Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Benoit
Hi LUKE, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up, I loved all sports. Particularly, any sport that involved a ball. My favorite was probably baseball, but when my grandpa took me golfing when I was 12 that changed. I loved how I got way more than 4-5 “at bats” per game and I loved how I could go practice on my own. I quickly turned into an all-day golfer, playing 200+ rounds a year (not a small feat in the state of MN). It took me about 2.5 years to become a scratch player. The only lesson I had was from my grandpa. He taught me how to curve the ball in both directions and then said “once you can curve it both ways consistently then the next step is to high it straight”. Little did I know that would take the rest of my life!
I went on to play college golf at Gustavus Adolphus College and then turned professional shortly after. During those years of playing, I had some great guidance from coaches but my golf swing had fundamental flaws. I read every golf book imagined and realized that the mechanics of the golf swing were my primary interest. I became a golf instructor when it became clear to me that my swing was not good enough to play golf for a living.
From that point forward I put all my energy into learning as much as I could about motor learning, biomechanics, and psychology. I’ve been teaching golf at Interlachen Country Club since 2014 as the Director of Instruction. In 2019 I started Ryp Golf, a company dedicated to helping golfers hit the golf ball farther and reach their potential.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Start-up businesses are rarely smooth. We’ve made plenty of missteps but learned along the way. Bringing a physical product to market with very little marketing knowledge was probably the earliest big challenge. We went through 4 marketing teams in the first 3 years learning to optimize strategies.
After the initial “basics” of marketing were managed the rest of the challenge became strategic. Defining who we were as. company and our long-term goals seemed easy, but It took some insight into the future. We changed our name from “Rypstick”, a one-product brand to “Ryp Golf” after about 2.5 years of operation. This would allow us to create more products. Without this move we were stuck as a non-consumable (would never need replacing) product creator with no secondary product. Now we have an app, a balance platform, an impact training club, and several other great products in the pipeline.
We’ve been impressed with Ryp Golf, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Ryp Golf makes the Rypstick, the worlds most #1 speed training tool for golf. The premise of the product is to swing it like a golf club, but be able to adjust the weights at the end of the stick. By “overloading” the rypstick with extra weight, the user gains strength and improves their kinematic sequence. By “underloading” the rypstick and making it light, the user can swing it even faster leading to neurological adaptation and a faster swing. We’ve sold 20,000 + Rypsticks and guarantee 20 yards of distance in 3 months of training. Training only takes 15 minutes 3 days per week. Since we began selling 5 years ago fewer than 5 golfers have failed to see results after following our training plan. Over 100 tour pros use our product including several in the top 50 in the world.
Locally, we also run the top indoor golf academy in Minnesota, the www.rypgolfacademy.com. We have 11 golf simulators and train more high school and college players than anyone in MN.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Narrow the focus and be thoughtful about building a team that can share your vision. As we started, we weren’t sure exactly what kind of company we wanted to be. Over time, the vision has changed and we have leaned into our RYP “Reach Your Potential” tagline. We want to help golfers optimize their journey in the game of golf, through more distance, but in other ways as well.
Pricing:
- 200 – Rypstick
- 139 – Ryp Radar
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rypgolf.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rypgolf/
