Rare Golf is a Canada-based startup developing an AI-assisted golf coaching app designed for amateur and mid-level golfers seeking professional guidance but unsure where to start. The company aims to bridge this gap by offering a virtual coach experience that helps golfers refine their swing through AI-driven analysis and personalized feedback. Beyond digital coaching, Rare Golf's broader mission is to connect users with real-life coaches, creating a seamless pathway from self-guided improvement to in-person instruction.

Our partners at Arizona Bay LLC engaged the Hello Iconic Lab team to develop an MVP for the Rare Golf client app under a fixed deadline with a constrained budget. To make the most of the available resources, our first priority was defining a focused scope that could realistically be delivered within the given timeframe. The core requirements for the MVP were straightforward: allow users to record themselves practicing their golf swings, trim the footage to a three-second clip, and submit it for a free swing analysis. At this stage, analyses would be performed manually by human coaches. Every video submitted to the platform's database would simultaneously serve as training data for the AI model Rare Golf is actively developing. Beyond the core flow, we also needed to capture key physical information about each golfer — such as height, posture, and other biomechanically relevant data to contextualize the analysis. Additionally, we had to design a smooth onboarding experience that guided users through recording a proper video, ensuring submissions were usable from the very first attempt.

Following user research and discovery sessions, we moved into an ideation phase to explore multiple user flow approaches for the MVP. After evaluating what could realistically be built within the project's timeline, we finalized the user flow and created wireframes to guide development. To accelerate the UI design process without compromising quality, we leveraged UI Kitten, a React Native component library with pre-built design elements. This choice significantly reduced development time while maintaining a consistent visual language across the app. For the MVP launch, we restricted compatibility to iOS 11 and above to align with technical requirements and ensure optimal performance across supported devices.

After four two-week sprints, the Rare Golf MVP was fully developed and prepared for App Store submission. The app delivers a smooth, functional experience across its core features while remaining true to MVP principles focused, minimal, and ready for iteration based on user feedback. Looking ahead, the team is already working on enhancing the user experience with an AR-based setup feature. This functionality will guide players in properly positioning and framing themselves for video recording, eliminating guesswork and ensuring higher-quality submissions from day one.