Marshall Threw has never made a hole-in-one in his life.
But if you'd like to bet on yourself to make one, he's got a way where you can take your best shot.
The Farmington, Illinois, native and his childhood friend Kevin Reed teamed up to create an online golf app — named Skill Shot Golf — that allows users on the golf course to bet they'll make a hole-in-one on any par 3 hole in the country.
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"One of our goals was to be able to golf for work," Threw said. "I'm a 9 handicap and I won't scare many people, but I've been playing quite a bit. I've never had a hole-in-one, though. I've hit the pin or rimmed it a couple times.
"So now we've created the only place you can bet on yourself."
What is Skill Shot Golf?
A year ago this week, Threw and Reed started working on a golf betting app.
"We're both avid golfers and both travel a lot," Threw said. "We saw the idea on some courses that had hard-mounted cameras on the green. You have the option at those courses to pay an extra $5 when you check in for tee time and it enters you in a hole-in-one competition.
"We like a good friendly wager. We noted entry rates were at 50-75% during the week and 100% on weekends. We were going down that path. But then we got the idea — everyone has a really good camera in their pocket. We don't have to pay $10,000 to put a camera on one course in a fixed position.
"We pivoted to just filming it all in an app. That gave us instant access to every course in America."
How big is that? Threw's data shows there are over 17,000 golf courses in the country, and each with an average of 4.5 par-3 holes.
"We know there's about 26 million golfers a year," Threw said. "There are 520 million rounds played, multiplied by those 4.5 par 3s — its over 2 billion tee shots off those par 3s per year."
And via Skill Shot Golf, those shots can be bet on to turn into an ace.
Threw and Reed turned to Chris Caldwell, who owns hypernova in Bloomington, to build the app. They added Clay Deal as a marketing stakeholder and Kevin Stewart — who owns Anvil Media Foundry — as a creative content stakeholder.
App developers grew up in Farmington, Illinois
Threw, 42, and Reed, 39, grew up in Farmington and have been lifelong friends, playing basketball, baseball and football along the way. Their families are close, as well.
Reed is a real estate appraiser in the Peoria-Canton area. Threw is an accountant, owns MTZ Fitness in Farmington and Canton, and used to own Whiskey Dixie's in Farmington, "but it burned down" in 2022.
The partners are both active in the rental houses and flip houses industry. Now they see a chance to make the game they love into their life's work.
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How to bet with Skill Shot Golf
Skill Shot Golf's currency is a token that can be purchased through the app for $5. You can wager up to five tokens ($25) that you will make a hole-in-one on any par-3 hole.
Not all holes qualify: The hole must be at least 100 yards long. It must have a direct line of sight from the tee box to the cup, so elevated greens, back-sloping greens and obstructed views will disqualify the hole.
When your playing partner activates the record button in the app on your phone, the app will generate a two-digit code. The code needs to be read aloud and written on the ball. It needs to be shown to the camera, with the golfer's face and at least one of the hole markers in the frame.
The details on how to shoot the video are listed as part of a what-to-do tutorial on the Skill Shot site.
The video needs to show the golfer from tee to cup, retrieving the ball, and showing the code on it to the camera.The recording has to be continuous.
So if you aced an average par-3 hole on a $5 bet, what's the payout?
"That will get you $1,000," Threw said. "The calculations depend on the distance, the amount bet and so on. You can win a max of $13,000."
Is betting on golf legal in Illinois?
Golf betting is legal in 39 states. Skill Shot Golf was test-marketed in San Antonio, and has been rolled out in full in Texas and North Carolina, with Illinois following.
"We went active April 26, and it's a great response so far," Threw said. "We're taking it slow. We've turned off our marketing for now. We've got over 300 downloads already. We have customers from all over the nation, and we called every single one of them to touch base with them, get feedback.
"We're starting out with getting paid for a hole-in-one. We're hoping to add additional payouts in the future — hitting it on the green, hitting it within a flagstick length of the cup or on the fairway. In the future, we might add other sports."
Threw has played golf courses all over the country, from Spyglass Hill at Pebble Beach, to Raven Golf Club in Phoenix, Waterlefe Golf and River in Bradenton, Fla., and TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.
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But he's betting playing on any course with the Skill Shot app will bring a different feel for the golfer.
"You are on camera, there's money on the line," he said. "It adds some pressure, gets your heart going, and for a moment, kind of makes you feel like you're in a pro tournament."
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Farmington, Illinois, duo launches golf hole-in-one sports betting app
