Albatros will be part of NBC Universal

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PRESS RELEASE

 

BRS Golf, part of NBC Sports Next, acquires Albatros Datenservice and Digital Golf Solutions

Acquisition of Albatros Datenservice and Digital Golf Solutions allows NBC Sports Next to expand golf operations into mainland Europe and South Africa

1 December 2022

BRS Golf, the world leader in tee time management software, has acquired Europe’s foremost golf technology providers, Albatros Datenservice and Digital Golf Solutions. The acquisition on 30 November represents a major step in the growth strategy of BRS Golf’s parent company, NBC Sports Next, expanding its golf operations into mainland Europe, and South Africa.

BRS Golf, Albatros Datenservice and Digital Golf Solutions’s closely aligned products and services, combined with a shared focus on continued product development and customer support, will bring benefits to golf course partners and golfers across all territories.

The acquisition will see the creation of an expanded Product & Technology team for NBC Sports Next’s international golf businesses, innovating for customers across the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, South Africa, and Australia. As early as 2024, BRS Golf anticipates bringing Albatros technology solutions to its customers in the UK, Ireland, and Australia, providing a complete golf operations solution including reservations, point-of-sale, CRM, accountancy and hotel integrations, and competition management software with full World Handicap (WHS) integration.

BRS Golf, which was acquired by NBCUniversal in 2013, will retain its Belfast offices as the company’s international headquarters. Its core products that have been delivering for customers since 2003 will continue to be go-forward systems and a critical part of the NBC Sports Next golf portfolio.

Albatros Datenservice, operates out of offices in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Cape Town, South Africa, working with 1,500 golf clubs worldwide, while Digital Golf Solutions, which distributes Albatros software solutions and operates online tee time platform, Mygreenfee.com, has offices in Paris, France. The Mygreenfee website and app closely aligns with NBC Sports Next’s tee time booking platform, GolfNow, and allows golfers across Europe to book tee times at over 320 course partners in France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Sweden.

Brian Smith, Co-founder of BRS Golf and Head of International Growth & Acquisition for NBC Sports Next Golf, says: “The acquisition of Albatros and Digital Golf Solutions is an incredibly exciting development for BRS Golf. To think that the company my brother Rory and I started from home in 2003 has become a key part of the NBC Sports business, spearheading growth into new international markets, is a source of immense pride.”

Smith further commented: “The synergies between BRS Golf and Albatros, and GolfNow and Mygreenfee extend beyond products to strategy, culture, and customer experience. The acquisition is a closely aligned partnership that enhances our mission to continue to develop golf operations systems built specifically for the ever-changing golf market. It will combine the knowledge and culture of our people to continue to deliver excellence for our course partners and our golfers. Through this acquisition we plan to grow the international golf business in the years ahead, offering new products and services to current markets, as well as expanding the team in mainland Europe.”

Volker Schorp, Founder of Albatros Datenservice, and International VP of Product & Technology for NBC Sports Next Golf, says: “I am proud and happy that in BRS Golf and NBC Sports Next, we have found a strong, international, and golf-savvy partner who will strengthen Albatros and the new software package “Albatros 9” and take it to the next level. Together we can accelerate development and enter new areas in addition to the existing markets in which we will expand our position.

“The integration of Albatros into an organisation of this size gives us the opportunity to develop further fields of activity in addition to the already highly successful ones. In addition to golf courses, our long-standing customers also include numerous golf associations who rely on web and cloud-based solutions from Albatros in central handicap or tournament solutions in the context of the World Handicap System.”

Schorp continued: “We plan not only to maintain the locations in Karlsruhe, Paris and Cape Town, but also to expand them further to become even stronger in development as well as in customer service and sales. Personally, I look forward to continuing to actively shape this process of growth for Albatros together with NBC Sports Next in the coming years and will of course continue to be personally available at Albatros for our partners and customers.”

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

FOR EDITORS

About BRS Golf and GolfNow

BRS Golf is the leading provider of tee time management and online booking technology in the world. Its best-in-class tee sheet is trusted by over 3,500 golf clubs across 14 countries, and, in the UK & Ireland alone, 675,000 registered members use BRS Golf to book their tee times. In additional to its powerful tee sheet and member booking technology, BRS Golf offers a range of flexible software solutions designed to help clubs manage all aspects of their facility efficiently in one place, including Membership Management, Visitor Booking, Online Payments, and integration with Golf Genius Competitions & Handicapping software.

Founded in 2003 by Northern Irish golf fanatics and IT experts Brian and Rory Smith, BRS Golf was acquired by GolfNow in June 2013. GolfNow is the world’s largest online tee time platform, offering technology, support, and marketing services to more than 9,000 golf courses in 24 countries around the world. BRS Golf and GolfNow are part of NBC Sports Next, which has offices in Orlando, Florida, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Belfast, Northern Ireland.

