Just Like Bubba Watson, You Too Can Own a Hover Golf Cart

Forbes Magazine
May 2013

By now you’ve almost certainly seen the viral video titled “Bubba’s Hover.” It caught the web by storm and it has 7.6 million hits on YouTube, captured over 17 days on the internet. But just in case, here it is.

After Oakley signed left-handed Bubba Watson in January, they wanted to make waves. So they paired the 2012 Masters winner up with the inventors/viral video specialists at Thinkmodo: James Percelay and Michael Krivicka. Watson, who had recently purchased the General Lee (of Dukes of Hazzard fame), worked with Thinkmodo to produce the world’s first hovercraft golf cart: the BW1, which can soar over both sand traps and water hazards and doesn’t damage grass. It was only meant to be a clever marketing ploy, but now requests for the cart are pouring in. One-hundred BW1s will be available for purchase beginning in July with an expected price of $65,000 each.

Note: Neoteric Hovercraft is the manufacturer of Bubba’s original BW1 as well as the one hundred limited edition replicas.

How the Bubba Watson golf cart hovercraft became a real thing

Yahoo! News

10 April 2013

When a video surfaced of defending Masters golf tournament champion Bubba Watson cruising down the fairway on his Oakley-sponsored hovercraft, the world took notice: It's been seen by more than 60 million people after being covered by ABC, CNN, ESPN and countless websites.

It's been such a big hit, in fact, that despite the video turning out to be a stunt by viral marketer Thinkmodo, the manufacturer is moving ahead with plans to sell the vehicle to the public.

NeotericHovercraft President Chris Fitzgerald told Yahoo News he plans to produce up to 140 of the hovercraft models this year and has had to push back his company's other production orders to keep up with surging demand.

“He’s actually forced to do it because he’s getting so many inquiries,” Thinkmodo's Michael Krivicka told Yahoo News. “He’s kind of a celebrity now because of it. Millionaires from Russia are calling him, placing orders.”

Bubba Watson and the Thinkmodo team filming "Bubba's Hover" (Thinkmodo photo)

Other than for the obvious cool factor, why would someone spend upward of $50,000 on a golf cart hovercraft?

Fitzgerald acknowledged that it's largely a novelty, but he said there are a few legitimate reasons. “They have a very low environmental impact,” Fitzgerald said. “They can also get up to 50 mph. You can literally fly over a water hazard.”

In addition, Fitzgerald said, he’s tweaking the golf cart cabin to make it more spacious. However, he was quick to note that along with the relatively steep price tag, this golf court requires flight training.

“It’s about a 12-hour course,” he said. “But when you’re done, you could fly your friends around the course.”

Still, Krivicka pointed out that not everything in the video, called "Bubba’s Hover," is entirely real. For example, in its current form, the hovercraft is loud. And it doesn’t do well when traversing bumpy terrain, as a hovercraft is drawn to depressions in the ground. For example, if you drove next to a ditch, you’d probably end up crashing into it.

“The idea was a collaborative thing from us, Oakley [who is also Watson's corporate sponsor], Bubba and Neoteric,” Krivicka said in an interview from Thinkmodo’s New York offices. “It literally all started with a napkin drawing. It has already become the most successful marketing campaign ever for Oakley.”

The napkin drawing that lead to the creation of a golf cart hovercraft (Thinkmodo image)

“I’ve been in this business for 50 years. You can pull your hair out trying to figure out how to get this information out that this technology exists,” Fitzgerald added. “In one fell swoop it’s gotten across all these hovercraft concepts to people.”

“Pretty much everything you see in the video is real,” Krivicka said. “But we staged the crowd reactions and specifically chose a golf course in Arizona that suited our needs.

But the bottom line is you can now purchase a flying golf cart.

About Thinkmodo:
Founded by former Saturday Night Live producer James Percelay and social media maven Michael Krivicka, Thinkmodo is the mastermind viral video agency behind campaigns such as the Times Square Hack for Limitless and the flying people campaign for Chronicle. Their recent video for Popcorn Indiana's Popinator has surpassed two million views on YouTube. Bubba's Hover is Thinkmodo's most successful campaign to date.

Hovercraft depicted in viral video made in Indiana

ABC-TV, WRTV6

By Chance Walser

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Usually golfers have the choice to walk or ride in a cart, but thanks to an Indiana company, they could soon have the option to hover.

"Once you get the air underneath it lifts up and it floats on a cushion of air and it hovers," said Chris Fitzgerald, president of Neoteric Hovercraft in Terre Haute, Ind.

The hovercraft golf cart video on YouTube, [Bubba's Hover] has seen millions of hits. Now Fitzgerald's company is trying to keep up with demand.

Neoteric markets their machines to rescue teams, the military, and now golfers who have about $50,000 to spend. The molding, sanding, buffing and assembly for one craft takes hundreds of hours.

Since the YouTube video launched, Neoteric has been flooded with inquiries and expects to start filling orders soon.

"The absolutely fantastic thing … is that it is spreading the word that this technology exists and look it can be used for doing lots of different things," Fitzgerald said.

But he said as far as the hovercraft replacing the four-wheeled golf cart, it won't happen soon, if at all.

"This is a flying machine and it really requires training," he said. "You know, you jump in a golf cart and most people can just get in and drive, but this is not like that at all."

The company requires a minimum 12 hours of training before anyone can hover off with their product.

More information:

HovercraftTraining.com

www.facebook.com/hovercrafttraining

NeotericHovercraft.com

Note: The video Bubba's Hover was produced by Thinkmodo, a New York City viral video agency. Founded by former Saturday Night Live producer James Percelay and social media maven Michael Krivicka, Thinkmodo is the mastermind behind campaigns such as the Times Square Hack for Limitless and the flying people campaign for Chronicle. Their recent video for Popcorn Indiana's Popinator has surpassed two million views on YouTube. Bubba's Hover is Thinkmodo's most successful campaign to date.

CNN interviews Neoteric's Chris Fitzgerald about Bubba's Hover

Bubba’s Hover, the video of golf pro Bubba Watson and Neoteric president Chris Fitzgerald with the BW1 hovercraft golf cart manufactured by Neoteric, has become a worldwide phenomenon, thanks to the masterminds behind it at Thinkmodo, the New York City viral video agency. Thousands of media outlets, including CNN, GMA and NBC’s Today Show have featured the story, with more than 63 million total broadcast viewership in the U.S. alone. And Bubba’s Hover now has 6,400,000 views on YouTube.

As CNN’s Jeanne Moos says, “It’s a golf cart that’s anything but par for the course and it had wannabe drivers drooling watching Masters champ Bubba Watson tooling around in a modified hovercraft, zipping over water hazards.”  It’s no wonder; as Chris Fitzgerald told her, “It’s sort of a magic carpet floating around a golf course.”

The massive publicity has resulted in Neoteric Hovercraft being flooded with orders from golf courses worldwide. When people see the video, they respond as did CNN’s Piers Morgan, who said in an early interview with Bubba Watson on Piers Morgan Tonight, “If it’s real, then I want one!”

Watch CNN’s Jeanne Moos tell the story behind Bubba’s new “driver” ...

Read more about Bubba's Hover

Learn how to fly a hovercraft

About Thinkmodo:
Founded by former Saturday Night Live producer James Percelay and social media maven Michael Krivicka, Thinkmodo is the mastermind viral video agency behind campaigns such as the Times Square Hack for Limitless and the flying people campaign for Chronicle. Their recent video for Popcorn Indiana's Popinator has surpassed two million views on YouTube. Bubba's Hover is Thinkmodo's most successful campaign to date.