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KTBS Podcasting and the Committee of 100 present Good to Know Shreveport-Bossier, a podcast series showcasing the good things happening in our area. We’ll go in-depth about economic development, community growth and other topics about initiatives that are having a positive impact in our community. We’ll have new episodes every other Wednesday. You can find the KTBS Good to Know podcast wherever you listen to podcasting. Or go to KTBS.com or KTBS Now on your streaming device to see the full interview.
Hello again, everybody.
Welcome to you.
Good to know. Shreveport Bossier.
This is a podcast showcasing the good
things happening around our community.
My name is Jeff
Pine for over here to my right,
this is my co-host,
Paul Reiser, a local business man.
I call him the French fry guy.
He's a member of the Committee of 100.
Every podcast
we focus on topics and initiatives,
having a positive,
a good impact on our community.
New episodes are available
every other Wednesday, and you can find
good to know
wherever you listen to your podcast.
As always, Paul, the honors.
To introduce our special guests,
go to you.
Thanks, Jeff.
I'll take that as a compliment.
And fry the French fry guy.
Don't short yourself.
That's.
So speaking of business,
which you aren't really,
but that's what I'm thinking about.
A lot of people think about dream
of starting their own business one day,
but as soon as they start
looking into it, it's
difficult, it's expensive,
and it just kind of stops at the dream.
So I'm really excited
about our guest today
because he had a big dream and is actually
making it come to fruition.
Big dream to bring a
big business here to Shreveport, Baja,
and it's actually happening.
So I had a big dream to work in a TV
station.
Actually, I wanted to own a TV station.
That didn't happen.
You're halfway there.
You made your dream happen
with all the French fries.
And then I sold the fries.
I'll get to the big, big dream.
I get to be on this podcast and talk
to great people like our guest today.
So a lot of people have heard
there's a lot of buzz around this new golf
entertainment complex that's been
built in Boulder right now chasing aces.
And we have the CEO, founder,
inventor of the whole thing.
Nice. John Dudley.
Come on, man.
There it is. Wow. Wow. Welcome you.
You have personality, John.
That's a problem.
It's kind of tough being up here with you
icons of the Shreveport area.
Oh, man.
Well, I appreciate it.
And I thank you on my behalf.
And good about him.
The retired tried to smile from that guy.
Smile for us.
Barstool Golf. I love you, man.
You should be on that show
with your personality.
What I'm I'm bad enough to be on there
too, though.
That's all I see is bad golfers.
I'm telling you that for Knight, John,
there are no short of enthusiasm
on your point and just tenacity is
what is what made this thing happen.
So I want to it's going to be entertaining
for people
this to find out if they're interested
in this new entertainment venue
that's coming, but also inspiring,
I think, for people who have a dream
to start a business
because this is no small feat
what you've done.
So that's the that's the biggest thing
that really gets to me when when I started
this process, you know, limited,
limited resources, I had
I had an idea
and I've always been a driven person.
My father talks about a story when I was a
kid all the time about a red bike.
And so my father was a pastor here
and we had our own church
when I was when I was a child.
And so every time that I spoke to him,
it was about Jesus.
That's the only conversation
we would have as a child to an adult.
And so he he talks about the story
all the time that he came to him.
And I says, Dad, I want to talk to you,
but I don't want to talk about God.
I won't talk about red bike.
And so that was the first close.
But yeah,
I see.
I see a Christmas movie in the works.
We had something going on.
Yeah, it was the first thing in my life
where I knew that once I got focused on
something
that I wasn't going to let up on it and
went through
just a little background on me.
I've been an architect my whole life.
My dad started the professional venture
clinic in 1971.
Well, I work there since 1995
and I've found it since 2012.
So been in business
firm for a long period of time.
When I started this venture,
I learned a lot more
about being in business
and being an entrepreneur,
coming from a family legacy business
that was on a track
that I had to maintain to keep, keep
moving for is way different than starting
something from scratch, right?
So I go to this
iconic resort called Whistling Straits.
What's the name again?
Whistling Straits. Whistling Straits.
Yeah, it's
the Koehler Resort in Wisconsin.
Uh, they played the Ryder
Cup there a few years ago.
Well, I played the I played the
the course
a month before the Ryder Cup happened.
Well, I don't know if you remember it,
but Bryson DeChambeau
drove the par
four first green and it's like 430 yards.
Okay.
And when I saw that on TV,
I was like, holy, because I was there.
I didn't even make it to the sand traps
for, you know, it wasn't even close,
you know.
So it was it's going to ask
if you made it to the green on your drive
and didn't make it to the green
on the third shot.
