Here is a link to an article about Urban Golf. Who use aboutGolf Simulators at their facility in London.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/wellbeing/7977706/The-Fitness-Workshop-Golf.html
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aboutGolf Simulators at Urban Golf London
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010aboutGolf in Spain
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010aboutGolf have been introduced to Spain and are available through www.aboutGolfeurope.com
aboutGolf Simulators has partners in Spain who can help with all aboutGolf Simulator sales in Spain please vist www.aboutGolf.es for more information.
Please look out for news on aboutGolf in Spain at www.aboutgolfeurope.com or www.twitter.com/aboutGolfeurope or www.facebook.com/aboutGolfeurope
aboutGolf Simulators in France
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010aboutGolf Simulators can be found at one of France’s premier indoor Golf centres at Golf in Town in southern France. aboutGolf Simualtors has seen a marked increase in sales in France over recent years. With indoor Golf being a relativelynew phenomenon in France aboutGolf are proud to be the chosen Golf Simulator provider for Golf In Town. for more information visit the website
It’s Not Golf, But It’s Getting There
Monday, August 23rd, 2010Indoor simulators are more sophisticated than ever, but they still have their limitations
Unless you’re not.
“The mainstream golf world doesn’t grasp the idea that there are a lot of rounds of golf being played indoors,” said Bill Bales, the founder and CEO of aboutGolf, one of several companies which design and manufacture golf simulators. “They don’t count these rounds, but they’re wearing golf shoes, using their clubs and balls, having a satisfying experience playing against each other and by themselves.”
Brandon Sullivan for The Wall Street JournalA simulator at Crosswoods Indoor Golf Center in Chandler, Ariz. last week; It was 109 degrees outside.
Luke Donald is one of them. Currently ranked 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he lives in Chicago and put an aboutGolf simulator in his home a year ago. “I use it in the winter as a way to practice, simulate real golf and play some golf courses that we play on tour,” he says. “You can work the ball left to right and right to left and it’s very accurate.”
That’s a pretty good endorsement, and there are other signs of success: the sims are big in Korea and other parts of the Far East, for example. There is a residential market for those who, like Tour pro Mr. Donald, can afford the $50,000-60,000 price tag. But Mr. Bales and his fellow entrepreneurs also have their eye on driving ranges, golf shops, teaching pros, recreational centers, and the occasional bar and grill.
“I really think we can grow the game of golf beyond the circle of current golfers by creating this thing that is like the game outdoors, but you can do it at night, you can do it for an hour, you can do it without anyone behind you trying to hurry you along,” says Mr. Bales.
Golf simulators have been around since the early 1970s. They were amusement park novelties, tucked in the back of a retail shop or in a forgotten corner of a golf center. Today, the technology has improved vastly.
“The hardest thing to do is to convince someone who played in a sim 15 years ago to come and check it out,” said Ken Reynolds, whose company, EverGreens Golf, became an aboutGolf dealer after operating an indoor golf center. Those antediluvian machines featured grainy photos of a course projected onto a simple screen; you whacked a ball into the screen, a device measured the time it took for the ball to pass through two points, and after calculating and extrapolating, it told you your distance and transported you to your next location.
Today’s most advanced simulators put you in a true 3-D environment, as though you’ve been transported physically into an ultra-high-def video game. Stereoscopic cameras are trained on the hitting zone, where they record club speed, ball speed, launch angle and all components of spin. The flight of the ball, projected into the virtual course in the time it takes the ball to hit the screen, replicates the shot that would result in the outside world with remarkable precision.
Full-swing simulators have to serve two distinctly different purposes: entertainment and performance. The entertainment side is on display at the indoor centers that are springing up around the country. For some, golf leagues have taken the place of bowling leagues for an evening’s recreation; there are couples’ leagues, skins games, match play, all on simulations of great courses around the world. Brad Lefebvre, Chief Development Officer for the Crosswoods Indoor Golf Centers in the Phoenix area, travels with a group of friends who use the simulators to familiarize themselves with places they’re planning to play.
“I can bring a client in and we can play in two hours,” says Mr. Lefebvre. His leagues attract golfers looking to avoid the blistering summer heat and occasional winter rains. “It’s the first time in my business life I pray for bad weather.”
But it’s the performance side where things have changed the most. The old simulators were notorious for simplifying ball flight. The swing that gave you a big drive down the fairway indoors might produce a duck-hook on the course; the machines were useless for serious practice. Today, they provide all the feedback a golfer can handle, with angles and velocities for every shot.
