How Can Technology Improve Your Golf Swing?
January 5, 2010 by Parshooters
My First Rangefinder-- How Far Will Technology Take Us!
With the golden age of caddies long since given way to technology, except for the esteemed private golf clubs. Golfers today have resorted to a wide variety of measures to get yardages, directions and keeping scores.
When playing do you have troubles gauging how far a certain obstacle is, or how far away from the green you need to get to on your next shot? Are you that type of person with an uncanny ability to estimate how far you need to hit your next shot?
For most people it’s a guessing game but, it so much more important when it comes to scoring. It can make the difference between shooting a great score or being left to frustration and wanting to break every club in your bag.
When I was caddying professionally my job 30+ years ago was to make sure I walked the golf course before my partner even showed up. Professional caddies would chart a course for their player before every tournament with all of the measurements. You knew the distances of every club your pro swung at. It was your job to walk the fairways marking down every rock, sand traps, trees, water or any other permanent obstacle that you could gauge from the tees or any other shots from the fairways to the greens.
You mark all of this down in a little black book. Then everyday early in the morning before each round you graph out each hole’s pin placements. Measure out by using the old traditional way of one foot in front of the other how far from the front, sides, and back of the greens. You also observe where the pin placement is for that day by writing it all down.
Observing everything, if the green is on a hill, swale or what kind of breaks to the hole when putting. Where is the flat part of the green or safest place to hit the ball to. There was a combination of both guess work and knowing your player’s skill level.
Today, that has all changed with technology. Yardage markers can be defined by sprinkler heads, poles in the fairways, painted numbers on cart paths. Yardage books and laser golf range finders all have become part of the golf landscape and have varying degrees of usage by today’s golfers.
For the high-tech among us, gadgets have been finding their way into more and more golf bags. Compact golf range finders with hand held GPS systems and computer geekery included have found an ever increasing audience. With convenience however, comes cost, and none of these are cheap. The items range in price from $199 to $499.
ONE oF the great pleasures of playing golf in the past 40+ years has been the extraordinary development in technology which makes the game so much easier now than in the early 1980s. As we enjoy huge titanium drivers, graphite shafts, two-piece balls and soft-faced putters, we wonder how we could ever play with drivers that have heads the size of small boulders and balls which wore a huge smile every time they were hit off center.
Advances aren’t restricted to clubs and balls. When I started playing, club selection was based on the perceived distance of the golf shot. Then it became standard for golf courses to put laser read distance markers on each hole. Technology has started doing that work too and now the R&A and the U.S.G.A. said, ” they would permit the use of GPS golf range finders if a club or tournament committee brought in a local rule allowing for its use.”
Not many such local rules have been made in regards to using technology. For my club it decided against golf range finders in official club tournaments. Although they do allow them in regular play and it’s legal, and common in practice rounds.
The biggest problems most golf courses face today is involved in slow play. The endorsement from the P.G.A. made it a big issue of how these gadgets would speed up play. The thinking behind it is that if players have the distance information available instantly, it will speed up club selection, pre-shot routine and actual hitting.
From what I hear, the evidence points out that this not the case. The time a player spends contemplating distances is not regarded as a contributor to the slow pace of play. It’s the decisions on which club to use, plus general preparation for a shot which are the time wasters.
Despite the technology, nothing about golf’s basic premise has changed. It’s great knowing how far away the hole is but, you still have to execute the shot. MY limited experience using these gadgets are that they can be useful on the golf course.
They quickly provide available and accurate information, so for that reason their usage should be encouraged. When I used it on my home course, it was really of limited value. I guess that’s because I’ve played there so often, and I know the exact yardages.
Another new technological gadget that has proven its weight in gold for the hard core avid golfer, is called the ProLooper Golf Game Analyzer. This groundbreaking system allows golfers to record the location of every shot using a standard GPS range finder, and use that data to get the most in-depth statistical analysis of their game available today.
This feature rich system can improve shot accuracy and help golfers save strokes on the golf course. You can run the system on several GPS range-finder devices and it has over 10,000 course maps available.
In order to use the ProLooper system the golfer simply stands over the ball and marks the location while checking the distance to their next target. The data collection process does not slow down the golfers game. Once the round is completed the golfer uploads his or her data over the Internet to the ProLooper server.
The golfer is able to add additional details such as weather conditions, lies, slopes and other variables. The more details that are added, the more powerful the instant reporting capabilities of the system becomes.
Golfers can now have the same type of shot and game analysis that professional golfers get from their caddies.