But so we go on this trip.
I go with a couple of buddies, man,
a guy from a foresight tractor.
We go on this trip every year and we
we get there and our plane gets delayed
on the way back.
A very inspiring trip where we got to play
a little par three course there.
And it was so different
than any golf I'd ever play.
There's loud music.
It was it was like a tiki bar
that was that was at the entrance.
And, you know, we were aware because
there was there was there was eight of us.
And so we were worried about being able
to be teed off.
And all y'all go.
You go ahead.
You know, you got eight of them. Yeah.
So we played tonight, eight and
and it was just this different vibe.
Yeah.
And we got the sound of that, you know, it
just a fun,
upbeat, kind of more relaxed
is what we're talking about.
Yeah.
So the the game of golf is just
it's a little too serious sometimes.
A little golf clap, a little quiet.
It is. It's such a mr. Bond for nothing.
I mean.
Well, I just want to get the,
you know, the vibe.
It's not just your regular golfer here.
This is this is fun. Golf.
Yeah. So the the game's changing.
Our whole culture and society is changing.
And so to move this sport forward,
we're going to have to create
an environment
where it's more accepted to everybody
and not put them in these boxes.
Well, you look at
look all these, you know, the purists,
they're going to fight you on that,
you know, like live golf and PGA, they're
they've been fighting for two years now
and they're just playing traditional.
And that's,
you know, what brings up a good point,
because I don't care what they think,
because I don't know.
They're really but the people of the world
will dictate
whether my idea is good or not.
And I'm betting they will, because when
when you change the culture of something,
it's going to start building or it's not.
It's going to build.
Because I've I've been out there,
no one wants golf as long.
There's so many rules,
you know, it takes you 5 hours
to play on Saturday and it's very stiff.
It takes me even longer.
I get my money, I have no doubt.
And that's on the first hole.
So easily the back nine.
But so let's talk a little bit
about what it is, because I've heard
everybody's been confused.
Everyone said not everyone,
but I talk to people that,
oh, it's a it's like top golf.
And I'm like, Well, no, I heard
it was a par three, but also it's both.
So can you explain a little bit
about this?
It's a full entertainment venue
from one stands.
So weird. Weird entertainment company.
We were creating an entertainment company.
The product that we have at
this point is golf,
and we are venturing other
into other sports as well.
And even at this facility in second phase,
this facility will venture
into other sports.
Well, you know, I don't really
want to talk about that now. Sure.
But what we have coming
now is an entertainment driving range
where you have like a dining setting
swing bays with interactive gameplay.
And then we have a non whole smart course
this this, this golf course,
which is all par threes is lidded
and there's a camera
based system that's connected to an a
regenerated software
program
that's proprietary to chase and aces.
And then we also have a putting course
which is an 18 hole competitive
putting course that we're looking
at some really cool technology
out to to me the gym of the whole thing
will be the putting course.
And the reason
why is because anybody can do it and it's
and it's creates fun family environment,
but it also creates a competitive
for people
that could not physically play or,
you know, you take seniors
that were really good at golf,
they're still great putters,
they're still great runners, but
they can't hit the ball as far anymore.
And it kind of discourages them.
And so what we're looking at with our
with our new business
model is to take them
from this entertainment driving range
where they don't have to have this
big barrier of financial rule entry point.
So golf costs about $5,000 a year to play.
So that that takes out 95%
of all of our population here in our area.
Mm hmm.
We can get them on the entertainment
driving range with no experience,
no clubs, no balls, anything.
You don't have to have anything.
They just show up, right.
And they're able to start
seeing the sport.
Is that going to be similar to the top
golf that's they had like several.
Is it two or three
stories? It's a it's a multilayered
facility that has a sports bar,
a banquet hall of VIP dining experience
and also a dining experience
and the swing based
and this is the point
where you take the non golfer
and they hit a one or two good shots
and we mature them to the nine hole
or the putting course.
Or you could just go out to dinner
with friends and how and ball and like
it gets worse as the night goes on
but yeah we had one of these top golfer
my son got married in Atlanta
and I know that place you've been there.
Yeah.
From what I understand, half a mile
from the hotel was a top golf, right?
Multilevel.
You know, the swinging. And it's so cool.
And I mean, you couldn't find the groom.
Spent, like it's time for the rehearsal.
We're all.
They're all at the top.
Golf every night after the wedding,
they went to the top.
Golf People were living there loving it
just because it's.
It's so much fun.
Like I said, there's music
and there's anyone can do it.
You can swing and a miss
and it still kind of rolls off the edge
and you still get a point.
