The Golf Buddy gears up after quiet early success

Brad Scobey and Michael Hemingway each got The Golfer's Buddy as a gift in 1994. But once the product was in their hands, they began to build their Reno-based business around it.

"I didn't come up with the idea," Scobey said. "A very good friend of mine, Dorothy Martinez, knew that I was an inventor and she said, 'I have an idea for a golf bag and if you'll help me bring it to market, I'll give you half the company and pay all the bills.'"

Martinez, who plays more than 100 rounds of golf a year, was tired of carrying her clubs from a cart to the green, then laying them down where they could get wet, dirty or lost. The result is The Golfer's Buddy, an auxiliary golf bag that hangs outside of the regular bag. Players use the secondary bag to transport their approach clubs.

"No more taking and replacing the clubs in the large bag," he said. "With The Golfer's Buddy you walk out to your ball, stick the prongs into the ground and your clubs are secure, upright and you don't lose them."

Weighing in at a pound and half, The Golfer's Buddy's handle hooks onto a regular bag. Its nylon bag holds the clubs, has a place for water and extra balls and the frame has two prongs so it can stick into the ground and stand upright.

Facing medical issues, Martinez gave Scobey and Hemingway full control of the company in 2006 without charge.

Oddly enough, Scobey can't play golf because of a back injury. But Hemingway, who lives in Southern California, is active on the links.

"He's actually the front man for the Golfer's Buddy and I'm the behind-the-scenes guy which works very well for me," Scobey said.

So far, the three of them have sold nearly 17,000 units of The Golfer's Buddy with virtually no marketing.

"Michael has actually been playing golf and had people come up and asked about the bag," Scobey said. "After seeing it these people say they want the bag and he's actually sold them off the back of his golf cart. Word of mouth is basically our marketing tool at this time."

Some sales also come through the company's Web site, www.thegolfersbuddy.com, and the company distributes the bag in Japan through Iwata Limited.

Now however, Scobey and Hemingway want to take their business to the next level.

Scobey has been appearing on "Those Golf Guys," show and they've established a relationship with the "Golf Shop," which is eager to showcase the The Golf Buddy on the Golf Channel.

Looking for help, Scobey was introduced to the local chapter of CEO Space, a group that helps business people network with others like them.

"I heard about them when I moved back to Reno," he said. "They teach you how to logically go through the steps of getting your business in compliance, meeting all the rules and regulations and getting it ready to take public."

One upcoming change is manufacturing.

"Once this takes off, we'll probably have the whole thing made overseas," Scobey said. "We can't have the product made in China, shipped to the U.S. then shipped back to Japan."

Scobey is very optimistic about The Golf Buddy's prospects.

"The last time I checked there were over 25 million golfers in this country and we've only sold around 17,000," he said. "The response to the bag has just been enormous and we've run the company in the plus so we're not debt orientated."