How technology can improve your game

PGA Professional Gary Booth explains how technology can re-ignite our interest in the game

We are surrounded by modern technology and sophisticated algorithms every day of our lives these days, from the phone in our hands, the cars we drive, even to how we decide where to eat. There really is no getting away from it and nor would a lot of us want to give up our high-tech gadgets that supposedly simplify life. 

With all that said, many golfers still don’t understand or know what technology is out there that can potentially improve their golf. Here’s how you can make some easy improvements with the use of technology.

Toptracer

Toptracer is a ball-flight tracking technology. It uses cameras on the roof to track flight. It measures everything ball related; carry, total distance, curvature, launch, ball speed and height. Toptracer is the technology behind the improved viewer experience at home providing live ball tracing on shots hit. The biggest impact Toptracer has had though is on the driving range experience. 

How it can benefit you: Through the interactive experience of using any of the features it has completely transformed the practice experience. For those who disliked practice at the best of times, now you are able to create your own practice profile through their app or simply able to sign in and play as a guest. You can warm up with basic tracking, play courses around the world including the likes of Pebble Beach and St Andrews or have fun with friends on the long drive and points game, there is even fishing for the kids, which involves hitting certain targets to catch fish and complete your collection. A fantastic feature for serious golfers is the What’s In My Bag which gives you your averages for all the clubs in your bag. This is a brilliant tool that will enable you to work on improving your consistency with every club in the bag. If that wasn’t enough Toptracer never rests when it comes to innovation, their latest update ‘Toptracer 30’ gives you an overall review of your golfing game by taking you through 30 on-course scenarios from driving to chipping. From those 30 shots it gives you a performance handicap and highlights your games strengths and weaknesses. This type of knowledge is the stuff of dreams for golfers wanting to know exactly what areas they need to improve. 

How can my pro help? “I just want to improve my consistency” should no longer be what you say to a pro during a lesson. Toptracer tells you exactly what you need to work on and a PGA pro will be able to take your stats and help design a personalised, practice programme that will enable you to maximise every practice session ensuring you are working towards your specific goals. Together with the pro you will be able to periodically review your performance and keep crafting your practice regime. Learning how to practise properly is an essential skill when wanting to improve and something every PGA pro will want to help you with. 

SAM PuttLaB

SAM PutTLab hails itself as the world’s most accurate and comprehensive putt analysis and training system. 

How it can benefit you: SAM PuttLab is one of the lesser known and used bits of technology in golf. This is largely due to putting not being seen as the exciting or sexy part of the game. No-one will ever tap you on the shoulder to tell you all about “Greg’s amazing putting stroke” but they would tell you about Greg if he smashed a ball 300 yards plus. I feel like many golfers do know the stats of putting being half the game and an area that with a bit of practice can have the most impact on improving scores but still people don’t spend the time here like they should. 

SAM PuttLab, like the launch monitor, makes it so easy to understand what exactly is happening to your ball and the stroke you put on to cause it. This is useful for again seeing how your putter behaves or any quirks you may have. 

How can my Pro help? A session on a Putt Lab with a pro will be an unforgettable experience. The pro will first take stock of what your stroke is like and will be able to provide you with an accurate oversight of your strike and consistency. Another useful feature is they can compare your stroke to different handicap levels and selected PGA tour pros. Once you’ve summarised where you are at the pro can make tweaks to improve your consistency and accuracy readings across the board. The beauty of having a putting lesson is that it’s much less physically demanding than the other areas of the game and small tweaks can have a huge impact on your scoring.  Going for a putting analysis session really is a no brainer! 

Golf GPS/Rangefinders

GPS stands for Global Positioning System, for golf this means your GPS will be able to give you your exact yardages around the course from your golf ball during your round. Rangefinders require you to take them out of the bag and aim it at what you want the yardage for. 

How it can benefit you: To be fair this is one of the most widely adopted bits of golf tech around. But there are still some golf purists out there that like to gaze into the distance, misty eyed with tales of yesteryear and how they don’t need any of that malarkey, they have the real skill of using their eyes and yardage markers. Sadly though golf cards haven’t been updated to provide a box where they could write all that down and be rewarded with shots knocked off for said extra skill. It’s still only the score that is recorded so, if it exists and can help you, you should absolutely consider getting in on the GPS/rangefinder action. 

How can my pro help? GPSs are not fool proof and to get the most out of them I would recommend a lesson on how to use it along with course management. A gapping session with a pro to tell you how far you hit all of your clubs will also improve your use of the device. It’s all well and good knowing how far it is to the green but if you don’t know the right club you need to hit you are wasting your time.