Up-to-date information, articles and nonsense about the indoor golf industry in the NorthEast area....and if worthy from other reaches of the world. PGA TOUR Simulators by aboutGolf
WALDWICK – As dozens of young kids hit golf balls into the PGA Tour simulators in front of him, and their instructors stepped in to give them tips and tweak their swings, Rich DiMartino stood in the background smiling.
George Cultraro, left, hitting a shot while using a simulator as his friend Kyle Roberts looks on at Greenhouse Golf.
His vision has come to life. His desire to create an indoor golf teaching facility is now a reality. And as the afternoon campers on this day enjoyed the finished product, DiMartino couldn’t help but think he’s helped create something special at Greenhouse Golf.
"What we tried to do was make a facility that was built by golfers for golfers," said DiMartino, the co-owner and general manager of the facility. "This is nothing like any other simulator facility in the nation because it’s not just about the simulators. It’s a training center where children and adults can come and learn the game or improve their game."
Greenhouse Golf, located on Hopper Avenue, is certainly a golfers paradise.
They have 10 PGA Tour simulators, a 575-square foot putting green and an outdoor-themed, 18-hole mini golf course all inside the 21,000-square foot, two-level facility.
But what makes Greenhouse Golf unique from most other simulator facilities is its focus on professional instruction.
"Everything here is designed to help teach people how to play and improve their game," Greenhouse Golf instructor Ozzie Carlson said. "We like to say we can help anyone 4 to 84."
In addition to having three professional instructors on staff, Greenhouse Golf also has slow motion cameras used to break down a player’s swing and a balance plate simulator, which measures a player’s center of gravity as he hits the ball.
When you combine those two instruments with an instructor’s knowledge and the information the simulator provides — club head speed, ball speed, ball flight, launch angle, ball compression, etc. — you have a powerful teaching tool.
"It’s a dynamic way to learn," Carlson said. "It’s exciting to me as a teacher to see how fast people can improve here."
Two players who can attest to that are Franklin Lakes resident Jay Iturralde and Woodcliff Lake’s Jared Mactas.
Iturralde, a 14 handicap, has taken a handful of lessons with professional instructor and former college All-American Cory Stelick and already has noticed a difference in his game.
"It’s amazing how quick you can see what you’re doing wrong with your swing when you work with an instructor in a simulator," Iturralde said.
Mactas, meanwhile, is a rising senior at Pascack Hills and a scratch golfer. He has been working with Carlson for four years but has learned even more about his swing since working on the balance plate simulator.
"It’s given me more of an edge on how to get better," Mactas said. "The foot sensors tell you how your weight distribution is divided on each foot and that’s helped my game because I’ve learned new kinds of angles that I come in at. It’s definitely helped me become a more consistent golfer."
Greenhouse Golf is still in the process of building a café on the first floor, installing Wi-Fi Internet access throughout the facility, bringing in more TV’s and staying true to its name, building a solar-paneled parking lot before its official grand opening in September. But as the grade school kids on this day could attest, it’s already open for business and ready to help golfers improve their game.
"We make people better golfers here because of the delivery of feedback from the simulators and the world-class instruction," DiMartino said. "I don’t think anyone else can say that."
They don’t have to. The results speak for themselves.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
- In the third of the season's five events developed through a partnership of The European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI) and aboutGolf, European Tour Professionals will have the opportunity to capitalize on aboutGolf's performance improvement technology at the 2012 Alstom Open de France, July 5 - 8, to be hosted at Le Golf National.
As with the kickoff at Omega Dubai Desert Classic - where program baseline assessments were observed - and subsequent BMW PGA Championship, the professionals, as well as their coaching teams, will continue with extensive analysis and screening by world-renowned biomechanist Jean-Jacques Rivet, ETPI head physiotherapist Rob Hillman and aboutGolf experts using the company's proprietary golf performance technology.
