After around 11 seasons as a professional golfer, eight of them on the Asian circuit, and after being proclaimed champion of Spain three times in different categories, Javi Colomo (Merida, 1984) He has decided to step away from the competition a bit. But not golf. In 2019 he resumed his role as instructor of this sport and has just co-founded MyGolfClass, a technological platform that proposes to revolutionize the world of sports training through technology and user experience.
Why did the competition stop?
It is a wheel in which either you are 100% or you stop being competitive. I am also passionate about teaching. There are several circumstances: economic issues, family issues, you have to be away from home for a long time… and putting it on a scale I had to make that decision.
How did the idea of transferring the training to the online format come about?
In mid-2019 I started full time With the classes and speaking with a student, we raised the possibility of having a website where I can offer my services online. We put together a simple one and it started working. Then the lockdown came and it was an ideal time for people to train at home and follow up online. My former student proposed to make it much bigger and we went for it. It was born because it gave the feeling that there was a good opportunity and that it is easier for people to train from anywhere than to travel for a face-to-face class. That also exists and will never cease to exist, but being online is vital.
The pandemic helped.
With the lack of confinement there was another golf boom that hadn’t been there for a long time and it was crazy. People couldn’t go out but they could play sports in the open air, which was crazy. People who had left it for many years took it up again and people who were dragged by their colleagues asked for classes from the beginning because they were beginners who wanted to try. For the world of golf, the issue of the pandemic was very good.
How does MyGolfClass work?
We offer a video analysis learning method. The student sends a couple of videos of her movement, the swing, and from there we analyze it, we make a personalized training and training plan so that it improves what is considered at that moment and these cycles are repeated. Then they send us a feedback and after a while, once they have worked on it, they send us another video analysis to see the evolution and where they are improving. It is done in a very easy and affordable way, because everyone does it at their own pace.
Is it a way to make a sport that is considered expensive more affordable?
Yes, 100%. But in the end, that is a stigma that golf has carried for many years. It is true that before only people with high purchasing power played golf, but now it is much more popular and you can have a fairly complete set for 200 or 300 euros, which is what any bicycle or good shoes will cost you. In big cities like Madrid, we are lucky that we have public golf courses and courses, and for a very affordable price one can practice and play golf. So the material is not that expensive either. What we want is to also cover all that range of people who cannot afford to give private classes on a weekly basis. This way it is much more affordable, without a doubt.
It is a sport closely associated with managers. What is it that attracts them?
The manager of a large company is an ambitious person, who likes to surpass himself and also carries a lot of responsibility. Golf has a bit of that. It is a personal challenge that largely depends on you. For people who like challenges it is a perfect sport. Also, apart from being healthy, not only physically but mentally, he is very sociable. It is used to do business. You can be on a tour for five hours with the same people, so you can already start to bond in some way. I guess the right time to do the deal is after that round, but you’ve already been able to chat, get to know and become a little more intimate with those people.
It also requires mental preparation.
It is what makes the difference. In the end, we all hit the ball very well and we have good technique. You have to have a minimum of physical condition, but the psychological part, that of believing in yourself, especially in moments of difficulty, is what matters. That is why I want to take advantage of this life learning that I have had for so many years to bring it to the subject of business. Because you can doubt the direction of the business and have the ability to endure much more than other people or to pivot and move elsewhere. I think it is very related, I have been my own company for many years and now we are in another business, but you have to take advantage of the above.
Is it a virtualizable sport?
I have traveled a lot to Korea and there you already saw golf tournaments on simulators. Inside a kind of garage or warehouse, you hit a canvas and the simulator itself simulates the flight of the ball. There are tournaments and it’s a lot of fun. Technology is always there to have fun and to improve things, but the reality of golf is that it is a sport that you cannot control. 2+2 will never be 4. The one who plays on the same field with the same conditions at nine in the morning, then spends three hours later and is totally different because the humidity, the wind, the temperature have changed. And all of that is impossible to measure.
