A businessman who co-founded sex toy company Lovehoney in Bath has launched a new golf venture, which is already proving popular on courses across the country.
Richard Longhurst with the new Pocket Timer | Photo © Richard Longhurst
53-year-old Richard Longhurst helped to create the world’s biggest sexual wellness firm using £4,500 of savings after leaving his job as an editor at Future Publishing in 2002.
Longhurst quit Lovehoney, which is worth £1 billion, in 2019 with co-founder Neal Slateford after they sold their majority stake to Swiss venture capitalists.
He has now invented Pocket Timer, a golf gadget that can save players’ scores, and is already a hit on courses.
Shaped like a coin and roughly the size of a poker chip, the lightweight, bright red Pocket Timer is designed to help players find lost balls using the full three minutes they are entitled to under the current Rules of Golf
Golfers click the timer in their pocket and it buzzes every 30 seconds, ending with a double buzz when the three minutes have elapsed.
Longhurst, who plays off a handicap of two at Bath Golf Club, said: “I first had the idea when the rules changed in 2019 and you went from having five minutes to find a lost ball to three, incurring a one-shot penalty if you cannot locate it.
“Not everybody likes wearing a watch when they play golf, so the only other way you’d be able to keep time is by using your phone.
“But most golfers keep that in their golf bag and it’s unlikely anybody is going to pull it out before they go traipsing off into the rough to look for their ball.
“I figured having a little thing in your pocket that keeps time and vibrates – of course – when your three minutes is up would be a simple, efficient solution.
“Most golfers were giving up too soon because they were worried about holding up play and needlessly conceding a shot.”
Longhurst shared his vision with the owners of Joy Factory, a Chinese company he had used when working at Lovehoney.
Using the mould for a toy remote control, Pocket Timer was born.
Richard says the new gadget fills a gap in the market. Using his e-commerce experience, he set up a new website selling Pocket Timer and is now sending out the gadgets all over the world, because the rules of golf are the same wherever it is played.
Longhurst, who lives in Bath, still attends Lovehoney board meetings and has a 10% stake in the firm which merged with German sex toy giant WOW Tech in 2021.
Lovehoney Group is forecast to deliver more than £300 million in revenue per year and has become a global business worth £1 billion.
The sexual wellness category is growing so rapidly that sales are expected to exceed £40 billion globally by 2028.
Richard Longhurst has shared more about his business journey from sex toys to golf gadgets on Brightpearl’s Lightning 50 Podcast.
