Golf courses/resorts have yet to take advantage of the opportunity to step into the digital world of NFTs. In doing so, courses and resorts are missing out on the opportunity to connect to golfers in an innovative fashion, increase brand recognition and offer a more unique experience. In partnership with Albatross, golf courses/resorts will reap the benefits of their hard work and labor without changing any major processes in place. The world's golf architects, designers and golf pros work endlessly to provide an experience unlike any other at their respective courses. Yet, as the staff works to provide a one of a kind physical experience for guests, they rarely can offer a unique digital interaction.

As transactions and experiences increasingly expand digitally everyday, there is an opportunity for golf courses/resorts to take advantage of their position and communities. Collaborative efforts between the courses/resorts and Albatross allows golfers to be more connected to courses than ever before. Furthermore, there is little interaction between courses/resorts to their guests off their property. Our community will be a place where courses/resort staff can gather feedback, ask questions and learn from customer experiences.

The worldwide golf community is in a great place. While the pandemic of COVID-19 was awful for most reasons, it had a positive impact on the amount of people wanting to play golf because of its natural elements. In the US in 2021 alone, the National Golf Foundation estimated 106 million people (one out of every three Americans age 6+) played golf (on or off-course), followed golf on television or online, read about the game, or listened to a golf related podcast. 2021 also holds the record for the most people who played golf on a physical golf course for the first time - 3.2 million people.

Furthermore, the category of young adults (18-34 year olds) held strong as golf’s biggest customer age segment, with 6.1 Million on-course participants and another 4.8 Million off-course only participants. This age demographic has consistently been the most active non-professional group of golfers over the last decade. In addition, 17.8 Million people who didn’t play golf in 2021 said they are "very interested" in playing golf on a golf course. That is almost a 20% increase in the pool of potential golfers over the past five years. It can be argued that golf is in the greatest state in its over 200 year lifetime with a constant influx of young golfers picking up the game.

Albatross estimates young adults (18-34 year olds) to be its primary community demographic as that age group is most affluent in the cryptocurrency community at the time of writing this whitepaper. However, one does not have to be knowledgeable about NFTs and cryptocurrency to own an Albatross NFT or be a part of the Albatross community. Albatross will bridge the gap for consumers who are new to the NFT space as they learn the benefits of owning an NFT with real world utility. Golf utility will be the connecting factor that brings consumers of all ages and crypto expertise levels. The NFTs serve as a vessel for these consumers to uniquely express themselves, show their admiration for the course/resort and connect with other community members. Maturity both in the NFT market and our community will continually foster an environment for first time or experienced NFT buyers. For this reason, Albatross community demographics will only grow with maturity day by day, project by project.

1. Building the Community

   What’s amazing about building the Albatross community is that there is already a large community of golf enthusiasts out there. Golfers constantly rave about the amenities of their golf course whether it be perks in the clubhouse or the layout of their favorite hole. Golfers on social media, writers for magazines and journalists for golf publications capture the unique features of each course through pictures, articles and stories. Albatross will tap into this network of golf enthusiasts and be proactive in the community to make sure every member is heard and represented. Understanding what is most important to the community is something Albatross takes into account. Deciding on which courses Albatross should partner with, what utility is offered and what other benefits holders should get will largely be decided by the community through open forums and channels (primarily discord, instagram and twitter).

   Albatross will also hold community specific golf tournaments and events around the world at partner courses. This will allow community members to play some of the greatest courses in the world with fellow community members. We truly will embrace bringing the URL to IRL with the game of golf.

2. Partnerships

   The multiple partnerships of Albatross propel the community forward and drive value for holders and partners. This includes partnerships with our reputable (1) golf course photographer (TBD), (2) high quality brand partners and (3) golf courses/resorts.

   1. As NFTs are often viewed as digital works of art, we want to provide owners the opportunity to own illustrious photographs from an acclaimed golf course photographer. (TBD)’s photographs are one of a kind digital pieces that capture beautiful holes, clubhouses and landscapes around our partner’s courses. Owning a unique digital photograph of theirs is valuable in its own right, but when it is paired with real world utility at the course, it brings the owners value above and beyond expectations.

   2. Being an Albatross collection holder goes beyond the utility of having value at the course. Our brand partners will give owners the opportunity to enjoy exclusive discounts, gain access to the early release of goods, custom apparel and more. As Albatross matures in the golf and crypto community, we will continue to establish exclusive partnerships with top manufacturers, producers, influencers and more to provide value for our customers.

   3. The partnership with golf courses/resorts are vital for community success. Albatross and the golf courses/resorts will enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship both in the short and long term. The golf courses/resorts will benefit from the Albatross partnership for multiple reasons:

      • Additional Revenue and financial opportunity
      • Additional advertising and marketing at no extra cost
      • Differentiate itself in the market beyond other prestigious golf courses
      • Ability to reach a younger audience that will be the future golfers of America (18-35 year olds)
      • Connect to guests in a new way and receive direct feedback from guests
      • Improve customer experience by learning from community social outlets (Discord, Twitter, etc.)
      • Be one of the first entrants in a novel market
      • Future partnerships with other brands and courses will only increase the value and rarity of the collections
      • A chance to give back to dedicated employees of your organizations and surrounding community



3. Expansion and Iteration

   As Albatross takes on the first partnerships and begins to grow the initial community, the opportunities are endless. Opportunities to expand and implement the process at other golf courses/resorts. Opportunities to partner with other NFT projects. Opportunities to partner with other brands and sponsors. Opportunities to get involved at a more professional level with the PGA Tour, professional golfers and worldwide leaders in the sport. Opportunities to apply our technology into other industries. A lot of this expansion will be driven by community ideas. When we say endless, we mean it! We will never stop innovating for and with our community.

Our mobile application will be interactive for all users. The purpose of the application will be for users to communicate with other community members, take advantage of the utility of their NFTs and purchase goods from the Albatross merchandise tent. The application will include:

1. Albatross Collections Home

   • News

   • Serves as a formal update center where news articles and press related to the Albatross community will be posted
   • Ability for members to learn more about our partners and recent products
   
   

   • Community Feed

   • Community members will post about their golf experiences at the courses they play. Users will be able to interact with the posts and actively communicate with each other
   
   

   • Transactions

   • Functions as a live feed for all Albatross transactions to show the latest Albatross activity in the market



2. Tournament Scoring

   • In collaboration with a future partner, we will be able to host live scoring on the application and recognize winners of Albatross tournaments for each of our in person tournaments




3. Merch Tent

   • The merchandise tent holds all merchandise from Albatross in collaboration with our partners




4. User Profile

   • Users can connect their wallets to the application to view the Albatross NFTs they own

   • Users create a profile to socialize with other community members

   • Users can redeem/utilize NFTs they own with our partners

Albatross is committed to sustainability and improving the health of the planet. As our partnered courses are deeply embedded into nature, we aim to assist in any conservation efforts they might undertake on and off their properties. To show our commitment to the cause, we pledge that 5% of all revenues from each initial collection sale will go to charities/organizations focused around the preservation of the environment. The recipient(s) of the money raised will be decided in collaboration with our golf course partners and the Albatross community.