Skip to main content

Michael Jordan Invests in ‘Uber for Golfers’

Michael Jordan on a golf course in 2007.
Michael Jordan on a golf course in 2007. Barbara Moore/Flickr

Novi, Michigan’s V1 Sports is no stranger to athletic kings. In a 2013 Wall Street Journal article, Tiger Woods credited V1’s swing-recording and analysis system with helping “so many young golfers these days get so good, so fast.”

Recommended Videos

“It was a very humanizing effect,” V1 Sports CEO Bryan Finnerty told the Detroit Free Press. “I’m sure this happens all the time where almost everybody he meets for the first time is struggling for what words to say.”

With that kind of panache, getting NBA legend (and arguable GOAT) Michael Jordan to invest in the sports improvement software should’ve been easy, right? Not according to Finnerty. The former Detroit Rockers goalie was prepared with a quick presentation designed to “try not to put him to sleep.”

Instead, the scheduled 30-minute early April meeting over chicken sausage and eggs turned into a two-and-a-half hour parlay that would lead to August’s announcement that Jordan will invest in V1 Sports with an equity position through Black Cat Ventures, a Jordan-founded golf technology fund.

Related Guides

What made the golf fanatic Jordan invest in V1 Sports? Finnerty described it as a form of Uber for golfers connecting players with teaching professionals through an app. With software integrated into over 3,500 golf club training programs, the tech gives inexpensive educational access that evades the pressure of personal lessons, Finnerty told Forbes.  

“MJ said the reason why he loves us is because you can have elite instruction available for non-elite athletes anywhere on the planet,” Finnerty said in the article. “The number one reason people don’t take lessons is because they are intimidated — not because it’s too expensive or too hard to find or too far away, or takes too much time.”

Finnerty first joined the video analysis company as an advisor and ambassador in the 1990s. At the time, the company was just beginning to explore applying video and telestration tech to sports. In the past three years, V1 has striven to give do-it-yourself golfers who are not seeing a pro the tools to seamlessly integrate some improvement guidance. Whether that’s viewing specific instructional content or utilizing V1’s shot tracking platform, users can choose their own instructional adventure via tips sent directly from pros. 

Finnerty sees great opportunity in courting these golfers who desire to shave strokes off their scorecard and level up their skills. The now 25-year-old software outfit delivers upwards of 50,000 lessons per month, a testament to a thriving instructional space. Finnerty believes that a fertile market can sustain V1’s pandemic demand spike, a ‘well-over’ 20% bump in revenue from 2020.

“Only 15% of the market takes a lesson,” Finnerty said to the Freep. “With 30 million golfers in the U.S. that’s only four-and-a-half million. That’s a pretty small market. So we’ve got to be talking about those 25 million other golfers, and how do we serve them?”

With Jordan on board along with over 15,000 pros providing tips, it’s not too hard to imagine V1 ascending to the pinnacle of training tech. 

Read More: The Perfect Place for a Guy’s Getaway

Matthew Denis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Matt Denis is an on-the-go remote multimedia reporter, exploring arts, culture, and the existential in the Pacific Northwest…
Peña vs Nunes 2 is Headlining UFC 277 — Here’s What Happened Last Time
ufc 277 pena vs nunes rematch 2

UFC 277 is coming this Saturday, bringing one of the most exciting and interesting rematches of 2022 as the main event. Newly crowned UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña will defend her title for the first time against former bantamweight and current women's featherweight champ Amanda Nunes, following their last encounter at UFC 269 which resulted in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. If you didn't catch the action last time, read on to learn more about the history between these two fighters, and then be sure to sign up for ESPN+ and grab the UFC 277 PPV bundle deal so you don't miss a thing this weekend.

Amanda "The Lioness" Nunes is one of those UFC stars who hardly needs an introduction. Widely considered to be the best female MMA fighter in the world, the 34 year-old Brazilian is the first woman to hold UFC championships in two divisions and is the first and only champ to have successfully defended and retained two titles while still holding them. Nunes currently holds a record of 21 wins and five losses, and remains the number one-ranked female bantamweight fighter.

Read more
What Channel is UFC on Tonight? Tune in to UFC 276 Live
ufc 276 time adesanya vs  cannonier

UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier is happening tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This is July's big UFC pay-per-view event, so you'll need ESPN+ if you want to watch UFC 276, but you have some other options for streaming the preliminary bouts. Here what channel the UFC is on tonight.

What Channel is the UFC on Tonight?
The UFC 276 main card is the pay-per-view portion of this event, and as of now, the only way to watch UFC pay-per-view shows in the U.S. is via ESPN+. This is a paid streaming service, so if you want to watch UFC 276 online tonight, you'll have to pony up the cash for both ESPN+ and your UFC 276 PPV ticket. On the bright side, new subscribers can take advantage of a one-time bundle deal that includes a one-year ESPN+ subscription and the UFC 276 pay-per-view package for $100, which is a nice $45 savings.

Read more
What Time is the UFC Fight Tonight? UFC 276 Schedule
ufc 276 time adesanya vs  cannonier

UFC 276 is happening tonight, with 12 fights spread across three cards, and two championship contests serving as the main attractions. Fans can expect a long and bloody night of MMA action that should run well past midnight. If you don't want to miss one minute of the action and are planning to watch the UFC 276 live stream online in its entirety, or if you don't plan on watching the preliminary matchups and just want to know when the main card fights are happening, here's the all-important UFC 276 time.

UFC 276 is a pay-per-view event, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship typically runs one of these per month with few exceptions. These UFC PPV events almost always feature at least a dozen matchups, which are divided among three cards: early prelims, prelims, and main card. The main card is, as you'd expect, the main event. This comprises the pay-per-view portion of the show.

Read more