$20,000
Anentry-levelsetupfrom
Golfzon,theVisionCompact,
comeswitha screen,a
projector,a kioskwithsensors,
andfivegolfcourses,includ-
ingPebbleBeachandtheOld
CourseatStAndrews.Thehit-
tingmatisn’tincludedbutcan
bepurchasedfor$1,000to
$1,500.Asubscriptionof$70
permonthinyourfirstyear
unlocksatotalof 192 coursesto
choosefrom.$40,000
FullSwing’sSportSeries
includesthecompany’sION 3
camerasystem,whichmeasures
theballattwopoints—on
impactandmidflight—giving
it moredatapointswithwhich
toaccuratelytrackitsflightso
it looksclosertoactualgolf.
Acinema-quality projector is
included, so you can turn your
setup into an entertainment
complex. The company also
offers a separate virtual green
that can mimic sloped putts.$60,000
TheNo.1 launchmonitor
inprofessionalgolfis the
TrackMan4, withmorethan
1,000soldtotouringpros.
Standardfeaturesincludea
6,000-plus-lumenprojector,
fittedenclosuresforthescreen,
andon-siteinstallationand
training.Acustomizedsystem
includesonethatworksindoors
andoutdoors.Andyoucantrade
inyouroldmodelwhenyou’re
readytoupgrade.$90,000+
Withitspicture-in-picturefeature,
AboutGolf’scurved,extra-wide
screenletsyouswingyourclubs
ononesidewhileyourfamily
watches a movie on the other.
The system, starting at about
$60,000, includes training aids,
games, and videos. Even if you
stick to a traditional flatscreen,
though, a 4K projector will run
from $30,000 to $60,000, and
you’re going to want that. For real
extravagance, try a G Max, which
can go as wide as 120 feet.57Cup is postponed or canceled, he can fire up the Whistling
Straits course at Destination Kohler in Wisconsin, or even
“walk” the same ground as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus
on the Old Course at St Andrews.
The sport should be “a pleasure, not a penance,” says
Ben Bridgers, director of golf at Pinehurst Resort in North
Carolina, quoting the great course designer Donald Ross.
A virtual version of the club’s legendary No. 2 course can
be found on some of the popular simulators. Each hole is
mapped out like a street on Google Maps, and even the sur-
roundinghousesarebroughtintothegamewhenanerrant
driveormishitsendstheballintoa yard.“It’sa testamentto
thelastinglegacyofPinehurstNo.2 that golfers would want
to experience it even on a simulator, and we think that’s
great,” Bridgers says.
Destinations pay as much as $15,000 to get virtually
mapped and loaded onto one of these systems. The one
notable course you won’t find is Augusta National Golf Club,
home of the Masters Tournament, which hasn’t approved
any simulated versions of its course since 2011, when it
appeared on EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12.
Michael O’Reilly, director of golf and operations manager
for Whistling Straits, says virtual versions of courses are all
about increasing opportunities to play. “For more avid golf-
ers, playing these rounds on a simulator in their hometown
can serve as the impetus for them booking a trip to experi-
ence the ‘real’ thing,” he says.
While these innovations may be familiar to anyone who’s
been to one of the many virtual driving ranges for an after-
work happy hour, those with an in-home simulator are also
using theirs as a one-of-a-kind, jack-of-all-trades entertainment
complex. Full Swing Golf, for instance, produces two models,
the Sport Series and Pro Series, that also offer an add-on suite
of 13 games besides golf, plus the ability to watch TV. There’s
soccer (you take penalty kicks at the screen to score against
the goalie), football (where you try to throw a pass for a touch-
down),basketball,baseball,bowling,anddarts.
TrackMan,ontheotherhand,enteredthesimulatorbusi-
nessjustfiveyears ago, after a decade dominating the mar-
ket for outdoor ball-flight monitors—an estimated 90 of the
world’s top 100 golfers use its technology. As the company
moved indoors, it acquired Perfect Parallel, a gaming and
visualizationstartupthatcreatedthePCgameJackNicklaus
PerfectGolf, toimprovethegraphicsinitssoftware.TrackMan
saysit willhave 100 courses for virtual play by yearend. That
might be necessary to stave off competitors such as Foresight
Sports, which uses a camera system its adherents claim is
more accurate than TrackMan’s Doppler radar technology.
Seoul-based Golfzon, which features three models for
residential customers, expects owners to begin using the
simulators to compare data with their friends and create tour-
naments and competitions. Its ZStrict facility in Stamford,
Conn., which opened in October, already allows players to
participate in a virtual league there; as residential and com-
mercial sales increase, an e-gaming model is inevitable.GOLF Bloomberg Pursuits March 30, 2020PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ABOUTGOLF
Even as the boundaries of “real” golf blur, the struggle to
create an adequate virtual version of the game is genuine.
Putting can be problematic, and though you can adjust pre-
cipitation and wind conditions to approximate course condi-
tions, rain won’t be seeping into your collar on your backswing.
Rosen says his system simulates just about everything else in
real golf, with one exception: At home, he always gets a perfect
lie—there aren’t any sand traps to hit out of on the artificial turf.
But he’s amplified the experience a little bit elsewhere.
“I’ve got Bluetooth speakers connected to a subwoofer in the
chairs,” Rosen says, “so during movies they vibrate.” None of
that has much relevance when he’s playing a round of sim-
ulated golf, but there’s one moment when a big-boy sound
system might be cool: Every golfer loves the sound of a putt
hitting the bottom of the cup. <BW>THE
PRICE OF
SIMULATION,
IN REAL
DOLLARS