Golf is in the midst of an extreme makeover with young, brainy players at the forefront of competition and product development. Luke Murnane, who recently graduated from AGNR with a Plant Science degree is both a talented player and budding innovator, whose experience on the course and studying the needs of pros led him to build and launch two new putting training tools, one of which is currently being used by a touring professional.
Murnane’s early journey of playing junior golf, tinkering with his swing, and drive to become a better player led to the idea, and now product launch of Hover Greens, an indoor, all-season, long-board putting green system with four electric motors and projection software, allowing the user to adjust the slope and pitch of the green, effectively simulating the four most common slopes (straight, right to left, uphill, downhill) you’ll experience on the course. He originally decided to build Hover Greens to improve his own putting, but once he realized its utility for the golfing masses, he decided to scale production. He built this from the ground up with his self-taught knowledge of coding, carpentry, and agronomy.
Murnane is a hustler. He conceptualized and built this product single-handedly in the basement of his home while also managing an agronomy internship at the world-class Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, Maryland, and juggling a full-time course load as an AGNR undergrad.
In addition to Hover Greens, he just released a new training aid called “Vision Alignment”, that helps golfers understand their optimal eye position over the ball. Some golfers like their eye position inside the ball, and some like it directly over the ball, but many might not know if their comfort zone is helping them make more putts.
This 3D printed tool that can be used on the putting green at your local course will remove the guesswork by properly aligning your eye relative to the ball. Murnane credits AGNR for helping him find his entrepreneurial spirit.
“They want you to find your passion,” Murnane said. “AGNR allows you to shape your education how you want it to be. My Plant Science classes really helped with designing the carpet and texture/playing surface for Hover Greens. I was able to create a true surface that is realistic.”
Murnane’s business has gotten off to an exciting start. He has a Korn Ferry Tour pro named Ryan McCormick testing Vision Alignment, which recently made its U.S. Open debut at Oakmont Country Club. He hopes the sky is the limit from here.
by Graham Binder
