Something new has been spotted on golf courses around the country recently, and its impact has the ability to alter the sport forever.

GolfBoards — a platform supporting both the golfer and his clubs — are speeding hackers and duffers to their next shot with a smile on their faces. They were designed in part by pro surfing legend Laird Hamilton after he took up the game and became bored with the less-than-interesting golf cart ride down the fairways (Hamilton’s co-inventor was Don Wildman, the founder of Bally Total Fitness). GolfBoards introduce surfing dynamics to break the monotony of driving a golf cart (or hauling your clubs on a hand cart) for 18 holes. Powered by a hand-held device, riders can use their body balance to move the board around and change direction, similar to skateboarding, but with a smoothness of hanging ten on some ocean wave.

Soon you’ll be able to try a board out for yourself at a local course — more on that later.

The GolfBoard website (www.golfboard.com) provides this description and product purpose:

“Powered by an environmentally friendly lithium-ion battery, the GolfBoard is an easy-to-ride vehicle that adds a new level of fun and excitement for golfers of all ages, allowing golfers to ‘Surf the Earth’ in a way that feels similar to snowboarding, surfing, or skateboarding.

“Golfing with a GolfBoard, or ‘GolfBoarding’ as we like to call it, changes the golfing experience, without changing the spirit and traditions of the game. We strongly feel the GolfBoard will help bring more interest to golf and as a result increase the number of passionate players to the sport.”

While not an expert, I did spend a little time on a skateboard in my youth, not quite mastering the balance needed to do some simple tricks, but still having plenty of fun (as in no major injuries) and carving out turns for many carefree hours a week.

And back before I fell in love with cycling, I was lugging my golf clubs up and down local fairways with my hand cart. I must admit at times the time between shots would tend to be less than thrilling, and maybe sliding around on a GolfBoard would have made the game more attractive for me.

Will all golfers be riding boards in the not-too-distant future? I suppose all that depends on economics, and the outside chance that it could be a fad that fades in popularity.

One local course is poised to be the first in the area to offer the boards to their golfers.

Darrell Hull of The Links in Post Falls is in the process of giving the boards a try on his course.

“I had discussions with a GolfBoard representative last year and he gave me some information and he thought their product would be ideal for our course, since it is relatively flat, with a lack of any substantial hills.

“I presented a proposal on the boards at that time (last fall), and Richard (Baiter, owner of The Links) came back in the spring after having done some research about them and told me to move forward with researching them even more (for the purpose of purchasing some).”

Hull said he now must get with a representative and determine which model of board would be the best fit for the club.

“There are a multitude of models,” Hull said. “Finding the right one for The Links will be the next step.

“At this point in golf, we need to get younger people involved in the game, since we are ready to go through a cycle of older folks not being around,” Hull said. “We need to fix that or we won’t have enough golfers for a long time.”

Hull said the majority of golfers at The Links are retired, and he sees a lack of middle-aged men playing as a real concern. “Those 40-somethings are having to support their family, so they either don’t have the time and/or money to play right now.”

Hull said he has heard The Fairways Golf Course in Cheney is looking into purchasing some boards as well, but he knows of no other course in the area that is close to bringing the boards into the fold. “Another thing to consider is the insurance‚ since there is no seat, they (the occupant/golfer) is in total control, standing up,” Hull said. “Because of this, it’ll require a different kind of insurance than golf carts and the golfer will have to sign a different kind of waiver to use them.”

Andy Mackimmie, head golf pro at The Coeur d’Alene Resort, said the course has declined to offer the boards.

“They are neat, and I’ve seen them at golf shows, but we felt with all the curbs we have here, the sea wall at the water line, the hills on holes 4, 5 and 6, that we are looking at some liability issues.”

Mackimmie said another problem is the ability to control the groups, and the fact that there is a learning curve to operate a board and the time to train each golfer would also be time-consuming and expensive. “They take a little getting used to,” he said. “They are pretty easy to fall off of, and we just decided — for us — it’s just not worth the hassle.”

Avondale General Manager Randy Fulk also cited the boards’ speed as an issue of why they have decided to pass on the boards at this time.

“I have tried the boards and they are fun,” Fulk said. “I see them creating a problem with our pace of play. We average four hours a round on our course, and the boards have the ability to reduce that time considerably, which would put pressure on other golfers on the course — the ones who want a more leisurely round.”

Christopher Runyan, head pro at Prairie Falls in Post Falls, is among those that have tried the boards, but for various reasons had also declined to offer them for use.

“I got on one here at the course and they are fast (15 miles per hour compared to their normal 12 mph on a golf cart). Due to the hills on our back nine and liability issues, we’ve just determined they wouldn’t benefit us at this time.”

In addressing the particular liability issues, Runyan stated there is a concern that “we could get too much stupidity out there” among golfers getting carried away with themselves on the boards.

Runyan also added that pace of play was a concern, with GolfBoard-ed players putting pressure on players in carts ahead of them. He said there is the potential to tick off golfers by consistently being right behind them on the boards. Runyan said a foursome in carts can complete the course in 3.5 hours, with some foursomes going quicker if they each have their own cart, but golfers decked out with boards would be even quicker.

Runyan has heard of a course near the Washington coast that has “20 or 30 of them.” A search of GolfBoard’s Facebook page revealed Blue Lakes Country Club in Twin Falls is now offering the boards.

I was curious as to how many of the nation’s courses are offering GolfBoards to their customers and Jim Black, director of communications for GolfBoard, said the company now has boards at “upwards of 200-ish course and growing every day.”

But Black and his product are not without competition. Among them is Golf Skate Caddy, which offers an onboard cooler. Other companies are scrambling to reach mass production and courses will soon have even more products to research should they decide that surfing the fairways is the way forward.

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Jerry Hitchcock can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com, or follow him on Twitter at HitchTheWriter.