Forged in Scotland
Our inspiration came from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the Home of Golf. Over a decade ago the Links management came to the conclusion that the continuous expense to the club and to the environment caused by tens of thousands of divots simply could not be ethically sustained. St Andrews chose to mandate the use of golfing mats for strokes played off all fairways during the colder months.
We became determined to discover a means whereby the golf club, the golfer and the environment could all be winners. We aimed to design a mat that could replace all other portable golfing mats. It would protect fairways from divot scarring but should also be a pleasure to play off. Critical was that Club’s adopting its use would be rewarded with improved golf revenue, the device will more than pay for itself. After a long period dedicated to testing and blueprint evolution, we became certain that we had arrived at the ultimate design of product as well as the ideal system for its incorporation.
We soon learned of golfer discontent. To strike from a golf mat that may, almost at its own discretion, grab one’s club head and consequently travel further than the ball sent reverberations throughout the golfing fraternity as effectively as it did up the shafts of irons across Scotland. Despite this resistance St Andrews’ management stuck to their laurels and remained true to their goal of achieving greater levels of sustainable performance. Other golf clubs followed by directing the use of various types, sizes, thicknesses and shapes of golfing mats during winter and before important tournaments. We applaud their foresight to think outside the paradigm and their courage to stay the course despite golfers’ vexation with the various mats supplied them.
Then followed hundreds of hours of arduous personal testing (on some terrific courses mind you) as well as comprehensive trials by our golfer focus groups and local golf course management. It exceeded our highest expectations. So impressed were we, that the original model’s name, “The divotEND” was replaced with a description that formed a common denominator of the majority of testimonials; “The ROCKET LAUNCHER®” . This name has since morphed to the Smart Mat® because of its many other attributes, from ease of use to advertising revenue generator for clubs and many more.
We feel tremendously privileged and deeply honoured that we have been able to introduce such a beneficial product to everyone involved in this wonderful sport. So much so that we felt the fitting place for its manufacture is where the game originated, Scotland. The tools of manufacture, the product components, the printing and packaging are all produced in Scotland.
