The question got Georgiou thinking
though, and he looked around for an
app which might help him. “I realised
there was no social media platform
for golfers to capture their golfi ng
memories, the courses they had played
in their lives, and to share these with
their buddies.”
GolfPlayed, which focuses on the so-
cial element of the game, has taken years
to develop and today includes a database
of 40 000 golf facilities, past and present,
around the world on a platform that
includes an IOS and Android app, as
well as a desktop interface.
Its attraction lies in the fact that
golfers can record where they have
played, how they have played, and
who they have played with. You can
view them as a list. It’s a step up
from collecting scorecards of courses
you have played, or souvenir ball
markers. And it’s free.
“It’s the LinkedIn of golf,” says
Georgiou. “The ultimate goal of
GolfPlayed is to create a global
database of golfers and courses
which facilitates networking across
cultural and geographical lines. App
users upload what courses they
belong to as members, and as the
database grows we will be able to
give our members access to courses
they can’t get on to. The reality is
you can play any course in the world
if you know a member.”
GolfPlayed has a number of tools
and interfaces that capitalise on the
golfi ng community. A chat facility,
newsfeeds and bulletin boards add
value to the enjoyment of the game
off the course. Golfers can share
golfi ng memories and games played
with buddies while they follow and
comment on not just their own net-
work but also the pros and celebri-
ties added to their network.
So how many courses has Geor-
giou played himself? Building the
app made him think hard about
where he had been to play golf – he
attended college in the United States- and his current total is 351 world-
wide (138 in SA and 213 elsewhere),
which places him 11th among the
7 000 users who have already down-
loaded the app. Blue chip courses
he’s played include Augusta National,
Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, Medi-
nah and The Links at Fancourt.
More information about the
app can be found at the website,
golfplayed.com. It is available on
both the App Store and Play Store
where it can be downloaded for free. - STUART McLEAN