It will help improve your golf swing, and shot accuracy. This is what separates great golfers from the average golfers, and that is knowing your statistics. Being able to use those numbers to better yourself in every facet of your game. You do get instant insight to your golf round performance after every 18 holes. It all leads to improved play and lower scores.
SkyCaddie SG3.5
The new SG 3.5 is ultralight and compact. It’s patented IntelliGreen technology enables golfers to measure the full depth and shape of the green from any angle of approach, on and off the fairway. Easy to use, one-handed operationInstant distances to green. To find more information on range finders and Sky Caddie SG 3.5
Just click on the icon or picture to take you to the specifications page.
Golf GPS Rental.com was formed to provide Community/Golf GPS Portal that would educate Golfers about GPS units as well provide an inexpensive way to try a Golf GPS unit before you buy. With hard work…
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Totally agree about the slow play issue–as a golf community, I think we’ll have to figure out how to encourage a faster pace of play in the coming years. I guess there’s a slow way to use any golf technology–including golf carts–and we’ll have to make sure we can use these devices to play better golf, not slower golf.
My average for nine right now is 37-40. Anyone have any ideas to shave off a couple more strokes?
Very good scores. You are playing pretty much to par now, and you need a little extra help shaving at least a couple of strokes off. My recommendation would be, and you would be the only person to know about this. It would be to take the weakest part of your game, and work just on that weakness until you have mastered it. If this isn’t doable, then taking a couple of lessons from a nearby local licensed professional wouldn’t hurt either. When I was playing my best golf ( 6 handicap), I always would seek out help from my club pro who happened to have his master license.
People just can’t stop themselves from applying techy gadgets to everything, as long as it makes money! Even golf is no exception.
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[...] there are golf traditionalist who considers the intervention of technology such as golf range finders or GPS systems to be some kind of interference and sacrilege to the integral challenge of the game [...]
[...] basics and that is your posture, stance, grip, and be focused on training yourself to the right golf swing mechanics. That is why a training aid like Medicus will help you to groove too a better [...]
I’ve been trying to improve my swing the old fashioned way – with practice – but I do love my gadgets so a bit of technology can’t hurt! Plus, everyone seems to use them now and they’re cheaper than hiring a coach sometimes. That SkyCaddie looks fantastic!
The latest wave of video game technology is doing much more than keeping teenagers entertained … it’s preparing doctors for the operating room.
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A lot of the skill it takes to be able to recognize distances comes from just playing the games as much as possible. the more experience you have the better you get.
On the whole, when you get your swing right, will probably be an important a part of bettering your complete sport efficiency and thus a great golf swing analyzer is really useful for all rookies or skilled ones….
I would have never thought there was a device out there to help read a course. My dad is an avid golfer, and has golfed courses hundreds of times. However, as good as he is- do you think a device like this could help him even more?
I do love my gadgets so a bit of technology can’t hurt! Plus, everyone seems to use them now and they’re cheaper than hiring a coach sometimes.
If I were you I would get some lessons but here’s some advice.Whene you take your grip, make sure your left hand is twisted to the right a bit. There should be like a line between ur thumb and finger and it should point towards your shoulder. When you take your grip make sure the club head doesn’t turn when you fiddle about with your grip otherwise the ball will not go where you want it to go.
Very good advice. A weak grip will cause havoc through impact which lessons the control you have on your golf club. To ensure a stronger grip, you need to roll your right hand over your left hand so that only your top knuckles are showing.
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You’re right. I did phrase my 3 points above the same as the stack and tilt even though I don’t endorse the stack and tilt method. I do agree with their 3 points and my point is that there are many ways or methods to achieve those 3 points.thanks..
With caddies being only available in elite private clubs, golfer in regular clubs will need some form of help to replace the work of the caddies, and use of high-technology gadgets is the best and accurate help that they can get, hence these GPS enabled gadgets and others such products are being increasingly used by golfers today.
How can a sport like Golf stay behind in the use of high technology when every game is increasingly adopting technological aids to help in decision making and enhance user knowledge of the sport !
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Swinging too quickly is a common mistake. I’m not saying you shouldn’t swing with power and acceleration — but rather, that you need to maintain a rhythm. The best way to accomplish this is to imagine a slight pause at the top of your back swing before changing direction and beginning the downswing.
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It has been the new graphic that has enhance the better visible visuals as such.
Great Technology very soft picture i agree with you thanks for shearing post…
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I also have a golf range finder and do not know how to use it, it’s not electronic just a scope with a bar that says green and above that has marks with yard numbers, how am I supposed to use it? please help
nice post … its a g8 technology… I like this one…
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