Meet Clint and Ashley Bartley | Entrepreneurs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clint and Ashley Bartley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clint and Ashley, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Where to begin?! When I turned the big 3-0, I was looking for a unique way to celebrate my name day. At the time, my friend group mostly in lived in Uptown and we spent most of our social time at HH, brunch or going out to eat together. However, as many of us know, once you’re out with friends, you rarely want social hour to end. Watching the early NFL game turns into watching the afternoon game at a different bar. Brunch turns into a few more cocktails at the bar across the street. You don’t want the fun times to end.

Doing more of the same for my 30th birthday sounded fine, but it didn’t have that little extra I was searching for. So, I began to scheme and ponder on how I could add a new twist to “going out.” My thought was, if we’re going to spend the day “out” then we might as well play a game while we’re at it! Enter Bar Golf! Bar Golf adds a game feel to run-of-the-mill bar hopping. Perhaps the best part of Bar Golf is the fact that it replaces those annoying conversations of, “So, what’s next?” “I don’t know, where do you want to go?” “I don’t care, where do you want to go?” “Blah, blah, ugh.”

What is Bar Golf? Bar Golf assigns values to predefined drink options at a preset “course” of bars. Fans of golf will find the rules pretty straight forward, but the basics are: each bar = one hole. Each hole = one score. At the end of the course, the lowest score wins! (Just like golf)

And so, Bar Golf was born. As the years passed, courses evolved and matured (and shortened). My wife entered the picture and really thought the idea had traction. She envisioned a game that everyone would want to play. Her and I got to work on courses, started building a website, and had plans to start work on an app to keep track of your scores. Unfortunately, a week after buying our domain name, the country shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Bar Golf as a business is not as mature as we would like it to be, but as the country slowly emerges from the pandemic, new courses begin to take shape. Our hope is that Bar Golf can be used as a spark to help bring patrons (safely) back to bars and restaurants in the North Texas area.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In the world outside of Bar Golf, I wear multiple hats. After being a dad to my 1-year-old and striving to be the best husband I can be, the next most important hat is that of being a “Creative.”

I’ve been a writer, painter, and creator for as long as I could remember. As a kid, I played with Legos almost nonstop. At Christmas or my birthday, I would always get a new Lego set. I’d quickly follow the instructions and build whatever it was that was bought for me. Almost immediately, I would destroy it and build something new out of the pieces. I found much more enjoyment out of creating something from nothing over following a given set of instructions. Once I reached an age where it became socially unacceptable to play with Legos, I began spending my creative time on writing. Eventually, that transformed into drawing and then to painting.

As the years progressed, I spent my 9-5 building a “normal” career but spent free time on creative arts. Again, thanks to my wonderful wife, she has pushed me to share my love of painting with more than friends and family. Over the last few years, I have been fortunate enough to sell a few of my original paintings and have booked a month-long exhibit in a small gallery in LA. Later this month, I will be at The Other Art Fair Dallas as well.

One of the more difficult lessons I’ve learned through sharing my art with others is simple: Not everyone will like your art. (Or writing or whatever it is you’re trying to sell.) The lesson I am still learning is… that is ok! Each of us have our own preferences and opinions, so it’s unreasonable for me to assume that everyone will love each piece of art I create. Example: when I post a picture of a new painting on IG or unveil a new piece to friends and family – I am inevitably disappointed that my post didn’t go viral or not everyone gasped at the beauty of my art. How dare they!

I’ve learned that the person who is wrong or off base in those scenarios is me. Someone’s reaction (or lack thereof) to my art is not a reflection of my abilities or talent. It’s simply a reflection of their preferences or even their mood at that given moment. For me, this has been the most important and difficult lesson to learn and remember as I allow myself to be vulnerable by sharing my art with others. (For more information, please go to clbartley.com)

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
What a great question! North Texas has a plethora of things to do and see. The options are endless, but for us, we would start with the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas. Ashley and I were lucky enough to get married at the Ritz, therefore, it will always hold a special place in our heart. Our wedding aside, the Ritz is beautiful, and the location is perfect. I would call that home base and venture out from there.

The first spot would be The Henry for brunch. We discovered The Henry in Phoenix, AZ, but The Henry has been in Dallas for a few years now. Everything on their menu is fabulous and the drinks are stellar.

Staying in Uptown, I would suggest grabbing some Tex-Mex at Primo’s, taking in a concert at The Rustic and having a nightcap at The Loon. All of these are classic Uptown!

Next, I’d suggest venturing to Deep Ellum and treat your taste buds to one of the best hamburgers around at Angry Dog. Then wash it down with cheap beer at Adair’s Saloon. For dinner, you can’t go wrong with Deep Sushi.

I would also suggest checking out Henderson Ave by grabbing lunch at the Old Monk and dinner at The Porch.

Off Greenville Ave, don’t forget to grab a few beers at the Truck Yard and then enjoy the view from the roof at HG SPLY CO. For dinner, head downtown to Monarch or to Town Hearth in the Design District

Once you reach a point where you need a break from eating and drinking, take a walk in Klyde Warren Park, visit the Perot Museum, shop at the Dallas Farmers Market, take in the sights at the Dallas Arboretum and of course, enjoy a live sports event watching the Mavs, Stars, Cowboys, Rangers or our SMU Mustangs.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely! My wife, Ashley.

Bar Golf was something I spent a few hours on every year around my birthday. That was it. My first birthday after meeting my eventual wife, I introduced her to Bar Golf. She couldn’t stop talking about it and told all her friends and family. (I never told her this, but her belief in me really made me smile. It provided a little pep in my step knowing I had impressed her with a little creativity.)

Eventually, she started urging me to create an app for Bar Golf. Everyone loves apps, so her thought was if you build it (an app), they will come. The more people who play, the more visible the game becomes, which can translate into marketing opportunities or even selling merchandise to true golfers. She really encouraged me to look at Bar Golf as something everyone can play and not to keep a fun idea to myself. We have yet to start work on the app, but instead, we’ve focused on building the website and foundation of the business before moving on to the app. Without her, we wouldn’t have come this far. She is the true force behind Bar Golf and the brains (and heart) of the operation.

Website: https://www.bargolfus.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bargolf_us/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarGolf_US

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usbargolf/

Other: https://www.clbartley.com https://www.instagram.com/clintbartley/