Utilizing European Tour's physiotherapy analysis, the ETPI screening protocol, and aboutGolf technology - including the aG Mobile portable launch monitor, aG Balance Pro Tour portable weight analysis tool and aG Flix video swing analysis system - several players have gathered data to employ swing development programs which they can improve upon throughout the Tour in the Race to Dubai Physio Unit, as well as during personal time.
"With the first two events of the program behind us, we have made many useful observations regarding how aboutGolf's technology is capable of helping some of the world's best golfers improve their games" said Chuck Faust, President, aboutGolf. "We are eager to see how the next three sessions go, as well as the individual golfer's end-of-season results."
Using its specific ETPImeTM process, ETPI strives to guide both pupil and coach, at all levels to tailored solutions for game improvement. The information utilized in such training is amassed by ETPI and supported by the accuracy and reliability of aboutGolf's products - which allow more effective instruction and tracking of measurable results.
"We are very excited about putting the ETPImeTM process to the test with some of the best players in the World," said Fredrik Lindgren, head of ETPI. "We have over 20 years of experience in the area of golf specific conditioning and have spent the last 3 years developing the ETPImeTM process. With the very precise performance data we get from aboutGolf's mobile equipment we can now take this process out on to the driving range and make a real difference."
Following the stop at Le Golf National - which is a renowned European Tour Destination and host the 2018 Ryder Cup - participants will maintain a rigorous schedule throughout events at Omega European Masters at Golf Club de Crans sur Sierre in Switzerland and Portugal Masters at Oceanico Victoria Golf Club, Algarve.
Regarding aboutGolf
aboutGolf is a world leader in golf simulator and golf performance technology. The more than 20-year-old, Ohio-based company is committed to developing and applying innovative, state-of-the-art technology to enhance and improve the game for golfers at every level. Its products, including PGA TOUR Simulators, aG Studio and Henry-Griffitts Custom Fit Golf Clubs, enable substantive learning and improvement in the game of golf. Learn more at www.aboutgolf.com.
About European Tour Performance Institute
The European Tour Performance Institute - ETPI - allows golfers of all abilities to practice learn and improve using the knowledge and tools developed by the elite professionals on the European Tour. The ETPI process guides the pupil and coaches to tailored solutions. ETPI supports European Tour players in the Race to Dubai Physio Unit, it transfers that knowledge to amateur golfers through Tour Fit For Golf and works with both professional and amateur golfers at ETPI facilities, the first of which is in development.
Contact:
Mary Beth Lacy
760-346-6942
mb@mblacy.com
This past week was the FootJoy National Sales Meeting in Newport, R.I., which featured an impressive display of new products, industry updates and, of course, networking with colleagues and friends – a great group of people who couldn’t be more passionate about the products they produce and represent.
Throughout the week, we had the opportunity to see the latest shoes, gloves and apparel from FootJoy, as well as what the company has coming down the pipeline. Along with their standard sales meetings, presentations and breakout sessions, FootJoy Product Development/R&D Department, based out of Brockton, Mass., wanted to show what has been working in the “Shoe Box,” a state-of-the-art research and development testing facility.
Within the Shoe Box facility are some if the industry’s greatest technologies, including an aboutGolf PGA TOUR Widescreen Simulator, complete with weight-transfer analysis technology, 3D modelling, aG Flix video capture, and much more. Utilizing aboutGolf’s technology, FootJoy is conducting extensive research on future golf shoes and capturing detailed information on how the golf shoe plays an enormous roll on the score card, as observed through the golf swing.
With their facility tucked in the FJ R&D center many of their sales representatives throughout the world aren’t able to see what the organization is working on or how research affects the product development. So, FootJoy decided to bring its research to Newport – including our PGA TOUR Simulators.