Retailers have found them useful for club-fitting. More than 85% of all clubs are purchased at off-site retail outlets, in a process Mr. Bales calls “FMWAI,” pronounced fim-way. It stands for Five Minutes With An Idiot. An accurate simulator will provide the necessary data for an accurate fitting, even when operated by a temporary employee at a chain store.
There’s also teaching. “We had one kid who didn’t hit the ball high enough to get out of chutes and over trees,” says Dave Hollinger, men’s golf coach at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. “He worked all winter on getting his ball flight right, and he reached the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur Public Links championship, and finished seventh at the Canadian Amateur.”
Then there’s self-instruction, perhaps the biggest market of all. Only 10% of golfers take lessons, and if most golfers practice at all they must work on their own.
What do simulators do best? On full shots, they deliver a good measure of realism and accuracy. But roughly half the shots in a round of golf are played from within 50 yards of the hole, and it’s here that the indoor game requires some large mental adjustments.
On touch shots like pitches and chips, golfers generally pick out a target visually and play the ball to that point. On a simulator, you have to play from information instead of what you see. If you’re 30 yards from the green, you have to develop the feeling of hitting the ball 30 yards; it becomes a question of muscle memory rather than hand-eye coordination and judgment.
The putting elements have improved, but they call for a similar adjustment; you have to learn how softly to stroke an eight-foot putt towards a hole on a screen 25 feet away. The good thing is, we can all use more time practicing eight-foot putts, but it’s difficult to hold onto that feeling when you go back outside and face a whole different set of sensory inputs.
No simulator can prepare a player for the variety of lies and ground conditions he’ll find on the course. Every lie on an artificial mat is level; uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies require knowledge and practice you can’t get indoors. Some simulators deduct distance for a shot out of thick rough, but that does little to help you learn how to hit it. The same goes for hitting from the sand.
Mr. Bales acknowledges these shortcomings, while enthusing about “trajectory physics” and “aero coefficients.” On the company’s test range, he is seeking “sub-millimeter accuracy in pinpointing the position of a ball in space. When we have all that data, then we’ll have the Holy Grail of simulator accuracy.”
Will golf enjoy an Olympic-fueled boom?
Thursday, August 19th, 2010When the International Olympic Committee recently green-lighted golf as a sport for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero, it was a cause for celebration in the golf industry. Or at least some segments of the golf industry.
Club manufacturers, equipment suppliers and service providers associated with the development side of the business immediately praised the opportunity. They said the decision will open new markets for golf in countries where the population wouldn’t know a 5-iron from a flyswatter.
Bill Bales, chief executive officer of aboutGolf, an indoor golf simulator company, was so excited that he hailed Oct. 9, 2009 as “golf’s greatest day in its 500-year history.”
While that may be a bit over the top, Bales does have a point when it said that the decision “means the likes of China, Russia, Germany, Korea, Japan and others are going to invest more dough than is used to make a Man Versus Food pizza to create and expand organized programs to produce golfers.”
Bales, writing on his own blog, enthuses about a potential Olympics-fueled golden era for golf:
“The return of golf to the Olympics represents a shift of monumental proportions within the golf culture. In modern terms, it’s a paradigm shift, an inflection point. In anthropological terms, it’s on par with the industrial revolution.
“But such an event begets disruptive change (like with paradigm shifts, inflection points, and cultural revolutions). The game is going to change. The business is going to expand. Golf culture is going to hyper-evolve.
“Why such big effects on golf, when it wasn’t such a big deal with other Olympic sports?
“The Olympic movement is going to make golf ‘hip,’ which will make the game a bit less formal. Participants will place more emphasis on performance, and less on decorum. Spectators at events will get more rowdy (we’ve already had a taste of it at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup – ‘Ole, Ole Ole Ole’). The staid game we’ve known all our lives is going to get a little crazy.
“Don’t rule out that professionals on the PGA Tour one day will be members of teams, like NASCAR (Team Nike), wearing uniforms with large numbers on their backs. Countries getting into golf in a big way for the first time will contribute new cultural nuances surrounding the game and some will find their way into the mainstream.
“The modern Olympic movement is going to help transform the game of golf into a sport for every man. It’s going to get a bit rude, crude, and unattractive, and it’s going to be a beautiful thing.
“I can’t wait.”
Eye On Golf: aboutGolf PGA Tour Simulator
Thursday, August 19th, 2010Eye On Golf: aboutGolf PGA Tour Simulator
August 03, 2010
Okay, now this is fun and I’ve always wanted one of these. It sort of falls under the category of big boys and their toys. And while this item tends to be on the periphery of the world of golf, we feel it is our duty to pass the information along. And I’m sure someone else wants one of these also.