So I've done a bunch of research on on
top golf and all the competitive top golf.
And what I wanted to do is that is great
and they're always packed.
And so what I did is I went and I looked
at every single one
star review, every one of them.
And that's how I started
basing of how am I going to build
this business model?
Because obviously
they have a fun environment
that is a really great business model
and it's awesome.
And I wanted to see
how are we going to make this better
because I can't come out and be a top golf
because I'm going to lose.
I have to create an offering
that is so unique
that they don't describe it as a top golf.
Okay?
And so the tech, the technology
that we're bringing and the interactive
that we're bringing
is going to be so different
than anything that's been seen before.
We have a lot of
show lighting and laser there.
So there's some really cool things
that are interactive
with not only the facility
but the whole course.
And when I was looking at
when I was looking at that model,
the one thing that they can't do
anything about is
people are having to wait two or 3 hours
to play golf at Topgolf. Okay?
And that is a that is a negative review.
But really, once they got it,
that most of the reviews,
once they got to it,
they had a good experience.
But they they went.
So I've created these different
places for them to go
when they renew this kind of thing.
So if you're
if you're waiting to go to a swing bag
and you have an hour away,
I can put you on putting course.
Okay.
And if you're ever in a restaurant
or in the restaurant or in a sports bar.
Yeah.
And eventually
on the go cart tracks or the the baseball.
Okay. And the arcade.
So those are those are things
that are coming in the pipeline.
Not in this first
not in this first part of it.
But the idea is to have different
different points to where we can send
this person while they're waiting.
And we have an all in one app
that keeps you up to date in a while.
And a lot of what we're doing with
the application
is these kids
and we have to build a business
that is not finite
and it has to be growing constantly.
And I can't build it for me.
I have to build it for for the youth.
And the youth are spending the majority
their time on the screen.
You know, they have, you know,
they have so much screen time.
So how do we how do we penetrate that
and get them to a physical activity?
Okay.
And so we're that we have
we're we're creating an all in one app
that allows them to earn points
to come to the facility
to do a physical activity.
Oh, that's a good idea.
And, and, and there's a reward loop
that's that's involved in that.
And so not only are they
not only are we getting to them
physical activity,
but they're also achieving.
And so there's there's
several components to it
that are building a business
not just for today, but that's living,
breathing, that's moving.
And it has a lot of air generated
components
to it that allow it to keep growing.
Give me an example, like just
if I'm on the putting course,
how the air play into that.
So we're collecting your data.
So this is this is in third
phase, okay, We're developing this
technology, this won't roll out day one,
but it'll be it'll be in effect
probably 18 months to 24 months.
Okay.
Once we once we have open. But here it is.
So you make the putt
and we're going to be able to know
how far you are from the actual hole
or whether you made it okay.
Three, three, seven, three sensors.
Yeah. Okay.
Now that data,
all this data is being compiled
and collected and put into a blockchain.
Okay, now. Yeah, okay, now this.
So you can't lie. Now you can.
Yeah, I guess you can.
And we're not using microchips.
We're using we're using radar to be able
to see everything that moves.
Then we'll be able to track it
and it knows whether it's a ball or a dog
or a person.
And so what?
And we take this data case
and we're using this data
to create medical research
on on the back end.
So balanced media technology,
which is my technology partner,
they use all of their data to crowdsource
to to help medical situations.
They have a video game
and all the mini games that we create,
we'll have we'll have a back
then that helps a medical situation.
So that's that's really
yeah it's it's really neat.
I just want to hit a golf ball.
Yeah, well you're not going to
you're not going to take part in that.
You're not going to
you're just have to play.
And they use the data.
And so they have a they
have a video game that they've designed
now called ACL that helps curve cancer.
They have one that they built that helped
curved immaculate eye disease.
So they're very good.
All this technology
you can use in this golf search.
So we're leveraging the data
that we're going to create
and allowing them to compute it
for medical research.
Will they pay you for that?
They're our partners.
They're your partners.
They're our partners.
Well, and you're
creating a lot of technology for this.
You're creating your own apps for this.
But we've oh, my gosh, just a few minutes.
He's just going to say,
we've only got 3 minutes left.
Let's get back to let me ask you this.
So you say it's going to be a lighted
course and the three,
how will we be able to play?
And so so our our goal right now
is is to stay open
till 11 on the weekdays and 1 a.m.
on the weekends. Wow.
And so those those hours aren't fixed yet.
We want to make sure
that we can drive the traffic
during the during the weekday.
But yes.
So tell us where this is all going to be.
Where are you going to be located?
