Now, surf a golf fairway on custom-built skateboard!

An US entrepreneur is reportedly hoping to appeal to fans and players of both golf and skateboarding with a new device that lets a person 'surf' a golf fairway.

The innovative device, named the GolfBoard, looks like a large motorised skateboard but can comfortably carry a golfer and his clubs around 18 holes and aims to replace the golf cart as the smart way to get around a course, speeding up the game and offering players a snowboard-style work out in between playing shots.

According to News.com.au, 80-year old fitness club founder and Malibu resident Don Wildman, who came up with the idea, gave a stark assessment of golf's current appeal by saying that the device will do for golfing what snowboarding did for skiing, adding that it would attract youngsters towards golf, which he termed an old man's sport.

Paul Hodge, who heads the company that makes the device, agreed with Wildman, saying that in order for golf to grow and be accepted by the mass market, it is necessary to kill its 'stodgy, conservative' attitude and make it fun to attract the younger crowd.

The report mentioned that the board, 38cm wide with 9cm wide tyres, can ride up to 36 holes without a recharge and is designed so that, even for a heavy golfer weighing more than 110 kg on a very hilly course, it can go at least 18 holes, adding that it can reach speeds of up to 19km/h, roughly the equivalent of a golf cart.

Hodge said he already has orders for 2000 GolfBoards, and mass production of the devices - which retail at 3500 dollars each - will begin in January, with a capacity of 1000 a month, adding that the target users are aged 15-40.