Golf Simulator

Yesterday, my buddy EB and I went to a golf simulator. Dan, over at Keep The Swing (http://www.ktsincgolf.com) have a real nice setup. They have two simulators and then a couple of indoor driving range areas. The simulator is in Hi-Def and has a selection of 14 courses you can play. EB and I played Pebble Beach. We had the simulator for an hour and a half and got in 17 holes (we skipped 16 so we could play 17 and 18). You play with your own clubs and real golf balls. There is an overhead camera and then two cameras in the corners. The cameras, in addition to sensors on the screen determine your trajectory, ball speed, launch angel, etc and then when you hit the ball into the screen, the ball then shows up on the screen and goes down the fairway. The tee shots and shots from the fairway are very realistic and accurate. The chipping and putting is a little far from reality, but still fun. One of the great things is that the cameras show you the swing path and location of where you hit the ball on the club face, which gives you some great feedback. You can really tell when you hit the ball a little off as it just does not go as far. The technology is so good that you can even play fades and draws. From a distance standpoint, I felt like my irons went further than I normally hit them and that my driver was shorter. I think part of it was that I was swinging pretty hard.

On to the results; I shot 75 and EB shot 80. We skipped a par 4, so need to add 4 or 5 strokes to that total. I will certainly be back to this place very soon as the practice and instant feedback is great. I am going to try and get to this place about three times a month during the winter and then when the weather warms up, it will hopefully be like I have been playing for 6 months.