Monday, February 7, 2011

More Evolved Golf Simulators Means Far More Evolved Practice

By Bill McCrudden


Since the 70s, golf simulators have given passionate golfers the advantage of practicing and perfecting their game regardless of the weather. However, since it's creation by a handful of game developers, software engineers and golfers, the golf simulator has gone through decades of development and evolution to become the sophisticated system it is today!

Since the days of Jack Nicklaus, basic golf simulator systems have progressed into technical marvels of the new millennium. They were hardly recognized as useful tools for golf training and were considered as novelties. But the technology has upgraded greatly. Just think how much the phone has progressed into what it is today -- same thing applies.

Once upon a time, golfers stared into grainy pictures of a course projected upon a screen. After getting into their stance, golfers would hit the ball into the screen, and like a high school physics class, the machine measured the time it took for the ball to pass through two spots. With some calculations, the device would surmise how far golfers hit the ball and placed them at their next location.

The next generation of golf simulators had a different appearance - a more pixelated Super Mario version of the game. This time around, golfers stared into green strips of supposed "fairway," and they avoided smacking their ball into yellow and blue squares of apparent sand traps and water hazards. Dictating where the ball went didn't much advance either.

Today, we don't deal with lame golf course recreations. Instead, players walk into to the golf simulator's immersive 3D environment, complete with software that enables players to select what time of day their playing and the climate. Also, simulators measure way more than just the golf ball's trip between two points. Some simulators are even outfitted with cutting-edge camera technology that takes 2,000 pictures per second allowing them to calculate the precise ballistics of the golf ball.

Programmers have spent years collecting data from players' swings and golf ball flight, so that there is no shot a golf simulator doesn't recognize. They measure the velocity, trajectory and direction of the ball with such detail that you can actually watch the digital version fly through the air and land right where it would in real life.

The golf simulator software also allows golfers to play well-known courses from around the globe. From the United States to Europe, players have the opportunity to play nearly anywhere. Each course has been very carefully studied, so that any digital lean of the green is exactly like the actual one. The system's software also controls the ball's collision to real-life specifications, so hitting a tree won't yield the same results as hitting a rock. (Digital people have not been added to spare you the trouble of yelling, "Fore!")

In all actuality, the shortcomings of your father's golf simulator might have been harming his game rather than improving it. In the 80s, a good-looking drive may turn out to be a lame shot by the specifications of today's golf simulators. Also, old simulators did not factor in weather. Any proficient golfer knows wind can have an effect on the golf ball's flight through the air.

Today, golfers can practice better indoors in the winter season. Golf simulation is becoming more life like, and for the better. It allows players to better pin-point their issues. Golfers aren't mindlessly smashing golf balls against a screen. Check out this virtual reality for yourself and see how years of advancement can benefit your game.




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