About Albatros Datenservice and Digital Golf Solutions

Albatros Datenservice provides technology solutions to golf clubs, mainly in Europe and South Africa, under the brand Albatros. They work with 1,500 club partners in 10 countries globally. Their modular technology offers comprehensive member administration, tournament management, point of sale solutions and more. Digital Golf Solutions also owns the Mygreenfee tee time distribution platform. The Mygreenfee website and app allows golfers across Europe to book tee times at course partners across Europe.

Albatros is based in Karlsruhe, Germany, with an office in Cape Town, South Africa, while Digital Golf Solutions is located in the suburbs of Paris, France.

 

Find out more about BRS Golf

www.brsgolf.com

TW @brsgolf

FB /brsgolf

 

Find out more about Albatros Datenservice

www.albatros.net

TW @albatros

FB /AlbatrosSoftware

Find out more about Digital Golf Solutions

https://www.dgsgolf.com/

 

If you would like to receive more information or arrange an interview with Brian Smith, Head of International Growth & Acquisition for NBC Sports Next, please contact:

Karen Moss

[email protected]

0044 7956 745 083

Albatros updates his legal terms and conditions

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During the process of introduction of the new software version “Albatros 9” and the associated redesign of the license agreement contracts with golf course customers, Albatros has also updated its general terms and conditions.

From now on, our terms and conditions apply as of January 1st, 2022.

Albatros develops the first live new WHS for South Africa

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South Africa was the first nation in the world to convert its central handicap server system (developed and maintained by Albatros on behalf of Handicaps Network Africa (HNA)) to the new World Handicap System (WHS). The “go-live” of the new handicap system for South Africa at 1st of October 2019 has been successful, almost the full scope of the WHS has been implemented. According to HNAs schedule, one further update will follow in January 1, 2020. This will make South African golfers some of the first players in the world to enjoy the new WHS regulations for their summer season.

The introduction of the WHS in South Africa was accompanied by a relaunch of the HNA Handicaps & Tournament App, designed and developed by Albatros. This is the South African Golf Association’s official app. The app offers numerous new services which include a premium subscription service and an tournament function. The latter enables golfers to enter, record scores and follow a live leaderboard while on the course playing their fellow competitors. It also is one of the first golf Apps to provide an electronic player / marker scorecard function for the returning of competition scores for handicap purposes. It was well received with more than a 1,000 tournaments created on the App in the first ten days.

As a provider of software solutions not only for golf courses but also for golf associations, Albatros is very proud to be one of the world’s leading providers of handicap systems. A fact that is repeatedly confirmed to us by golf associations worldwide.

Business Intelligence – your statistics in realtime!

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The term “Business Intelligence” (BI for short) is experiencing a renaissance due to the new possibilities of cloud solutions and high availability of the Internet and is entering completely new dimensions through the most modern technologies. BI was once defined as “procedure and process for the systematic analysis (collection, evaluation and presentation) of data in electronic form”, but today BI offers much more. The goal today is no longer just the software-supported collection and storage of company data in order to make it strategically evaluable. Today, data collection is hardly a serious problem for any IT system, and data storage is also possible and affordable in an almost infinite amount.
BI means much more today to have the data collected in this way quickly, permanently up-to-date and in a quickly understandable, graphic form available and displayable. Data analysis in real time and in a user-friendly way without being banal.

With the wish of our customers for quickly accessible, easy-to-configure and always up-to-date statistics and evaluations about their own golf course, the development project team at Albatros 9 received a clear order in the area of statistics and issues reports. We have taken on this task and see a clear solution – “Business Intelligence”.

The new version of Albatros 9 will therefore no longer be just a tool for simple data collection, but will also primarily provide you with smart and easy-to-understand data analyzes in real time. Wherever you want, when you want and with which device you want – an Internet connection is sufficient.

We go into the different roles that the employee can have on the golf course – and the associated different rights, but also demands on the type and scope of the data. The receptionist will want to see and monitor other real-time data – such as the status of the ball machine or the date of a guest’s last visit – like the club manager who needs regular and detailed occupancy or budget analysis.
In addition, Albatros 9 will offer both a broad and growing “arsenal” of pre-designed and finished analyzes and graphics. Albatros 9 will also offer an extremely user-friendly “statistics generator”, which enables the golf course to run very individual reports and analyzes. Very easy to use, quickly available and, on request, both storable and automatically sendable by email to an interested group of users.

Albatros 9 will therefore be the first true BI tool for golf courses that meets the modern requirements of golf courses, but also the very latest technology. Let yourself be inspired by the new possibilities that we have implemented for you based on your requirements and wishes.