So, let’s examine (with a few pertinent observations) the newest aboutGolf PGA TOUR Compact SimSurround – the 15-foot version.
aboutGolf is the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology and has pioneered the three-screen simulator which allows the player a greater potential for a real world experience. Meaning that very little additional atmosphere is required to give you the total realization. For instance, if you choose to play St. Andrews, all you need is an oversized, high speed fan blowing right into your face (add an artificial downpour if you so desire). Or, if you play a course in the desert, add a couple of high intensity heat lamps for special effects.
The newest model is the 15-foot wide version that is tagged as ideal for residences and indoor golf centers. The total dimensions of this newest golf toy are 15 feet wide by 20 feet long by 10 feet, 6 inches high. Now I don’t care if the local indoor golf center has one of these, but if I lived in northern Minnesota in the winter I would surely want one in my basement. I would emerge from the depths of frozen hell in the late springtime with my game ready for the dollar nassau.
It comes complete with PGA TOUR Software for range and course play, 29 standard courses, 3Trak ball-tracking technology and club data, as well as screen, enclosure, computer and turf. That’s right, 29 courses at your finger tips and all real (or at least fictitiously conventional) – except one. Remember the Fantasy Holes by artist Loyal H. (Bud) Chapman? Well, with the aboutGolf simulator you can actually play this course. Imagine playing the 291-yard par-4 at St Ludiwg’s Golf Club in the shadow of Neuschwanstein Castle? Now that would be fun.
Holy golf ball, Batman, there’s a real and a fantasy golf resort right is your basement.
If there is one ultimate golf toy to possess, this is it!
Top Things You Should Look For When Selecting Golf Simulators
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010Have you considered using golf simulators in order to improve your game? There are many reasons why people will utilize them. Some enjoy the chance to play courses that they would not be able to under normal circumstances. Other golfers use them to improve their game in a number of different ways. Here is a look at how you can do the same thing and lower your score by shaving off strokes here and there.
These simulators can range from simple programs that have few options to large and elaborate set ups. They may use screens, cameras and projectors to provide a realistic experience. You need to think about why you would be using your particular simulator as this can give you an idea of features to look for when you do go shopping.
Do you want to use a simulation program for fun or is improving your swing the main goal that you have in mind? This can influence the kind of simulation set up you will look for. Remember that the software and devices that can analyze your swing can sometimes be more expensive than ones that just recreate the experience of being on a course. This is because an analytical program is likely going to need more in the way of equipment than one that simply recreates the feeling of being on the links.
How large is the unit and do you think that you will have room to swing freely? Remember that if you feel hemmed in by the position of the screen, the cameras or any other equipment you will not be able to get an accurate idea of what your swing is like. You need to be able to hit the ball with the same force and in the same way that you would hit it on the course. If you cannot do this with your simulator it will not be of any use for improving your golf game.
Also find out how easy the simulators you are considering will be to use. Some can be quite complicated and this is not a good thing if you are not technologically savvy. A good simulation unit should be fairly easy to use and it should not take you hours with an instruction manual in order to understand how to use it.
Research can also be the key to finding the right model for you. Asking pro shops, trainers, course owners and other avid golfers may give you a wealth of information you can use to make your final choice. It can make the decision of which model to get much easier if you are still unsure of exactly what you are looking for.
Once you know what you are looking for as far as features, it is also a good idea to consult with different suppliers so that you can get unbiased recommendations on which model to purchase. Many companies offer both residential and commercial models and even if you are thinking about using one in your home you may still want to consider getting a commercial grade model if you are serious about your golf game.
Once you have your simulator and it is set up, be prepared for a bit of an adjustment period. Regardless of how seamless the interface is it is still not going to be exactly like golfing on a physical course. Taking the time to get comfortable with your simulator before judging your performance can be a valuable step in keeping accurate training records.
Indoor golf is a way of improving your game even if you are unable to get out on the golf course to practice. Golf simulators can be set up where convenient so that you can work to take strokes off your score.
University Of Waterloo Credits aboutGolf Simulator With Improvement In Team, Individual Play In 2010
Thursday, August 5th, 2010University Of Waterloo Credits aboutGolf Simulator With Improvement In Team, Individual Play In 2010
MAUMEE, OHIO – aboutGolf, the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, was the “secret weapon” in the success of Canada’s University of Waterloo (UW) and its star player, Garrett Rank, during the 2010 spring season, the company announced today.
