Practice, Practice, Practice!

If you want to improve your game you just need to practice. You need to go to the range, get a bucket of balls, and just start swinging. The more intense your practice is, the better results you'll get on the field. Information you learn from your swing and how far your ball travels will make your practice even more efficient. Technology is allowing every practice to become so much more fun, efficient and productive that it's making a trip to the range a whole new experience.

There are thousands of products today that help golfers improve their swing. One of these products is called V1 Golf Swing Analysis Software. It gives you a variety of services that will help improve your swing. The product includes encyclopedic information about the golf swing, physics of golf balls, recording your swing and identifying your faults, and a guide to improve your mistakes for a better golf swing. This product is perfect for recreational golfers who want to make their swing perfected.

Golf ranges are becoming more advanced. Chelsea Piers Golf Club in New York City wanted to increase their throughput time so that more golfers can hit more balls. The way they did this was creating an automatic tee system. After you hit your ball a tee will come out from the ground with a new ball already in place ready to be hit. This golf club also allows golfers to play on their favorite course with their Simulator Play. It takes place like a virtual game; like an advanced Wii. TopGolf is also using more technology to create an entirely different experience at the golf range. They use a system called the I.D. Ball System where a micro chip is installed into the golf ball. This chip measures how far the ball travels and how close it is to a certain target. The closer you are to the target, the more points you get. They also have a leader board that is displayed to all the golfers to make the environment more competitive and fun. They are trying to capture more of the market by attracting leisure golfers and giving them a whole new experience at the golf range.

With advancements in golf products and golf ranges, practice is becoming fun and efficient. You don't even need a personal golf trainer any more because technology is becoming your personal trainer. Golf ranges should start implementing the use of more technology. They should start combining precise real time information with golf swing advice. Every stall you walk into should be your own personalized coach that knows all of your mistakes and faults and gives you personalized feedback on how to improve your swing. Every stall should give you a reason why your ball only traveled 'x' yards, give you a video analysis of why your swing is making each hit slice, give you tips from the pros, suggest products that match perfectly to each individual's game, and give you a whole new golfing experience. Technology can transform golf ranges into a practice haven. Hopefully, all golf ranges will start becoming more advanced so that I could start improving my game!

The Virtual Caddy

Precision and meticulous calculation is the key in golf. You have to see all the angles and estimate how far your ball is away from the hole so that you can pick the right club. In professional golf, golfers are given caddies. There not just slaves who lug around golf clubs for the pros, they give advice and tips such as how far away from the pin they are and which way the ball will break on the green. Unfortunately, if you are a recreational golfer you usually won't have the luxury of having a caddy (unless of course you are a member at a luxurious country club).

I have a good idea of how far my ball can travel according to the type of club. Usually some courses will help you out as well placing distance markers every 50 yards or so. But being off 5-10 yards can mean being in the bunker or flying past the green. Knowing your exact location on the course is so vital to making the right club choice. This is where technology comes into play. GPS navigation systems have been used for quite some time now and the precision of GPS is advancing day to day. GolfLogix is a GPS system, manufactured by Garmin, that tells you exactly how far away your ball is from the hole. This product allows you to download ten golf courses into the system from a database of over 15,000 golf courses around the world. If your golf course isn't in the database then all you have to do is submit a request and it will be added into their database. The problem with this product is that it is very limited in its functions. It tells you the distance and that's pretty much it. There is a patent out for a new virtual caddy system which will give golfers tips and strategies on certain holes including calculating how far your ball is from the hole. There is also a product called SkyCaddie. This product actually has professional golfers and caddies walk the green using survey-grade technology to enable golfers to get a 3-D view of the field and the green.

The importance of a caddy is critical to improve any golfers game. The caddy focuses on distance and advice, while the golfer can focus on his swing and club choice. It made perfect sense to make golf a two person game when it was first invented, but as technology starts to become wide spread and available to everyone the caddy can now be replaced by a virtual one.

Introduction to my blog

I would like to start off by welcoming everyone to my blog. My name is Alex Kim and I am a USC student majoring in business with an emphasis in information systems. I've always had an interest in technology and as a little child computers were always around me. I still remember how to execute Prince of Persia on MS DOS. My father was an entrepreneur and owned many businesses--the one I remember the most was his computer store. Seeing all of the software and hardware enticed my interest in technology even further. During my childhood my father would also take me to the golf range trying to make me into the next golf prodigy--unfortunately, it didn't go as he had planned. I only recently started to play golf on a regular basis. I really regret not playing as a young child and wish I had fell in love with it then. The feeling of being outdoors in nature engaging in a friendly competition amongst your friends is so enjoyable. The beauty of golf is simple--it can bridge the gap between generations. You never see a 50 year old man playing a pick-up game of basketball with a bunch of 18 year olds.

This blog is not just about the beauty of golf. It's also about technology and how it's used to help golfers improve their game. It will also cover new information communications technology that will help golf enthusiasts, like myself, to view golf, get golf tips, and get new information about golf products directly to wherever they are. The world is advancing and so is the world of golf.

When you are on the golf course so many things go on inside of your head (how far the ball is from the green, which way the green will break, which club should I use, what strategy should I use on this hole, etc.). Preparation before your shot can lower your score. This is where technology can help improve your decision making and even improve your shot. In the weeks to come I will cover new gadgets and product development which will help recreational golfers improve their game and lower their handicap. It will also cover how technology is being used to display the wonderful world of golf to all of its fans. The first gadget will cover how GPS is being used to help improve a golfer's game. Hope to see you again soon!

-Golf Nut