Designer of 2018 Winter Olympic cauldron returns with solo golf cart

Personal space has become more important since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, and one South Korean-led industrial design company has developed a single-rider golf cart to satisfy golfers looking for some distance on the course.  

INNO-F1, a single-seater golf cart run on the latest electronic vehicle technology, was however, met with some skepticism about its success when it was first unveiled, especially in Korea where people often play golf in groups to socialize for business.

“Golf culture is changing (in Korea),” Kim Youngse, founder and chief executive officer of INNODESIGN Inc., said in an interview with The Korea Economic Daily, noting that more people in the country are playing golf as a hobby, not for business.

INNODESIGN is the parent company of INNOMOBILITY Lab, the producer of the INNO-F1.

“Demand for solo golf carts will grow if there is an increase in genuine golf fans. And a growing number of golf county clubs don't hire caddies anymore, boding well for single-rider golf cart demand,” Kim added.

Echoing Kim’s expectations, the INNO-F1 received rave reviews when it was first unveiled at the 2023 PGA Show in Orlando, Florida in January. It was selected as one of the Top 5 golf carts during the 2023 PGA Show.

In the US, golf is not an expensive, luxurious sport anymore, and people now play golf more for personal leisure than for business purposes.  

INNO-F1 BENEFITS BOTH PLAYERS AND COURSE OWNERS

This four-wheel, one-seater golf cart is powered by the latest EV battery technology.

It takes about four hours to fully charge its battery and can drive up to 40 miles on a single charge, enough to play two rounds of 18 holes, according to the company.

This sleek and stylish golf cart is designed with players’ safety as the top priority but does not sacrifice convenience, the company said.

It comes with front and back storage space, a removable windshield and canopy, windshield wipers, headlights and beak lights.

It guarantees stable driving with a wide four-wheel base but is agile enough to make smooth turns, the company explained.

The INNO-F1 will not completely replace conventional multi-seat golf carts but has many advantages over them, said Kim.

It can speed up the pace of golf play because individual players can play and move based on their own pace in their own carts, said Kim, expecting four players in four single-rider golf carts would save about 40 minutes in play time for one round, compared to when they move together in one multi-seat cart.

The reduced play time means more customers to the golf country club, Kim said.

The INNO-F1 is also light, weighing 249 kilograms, which is about half the weight of a usual two-seat golf cart. This means it does less damage to the green.

Because of such advantages, some golf course owners in Korea are already reviewing the adoption of the INNO-F1, despite its relatively high price tag of $7,000. In Korea, a four-seat golf cart is sold for 15 million won ($11,265).

DESIGN FOR 10%

“People had doubts about this solo golf cart in the early stage of its development but people who actually experienced this machine at this year’s PGA Show said there is certainly a market for it,” Kim said.

He came up with the INNO-F1 idea because as a golf lover he wanted to have his own cart, which was light enough to protect the green. 

F1 in INNO-F1 means “for one,” said Kim.

He decided to undertake the idea three years ago based on his life-long entrepreneur ethos that making a product that can satisfy 10 people out of 100 is a huge success, the veteran industrial designer said.

That belief has underscored Kim’s previous successes in the industrial design world since he founded INNODESIGN in Silicon Valley, Palo Alto in 1986.

He has been famous in Korea since his company designed the smash hit MP3 player iRiver in his home country in 1999.

His company also designed one of Samsung Electronics Co.’s old flagship Anycall mobile phone series, which first hit the Korean market in the early 1990s.

Kim’s latest most notable design was the 2018 Winter Olympic cauldron and torch.

Despite a few hurdles, he is confident that he can repeat the success with his latest design.

“The INNO-F1 will become a trendsetter and a game changer in the golf industry,” Kim said.

Write to Hee-Chan Cho at etwoods@hankyung.com

 Sookyung Seo edited this article.