The University of Waterloo’s engineering school-widely regarded as Canada’s best-was the beneficiary of an aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulator in November 2009 to allow collaboration between aboutGolf and UW golf equipment and biomechanics researchers.
While engineering students use the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulator for research, including investigations into new shaft and clubhead designs, biomechanic modeling, motion capture and golf ball simulation and optimization, Waterloo’s men’s and women’s golf teams also use it to train. The simulator presents an opportunity to execute range practice with reliable data for analysis, prepare for difficult tournament holes with similar holes on the simulator and prepare for difficult weather conditions, such as high winds.
Waterloo’s men’s team benefited from its new “secret weapon” aboutGolf technology with a seventh place finish in the RCGA University/College Championships in New Brunswick. After a winter of indoor work the team finished as the top team from its league in the 20 team National Tournament, putting up the low team score over the last 30 holes.
More recently, on July 23, Waterloo second-year golfer Jack Gibson-after correcting a major swing flaw through hard work on the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulator-posted a 10-under par, three-stroke victory in Canada’s Investors Group Ontario Junior Boys’ Championship. Gibson-who defeated a field that include five Division I scholarship players and the World University junior champion-will represent Ontario at the Canadian Boys Junior Championship in early August.
Gibson used the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulator last winter to completely revamp his swing, using the side spin and horizontal launch angle measurements of the simulator to implement corrections that turned his excessive hook into a lovely draw.
“aboutGolf’s PGA TOUR Simulator played a substantial role in the improvement of our teams in 2010,” says Dave Hollinger, the Warriors’ men’s golf coach. “The biggest advantage of aboutGolf’s PGA TOUR Simulator is that it is ‘right-on,’ so accurate. We can work on the swing, make adjustments, fine-tune and see results immediately. It’s a great environment to experiment in. Many of our students are golfers and engineers, so we do a lot of experimenting with and understanding ball-flight laws.”
In this year’s World Championships, Waterloo’s Garrett Rank was outstanding-qualifying for individual play thanks, in large part, to his dedicated work on aboutGolf’s PGA TOUR Simulator. After 53 holes in Spain, Rank was the event’s individual leader, eventually finishing five strokes out of a medal, in 10th place.
Entering the 2010 season, Rank’s biggest challenge was to raise his low ball flight and maximize his driver trajectory, Hollinger says. Mission accomplished, thanks to the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulator.
“Garrett worked incredibly hard on the simulator during the winter,” Hollinger says. “He spent more time on it than anyone else on the team, and now he is a terrific driver and hits the ball much higher.”
Rank’s outstanding play this past spring qualified him for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, at which he advanced to the round of 16. He also made a hole-in-one during his Porter Cup qualifying round and was named a first team all Canadian as an athlete and an academic.
“This is yet another example of how the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulator can help golfers of any skill level improve their performance and train for competition,” says Chuck Faust, President and COO of aboutGolf. “Congratulations to the Warriors and we know we will see continued improvement as they train in the ultimate learning and practice environment.”
aboutGolf is currently working with Waterloo to equip their system with technology updates and integrated performance tools including swing analysis and weight transfer analysis.
Prior to the donation by aboutGolf, the Warrior’s golf team evaluated three simulator systems and rated aboutGolf as the top system.
About University of Waterloo
About aboutGolf
aboutGolf, the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, finalized a long-term licensing partnership agreement with the PGA TOUR in December 2008 for the development and execution of aboutGolf/PGA TOUR-branded simulator products. Thanks to the agreement, aboutGolf and the PGA TOUR have an exclusive, worldwide licensing partnership to manufacture PGA TOUR Simulators as well as an exclusive, worldwide licensing partnership to offer TPC courses on the PGA TOUR Simulators, including the TPC Sawgrass’ PLAYERS Stadium Course, site of THE PLAYERS Championship, which is considered professional golf’s “fifth major.”
aboutGolf is a 20-year-old Maumee, Ohio-based company that has been dedicated to golf for its entire history. aboutGolf is the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, producing PGA TOUR Simulators, aboutGolf Performance Products and Henry-Griffitts Custom Fitting. Historically, aboutGolf also produced Microsoft Golf, Greg Norman Ultimate Challenge Golf and World Tours, which is the world’s most-widely-distributed golf simulation. aboutGolf® is a registered trademark of aboutGolf Limited, Maumee, Ohio.
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located in Waterloo, Ontario at the heart of Canada’s Technology Triangle, has become one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities with 28,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world’s largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery.
