And that's how it came to pass that Holdridge, an entrepreneur who lives in Sparks, spied a couple of trends and decided to put them together to create Gamblinggolfers.com.

The first trend: The golf business is strong and likely to get stronger as baby boomers retire and pick up the clubs.

But few serious tournaments are available for low-handicap amateur golfers.

The second trend: Gaming is spreading nationwide, and many of the new gaming locations either feature quality golf themselves or are located close to top-name courses.

Holdridge's idea? Create a series of golf tournaments 10 of them in 2006 targeted toward serious amateur golfers and played at courses at gaming resorts.

The 2006 schedule ranges from Grand Bear Golf Course and the Grand Casino at Biloxi, Miss.

to Lake of Isles Golf Course at New England's Foxwoods Resort and Casino.

In northern Nevada, the Peppermill will be the home casino for a tournament played at ArrowCreek Country Club while Harrah's and Harvey's at Lake Tahoe will be home for golfers playing at Edgewood Tahoe.

Golfers at each tournament will play for purses that range from $11,700 to $32,400.

Play is limited to golfers at least 21 years old with a United States Golf Association handicap between 0 and 20.

Holdridge puts together all-inclusive tours for them everything from hotel rooms and banquets to $500 in chips for use at the host casino and the Sunday-through-Thursday packages are priced in the range of $2,500 a person plus transportation.

"We want golfers to wonder how we did this for only $2,500," he says.

Gamblinggolfers.com will make $150 a golfer $7,800 for a tournament with the minimum sign-up of 52 golfers, $21,600 for sold-out event with 144 golfers.

Holdridge,who's made part of his living on the golf course for more than 15 years and currently is a registered apprentice with the PGA, says he launched the business on a shoestring about $15,000.He's the majority owner of the company with two other investors.

But the $15,000 invested in the start-up doesn't include untold hours on the phone, putting together hotel packages and golf tournaments and establishing a Web-based marketing effort.

His research for the new company found that about half of golfing tourists book their vacations online and about 60 percent of them look for all-inclusive packages.

Holdridge is no stranger to selling on the Web as his business interests also include Bull Gear & Co.

LLC, a Web retailer ofWestern wear.

Among the biggest challenges he faced: Creating a tournament that's protected from sandbagging golfers who claim high handicaps, then clean out the prize money with low scores.

Gamblinggolfers.com requires participants to apply for membership the annual fee is $10 and provide valid state ID with a picture.

Blind draws for team play and tournament formats selected at random will further deter sandbaggers,Holdridge says.

"We want to promote fun," he says."We don't want the guy who just came in off some tour."

Holdridge says that's about the biggest risk for the company, which limits its financial exposure through requirements for reservation commitments a nonrefundable but transferable 50 percent down as well as the cash flow from the sale of memberships.

Ultimately the company hopes to add an online store to further boost cash flow.

"It's just a matter now of getting all the ducks in a row," says Holdridge.