Bringing the Golf Course to Your Living Room

With a third child on the way, Whitefish Bay's Nick Blair no longer has seven hours to kill on the golf course.

An industrial designer by trade, Blair and his business partner Drew Hart did what any self-respecting entrepreneurs would do in their situation – they innovated their way around the problem and figured out a way to bring the golf course to their homes. 


After two years of research, Blair created the Bonzi Ball, which performs exactly like a regulation golf ball, such as producing a fade or draw in flight, but flies a much shorter and manageable distance.

“A funny thing about the traditional game of golf is that it uses a really small ball, but requires a vast expanse of space to play,” Blair said. “We broke golf down to its core elements and reassembled all of the components of the game that were fun.” 

How does The Bonzi Ball work?

After two years of research and development, the duo discovered that a single dimple on one side of the ball created an off-center of gravity around which the ball spins in flight. The resulting oscillating motion generates enough turbulence to shorten the ball's flight to one-eighth the original distance.

Bonzi Balls can be chipped around leisurely or played more competitively in two formats.

Bonzi Golf’s flagship outdoor game, LINKS, has players hitting three Bonzi Balls from one turf pad to another turf pad, set about 10 yards out. Points are awarded to the player whose balls end closest to the hole.

"It's sort of like jarts or horseshoes where you are hitting from one pod to the other," Blair said. "It's a one-eighth scale ball, so it simulates an 80-yard shot when you're 10 yards apart."

The indoor counterpart is called ACES, which can be played in the home or office.

“This isn’t your old man’s putting into a coffee cup kind of office game,” quips Hart.  

Players are challenged to chip into a cup that is a little over four inches in diameter. Three shots costs players a quarter, and the player who finally aces it keeps the cash.

Using Bonzi Golf as a training aid, Blair has set a goal to drop 10 strokes in 10 rounds. He is chronicling his journey at http://bonzigolf.com/blog/. Visit the Bonzi Golf website for more information or to place an order.