MAUMEE, OHIO – aboutGolf, the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, has introduced the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Compact SimSurround Simulator, the company announced today
Thursday, July 29th, 2010aboutGolf Announces Release of the PGA TOUR Compact SimSurround The new aboutGolf PGA TOUR Compact SimSurround has the same 15-foot footprint as most standard simulator systems, including the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Classic, but offers the immersive experience only available in a three-screen unit.
aboutGolf pioneered the three-screen simulator with the introduction of the original 25-foot SimSurround in 2008. Ideal for residences and indoor golf centers, the new, compact model makes the immersive experience more widely available. Homeowners with space limitations and commercial facilities looking to optimize floor space are no longer forced to choose between size and impact.
“The new Compact SimSurround offers all the wow factor of the original SimSurround in a smaller package,” says Chuck Faust, aboutGolf’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “We’re the only company offering this type of innovative system, which features all the technology golfers have come to expect from aboutGolf while engaging the golfer at a new level.”
The aboutGolf PGA TOUR Compact SimSurround-whose complete standard size is 15 feet wide by 20 feet long by 10 feet, 6 inches high-features PGA TOUR Software with range and course play, 29 standard courses, 3Trak ball-tracking technology and club data, as well as screen, enclosure, computer and turf.
“The Compact SimSurround by aboutGolf provided everything I wanted – the size, the experience, the features and the price,” says Mickey Hamono, owner of a Compact SimSurround in Chicago. “The experience is absolutely just like the real thing; I can play Pebble Beach from home with coastline filling my view.”
aboutGolf, the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, finalized a long-term licensing partnership agreement with the PGA TOUR in December 2008 for the development and execution of aboutGolf/PGA TOUR-branded simulator products. Thanks to the agreement, aboutGolf and the PGA TOUR have an exclusive, worldwide licensing partnership to manufacture PGA TOUR Simulators as well as an exclusive, worldwide licensing partnership to offer TPC courses on the PGA TOUR Simulators, including the TPC Sawgrass’ PLAYERS Stadium Course, site of THE PLAYERS Championship.
aboutGolf is a 20-year-old Maumee, Ohio-based company that has been dedicated to golf for its entire history. aboutGolf is the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, producing PGA TOUR Simulators, aboutGolf Performance Products and Henry-Griffitts Custom Fitting. Historically, aboutGolf also produced Microsoft Golf, Greg Norman Ultimate Challenge Golf and World Tours, which is the world’s most-widely-distributed golf simulation. aboutGolf® is a registered trademark of aboutGolf Limited, Maumee, Ohio
aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulators Playing A Key Role For Urban Golf In London
Thursday, July 1st, 2010aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulators Playing A Key Role For Urban Golf In London
“Urban Golf provides the premier indoor golf center experience in the United Kingdom and we are pleased to partner with them to optimize that experience through the world’s premier simulator technology,” says Chuck Faust, President and COO of aboutGolf. “With such innovative and impressive facilities and so many golfers in Great Britain, Urban Golf’s growth potential is unlimited. We’re delighted aboutGolf’s world-leading simulator technology will help fuel that growth.”
Urban Golf’s recently opened Kensington center is the UK’s largest indoor golf venue. In addition to its eight state-of-the-art aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulators, Kensington also features a revolutionary coaching facility and décor that is an eclectic fusion of Victorian and contemporary styles offering a nod to the surrounding area’s history without betraying the cool funky style for which Urban Golf is renowned.
Urban Golf, and its PGA TOUR Simulators, provides the opportunity to enjoy golf in the heart of London. Lessons, club fitting, special events and social play are now possible in less time and are no longer subject to England’s often-fickle weather.
aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulators Playing A Key Role For Urban Golf In London aboutGolf, the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, finalized a long-term licensing partnership agreement with the PGA TOUR in December 2008 to manufacture PGA TOUR Simulators as well as an exclusive, worldwide licensing partnership to offer TPC courses on the PGA TOUR Simulator, including the TPC Sawgrass’ PLAYERS Stadium Course, site of THE PLAYERS Championship.
About aboutGolf
aboutGolf is a 20-year-old Maumee, Ohio-based company that has been dedicated to golf for its entire history. aboutGolf is the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology, producing PGA TOUR Simulators, aboutGolf Performance Products and Henry-Griffitts Custom Fitting. Historically, aboutGolf also produced Microsoft Golf, Greg Norman Ultimate Challenge Golf and World Tours, which is the world’s most-widely-distributed golf simulation. aboutGolf® is a registered trademark of aboutGolf Limited, Maumee, Ohio.