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Drone delivers food and drinks at North Dakota golf course

"The young golfers think it's great. We've had people already call and ask when's the drone flying? "The old members kind of think, 'oh you're wasting your money.'"
Courtesy USA Today Sports

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A North Dakota golf course is having a drone deliver burgers and refreshments to its customers, claiming the new method of delivery is much cheaper than a food cart and will reach customers in just 10 minutes.

The six-week experiment will begin Sept. 15 at the King's Walk Golf Course in Grand Forks, N.D., and golfers will be able to use an app on their phone to order drinks or food for just a $3 delivery charge. The drone, which weighs around 33 pounds, flies about 30 mph and hovers 250 feet above golfers to avoid any balls knocking it out of the sky.

"The young golfers think it's great. We've had people already call and ask — when's the drone flying?" the golf course's executive director, Bill Palmiscno, told CNN. "The old members kind of think, 'oh you're wasting your money.'"

The company providing the drones is FlyTrex, an Israeli start-up which has already found success in the food delivery business in Iceland this year. For the drones to be a permanent fixture at the golf course, they'd need an FAA permit. In the U.S., drone delivery has been rare in general due to strict regulations.

However, the open spaces provided by a golf course make an ideal test market, CEO Yariv Bash told CNN.

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