So we're on the riverfront right
next to Margaritaville, Casino and Resort.
Basically, we're in their parking lot
and we have a great
we have a great friendship with them.
And they've
they've been very accommodating to us
and have welcomed us into their community.
And we're happy to
we're happy to have that.
It seems like there's getting to be
a lot of synergy and a lot of cooperation
between the East Bank district,
the casinos, the boardwalks,
trying to bounce back in some ways.
But I think I think you're going
to bring a whole lot of livelihood to that
and to that area.
So we're we're this is the only place
that it works is Shreveport Potion.
You know, it's the only place
that you have enough exposure
for this type of venue to work.
That's why I'm building it
on the landfill, because it's
the only place that I could
that I could take that would work.
And this size market,
you know,
we need the casino traffic to be able
to leverage the amount of people
that need to come to the facility.
But the the guys in the east,
the East bank were so inspiring to me.
I met them
17 years ago when
when they were doing other things,
they were one of them was
a sous chef
and then became an executive chef.
Yeah.
And I met him and we became friends
and I watched him
go from nothing to building
Bojack's pro hurricane Alley.
And through that journey,
it was just very inspiring to me.
And as I told myself once I started this,
I'm either I'm going to go bust,
but I'm not giving up.
And and I
and I got to the brink of of being broke.
I mean, real broke.
Wow. I bet.
I mean, because this is
what is the cost of this undertaking.
So this development is $25 million. Wow.
That's a lot of French fries. Yeah. Yeah.
You would know when we started with it.
I'm thinking, you know, when I when
I started with us, I got about $3 million.
I'm my man.
I'm going to be telling you
this on my own.
I've got this now.
When I started looking at lamb
and I was like, there's
no way that, you know, And so a week later
that 8 million
now is that 8 million for about a year.
And I was like,
well, even have $8 million.
I only need a little bit
to be able to do this
and then it grew to 15 million.
And so when it got to that point,
I needed to really
seek advice investment. And
I had
a capital partner that believed in me
and came in and did a capital injection
into the business.
And I got with the F
the Entrepreneur acceleration program
and what they did for me
was really organize
my, my, my thought pattern.
All, all the ideas were there
and I really didn't think
they were going to accept me at first
because this is it, man.
People have tried to do this before
and he almost got up and walked away
and I says, I'm not them.
I'm going to do this
with with or without you.
And I think he was just
basically testing me to see if
and he says, we're going to take
you call me back
the next day
and says, we're going to take you in.
And that John, Georgia, who's no,
that was Dave Smith.
So so B-raf just for get people up
it's a it's a business organization
in Shreveport is trying to bring in
and grow businesses in the area
and they've got this
this program that helps new businesses.
I didn't know that that kind of help. So,
you know, what they did was organize
some things for me.
They connected me with the type of people
that you need to be connected with
because the financial world,
there's so many different aspects.
And in doing this and being able to go,
they never produced any finances for me.
Their Angel fund didn't produce
finances for me, but what they did is
they gave me a lot of confidence.
They helped me create a proforma.
They helped me create
a vehicle for could go talk to people.
I never had a problem talking to people.
That's no, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And so but they gave me
they gave me the information
I needed to to walk into doors.
And we went into
several local banks
and every time I went in there,
I got a little bit more information
and I figured out
that I was not fishing in the right pond.
And it took me a while to get finance.
So what pond
did you need to be fishing in?
A big a real big one. Okay. Right.
And so just the the size of the
the banks that are here locally
or just don't have an appetite
for this type of investment.
So we went to an unconventional non-bank
lender at first and then eventually
got with a
broker and
this broker walked me through the process.
It was the best thing I could do,
but learning how to get there
was was a business lesson in its own.
So that's good advice for anybody
that wants to do something in the future.
Yeah, I will tell you this.
If if you have a good idea
and you are in this community
and you believe in yourself
and you believe in the product
that you're going to do,
go see the Entrepreneur
Acceleration program.
Go to the brief, okay,
And see what they can do for you.
But I'll tell you this,
they're looking for people
that are going to put it all in.
And so that was one of the
one of the things that I had to do is
I had to put it all in.
And now we're sitting on $25
million development.
So let's
bring it back to that development.
And so winter,
when are we going to see this?
When are we going to be out
hitting golf balls?
So we poured some concrete yesterday.
All right. So that is a
that is a big feat
going through the municipal cities
and all the environmental
has to get to this point
and was almost $1,000,000.
Well,
then you said you were on a landfill.
So I can't imagine the cost.
And then there was, you know,
so it's increased the cost of it,
but it's going to be worth it
in the long run.
