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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 10, 2025

BARKIE GOLF APP Named Authorized Affiliate
of USGA Handicap Data
LAUNCHing at clubs everywherE IN JANUARY

BELLINGHAM, WA - Barkie.ai is currently beta testing a radical new approach to golf technology that will reshape the way the game is played. The app is scheduled to launch in January 2026, and leverages AI technology that for the first time tracks your rounds automatically and uploads your scores directly into the USGA Handicap Index, without having to manually enter scores between holes. Combine this with hole-by-hole analysis over 43,000+ golf courses and live leaderboards that bring a whole new level of social interaction to the game, and this new golf technology is a significant step forward for golfers everywhere.

“When we looked at all the other golf apps available to players, we really didn’t see one that leveraged the power of AI in a way that made sense,” says Dane Renkert, the co-founder of Barkie AI. “So we wanted to create something really easy and fun to use that made the game more social, while also allowing players to focus on their next shot rather than being distracted by their phone. The new Barkie app and our ScoreShot™ technology is the only app that provides this seamless and enjoyable experience we know all golfers will enjoy.”

ScoreShot™ is currently performing at 95%+ accuracy in under 10 seconds. In less than 1 minute, users can access golf courses (USGA) and player data (USGA) which gives accurate handicaps and post round push score(s) to the USGA handicap index.

The 19th Hole Will Never Be the Same

On the surface, the concept behind Barkie is simple: golfers just keep score on their paper scorecard like they always have. Then after the round is over, all golfers have to do is take a snap of their score with ScoreShot™, and Barkie instantly links to their Handicap ID through the USGA Golfer Product Access Program to update the player’s handicap and their place on the leaderboard. The result is an enhanced game where golfers can play against their friends on virtual leaderboards, even if they’re not on the same course.

If your buddy birdies 7 at Sawgrass TPC? You’ll see it.
If you melt down on 12 at Pebble Beach? Yeah… they’ll see that too.

It’s golf gone social - in a big way.

“The purpose behind Barkie is to make the golf experience better everyday,” says strategic advisor and co-founder Zubin Wadia, responsible for the foundational engineering behind the Barkie technology. “We’ve used other apps out there where you’re forced to manually input data on your phone between holes, which is a major pain point for golfers. By leveraging our multimodal AI technologies, people can play phone free while engaging with friends in an online golf community.”

The Barkie team did exhaustive market research and talked to many of the largest players in the space, and determined that creating a frictionless approach to keeping score and hole-by-hole analysis was what players needed, especially since 70% of golfers still prefer to keep score using a paper scorecard. The Barkie technology now allows for that better ‘in the moment’ golf experience.”

“This is just the first product we have in development to improve the golf experience,” continues Renkert. “There are more in development, all with AI and multimodal models at their core for both vision and voice understanding. It’s pretty exciting to see all the good stuff on the horizon.”

Barkie is truly the ‘all in one golf’ app. Just your game, the way you want it. Reshaping the leaderboard in 2026. Click here for a quick vid.

Download Dane’s headshot here.

ABOUT DANE RENKERT: As a pro athlete and competitive golfer with a business background in AI, Dane leads both the business strategy and development at Barkie, bringing hands-on technical expertise to executive decision-making. Working with the Barkie team, Dane drives the product vision while actively contributing to the AI and Mixed Reality technology stack, with the goal of developing technologies that augment the golf game, not distract from it.

ABOUT ZUBIN WADIA: As a graduate of the famed MIT Sloan, Zubin is expert at using vision and large language models to develop cutting edge technologies and core areas of product, and is responsible for understanding the competitive landscape and assessing how LLMs can be maximally leveraged across our product footprint and roadmap.