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a 900-square-footmancavethathe
calls“the19thHole,”EricRosenhas
installeda wetbar,high-toptables,
tworowsofstadiumseating,anda
retro-lookingpopcornmaker. On
Sundaysbeforethenovelcoronavirus
invadedtheworld,the49-year-oldventurecapitalistinvited
friendsovertohishomeinthePhiladelphiasuburbofYardley
towatchtheEaglesplayona 16-foot-long,9-foot-tallscreen.
Butthecenterpieceofthespaceis a littlesquareofartifi-
cialturfthatlookslikea puttinggreeninfrontofthescreen.
Hisgolfsimulator,a custommodelmadebyAboutGolfGlobal
Inc.inKirkland,Wash.,alsoincludesa Canonprojectorthat
deliverspicturesin4Kresolution.Twocamerasoverhead
capturedataonRosen’severyswing,measuringtheball
speed,spinrate,andlaunchangleusinga three-dimensional
trackingsystem.
Bolsteredbyhigh-speedcamerassuchasthese,simula-
torstodaycanbelievablyreplicatetheball’strajectoryusing
advancedflightandterrainphysics.AndthankstoGPStech-
nologythatmapscoursesdowntothelastinch,thesevir-
tualvideogamesalsocomeloadedwithsomeofthegrandest
golfingdestinationsintheworld.
EvenbeforeCovid-19upendeddailypubliclife,thosein
thegolf-simulatorbusinesssaidthehomemarketwasdriv-
ingtheirgrowth.MattFrelich,vicepresidentofsalesforSan
Diego-basedTrackManGolf,sayshiscompanyhashada 50%
jumpinsimulatorinstallationsthisyearforhomesvs.pro
shopsorclubs.“Thisis thefastest-growingpartofourbusi-
nessbyallmeasures,”hesays.
Technologyaside,theaestheticsofhomesimulatorshave
evolvedovertime.Inan
industrywherea highly
customizedinstallation
cancommanda six-figure
price tag, simulators
have become a residen-
tial showpiece. Curtains
may have once hung
from the ceiling to hide a
setup when it’s not being
used. But now compa-
nies want “to ensure our
simulators are built into
their home or clubhouse
to match their design aes-
thetic,” says Jason Fierro,
senior vice president for
sales and marketing at
Full Swing Golf Inc., also
based in San Diego.
The systems make
sense as an investment,
at least from a golfing
fanatic’s perspective.Foraboutthesamecostasa well-appointedluxurysedan,a
20-handicappercanownthesortofequipmenttheprosuse.
Accuratelyrecordingthepositionoftheclubfaceatimpact
andmeasuringballspeedandlaunchanglesprovideinfor-
mationthatwasoncetheexclusiveprovinceofteachingpro-
fessionals,butit’sexactlythesortofdatamanyavidplayers
crave.Andwhetherit’ssimpletargetpracticegamesfor
beginnersorsophisticatedweight-distributionmetricsfor
advancedplayers,thereappearstobesomethingforevery-
onealongthespectrumofability.
Thesesetupsmaynotfitinanaveragecityapartment,
buta simulatorrequireslessspacethanyoumightthink.
Themostimportantconsiderationistheceiling—itneeds
tobehightoaccommodatea 9-foot-tallscreen,thetypical
industryminimum,andtoallowroomfortheclubtoswing
freely.An“impact”screencanrangefrom 16 feetto 18 feet
wide.AboutGolfcangowider,andit alsohasa curvedver-
sionthatextends 30 feet.Manyalsoprovideturnkeyinstal-
lationfromfirstcalltofirstswing.
RosenchoseAboutGolf,inpart,because,ofthefoursim-
ulatorshetested,hepreferreditsgraphicspackage,which
offeredcleversolutionstotheexperienceofplayinginpix-
els.Whenyouhityourballbehinda tree,forinstance,
3D-graphicratiosletyouassessyourliefroma 360-degree
perspectivetoseenotonlyinfrontandbehindyourball,but
aroundthetree,too.
Playingsomeofthemostfamouscoursesintheworld
fromthecomfortofhishomewasalsoa draw.Onanygiven
day,RosencanloadupPebbleBeachandseejusthowcrazy
TigerWoods’srecord-settingscorewasinthe 2000 U.S.Open,
wherehewonby 15 strokes.Or,assumingSeptember’sRyderGOLF BloombergPursuits March30, 2020OPENER PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY FULL SWING GOLFA curved simulator
from AboutGolf