And the reason why is because
when you come in to when you come in
to Shreveport, to downtown Shreveport,
you're going to see it.
It's going to be lit up like like
the starship or like I say, it's right.
It's in that area.
You've got the you've got the casinos
and the boardwalk.
And then at the end,
the gym is going to be the golf.
Yeah, yeah.
It's going to be amazing.
And the East Bank district, I mean, these
these guys have created a synergy
that really ignited me to to do something.
Yeah.
And we're not just stopping here
in Boulder City.
We're creating a national brand.
And I have a team
that I've put together
that is second to none.
Our director of golf, Mike Mitten, is
He's got fingers
all over the United States
that we're looking at to get the expansion
we need to become a national brand.
What we have come in is
is going to be special
and it's going to be from our area here.
It's homegrown.
And we're going to
we're going to show the world that
that we we know I think you're going
to get a lot of people excited with.
Yeah, I'm excited.
There's there are there
everybody I talked to is ready for you.
Better stay ready for. Yeah.
Just people people
that play out of the camera I'll say that.
So one more thing though.
So this kind of like when you hear these
great entrepreneurs entrepreneur stories,
they always talk about the challenges
of getting started.
Like, I can't think of the lady's name.
It started Spanx,
but I think she went to like 40 banks or
and talked to all these different people.
How many You said you wasn't your first.
You went 86.
So while the number
of the number of rejections I had was 86.
Now this includes this includes
the investors that I went to and
and banks.
And there was a lot of
there was a lot of no's.
But all through it, I had faith.
You know, I'm
a big believer the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I had faith
that once he set me on this path
that it was going to happen
and it was predestined to happen.
And every step of the way,
when I had that setback or that rejection,
there was another door that opened
and I started the process
this and I knew
that it was going to happen.
So when I walked into a room,
there wasn't any doubt
whether it was going to happen or not.
Okay.
We got just a couple of minutes left.
I want to ask you again,
when are we going to be on it?
And golf balls.
I know you bought concrete, but so
the the grand opening will be between
the middle of May
and the 1st of June this year of 2025.
Oh, okay. Of 2025. Okay.
We'll have the facility
complete mid to early April.
But we there's so much new technology
that's going to go into this
that we need time to test it
and we'll have some some soft openings
where we invite
media, press, dignitaries
and allow allow the facility to run.
That would be me, but not you.
Oh, yeah.
So, Jeff, small fries take pictures.
Yes. Yeah.
Bring me back some pictures. Jam. Yes.
But there will be a lot of testing.
It'll be it'll be finished
in the middle of April.
I do want to say that our contractor
is on point doing a great job.
Thank you, Mike Boggs,
for stepping in and doing this.
Thank you.
For the city of the bowser.
Thank you to the brief, thank you
to my capital investors and my whole team.
Like it was really instrumental.
My family. I love you.
They were very instrumental
in giving me the support
I needed to get to this far and to God
be the glory in everything I do.
Well.
I feel like we just had
an Oscar presentation.
Like the music didn't even start.
It was good. Yeah.
All right.
We're going to wrap this thing up.
I mean, normally
we ask how people can contact you
or get involved, but,
I mean, there's no involvement, right?
I mean, they just need to show up and play
once You're right. Yes.
So so right now
there's just watched the build.
It's being it's being built.
It's out there.
We don't want anybody on the side.
If you want to show your support,
go to our Facebook page and
go to our Facebook page and like and share
and follow us on Facebook so we can keep
you up to date on Grace's goal.
Chasing, chasing, chasing ice is gone
and you guys are posting like as it grows.
You're here. Yeah.
We're in short videos, maybe.
Yeah, I've got I've got a bunch of videos
that we've we're curating.
We haven't done much with it yet
because we're just there's
Yeah, we're just building one.
That's exciting.
It is. It is exciting.
And once we get some steel structure up
there,
there will be a lot more to talk about.
We have the golf course designers
and builders coming in this next week,
and so the construction of the course
is going to be really cool to document and
we're just excited to be here,
be a part of the community
and bring something that's
going to bring some light on the city.
Yeah, I think this is great.
It's a great idea.
I'm excited People are excited about it
for sure and stuff.
So wonderful to meet you. Smile for us.
Come on, man. Hey, man,
thanks for being here.
I appreciate it. Yeah. To try to perk up
next time. Yeah.
All right.
John Dudley from Jason Aces Golf right
there.
Jason Aces, golf ball racing around Jeff
before you can watch Good to know.
Shreveport bows you wherever you get
your podcasts. Have a good one everybody.