Some results comparing spike-less and spiked golf shoes
aboutGolf and my company, EverGreens Golf, were happy to work with FootJoy to install two aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulators and allow the company to demonstrate current research first-hand, as well as allow the sales force to compare different shoes within the FootJoy line. One specific aspect of research that was highlighted was a comparison between the new spikeless and traditional spiked golf shoe. It was great to see the sales agents in the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulators hitting a couple shots wearing each of the shoe types, experiencing for themselves the results as related to stability, control and distances. It was also a nice way to break up the meetings and have the people who represent the FootJoy line actually hits balls to see the results through their golf swings, rather than just look at stats
FootJoy Team testing out different FJ Shoes in the aboutGolf PGA TOUR Simulators
It has been a pleasure working with the team at FootJoy R&D for the past year and look forward to the future and seeing what they come up with next. I also want to thank them for their hospitality this week in Newport, a perfect setting with great weather.
Our PGA TOUR Simulators are employed by clients and golf enthusiasts for an array of reasons, from strictly entertainment to golf game improvement.
Close your eyes and imagine what golf simulators once were like. Back in the 1980s and ’90s. With rumpled screens and fuzzy images. With no real sense of how far or straight you hit your shots.
Frankly, there wasn’t much to get excited about, even if the only thing you wanted from those old machines was some off-season fun with your friends. You didn’t even think about using them for clubfitting or teaching.
Now, step to the tee of an aboutGolf simulator, the PGA Tour Compact SimSurround for example, which was introduced last year. What you have here is a unit that features three full screens that wrap 160 degrees around the golfer and gives him, or her, more than 50 courses to play, including Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass and the Old Course at St. Andrews.
The system utilizes a high-speed motion camera system, dubbed 3Trak technology, that collects image data such as velocity, launch angle and spin from shots at twice the rate of most other machine vision systems. It is engineered for consistent optimal resolution and field of view, resulting in what aboutGolf president Charles Faust describes as “repeatable and reproducible data quality throughout the tracking region.”
According to Faust, 3Trak replicates ball flight as well as bounce and roll better than other simulators. It even reproduces ricochets off of trees and let shots react to whatever wind or weather conditions a player chooses to input into the system (and players can input different course conditions at will). A vast range of swing analysis and software tools are available, and the golf course imagery, which is produced from topographical and survey data and more than 2,500 photos per layout, is impressive.
Those sorts of enhancements have made simulators much better than they used to be – and much more popular in the U.S. as well as in golf hot spots like Japan, Korea and the U.K. In addition to being better entertainment devices, around which winter golf leagues and rounds of business golf are frequently organized, they have also become important teaching and fitting tools for PGA professionals.
In some cases, they have even become a way for top touring pros to keep their games in shape during the off-season. Which is why Luke Donald put an aboutGolf simulator in his Chicago-area home about a year ago.
Not surprisingly, these state-of-the-art simulators do not come cheap, and the PGA Tour Compact SimSurround goes for a hefty $62,000. That’s out of reach for most recreational players. But aboutGolf is working to make their machines more accessible by setting up reasonable revenue-sharing plans with golf clubs and retailers around the globe.
On Wednesday, February 22nd, Governor Lynch issued a proclamation declaring that March as HOME OWNERSHIP MONTH in New Hampshire.
In doing so he stated that, “The health of New Hampshire’s economy is positively impacted by having a strong and vibrant housing and development industry.”
The state’s largest and oldest home show will take place Friday, March 2ndthrough Sunday, March 4th and consumers will be impressed with the wide array of new home building, remodeling, and decorating products and services.
Produced by the Homes Builders and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire, and sponsored by PSNH, the show will consist of more than 300 exhibitors covering 65,000 square feet at the Center of New Hampshire/Radisson Hotel complex in downtown Manchester.
The show opens on Friday and lasts for three days. Show hours are Friday,March 5th 1:00-8:00, Saturday 10:00-8:00, and Sunday 10:00-4:00. General Admission is $9.00 per person, Seniors (65+) $6.00 per person. Under 12 (Must be accompanied by an adult) Free.
Visitwww.nhstatehomeshow.comfor $2.00 discount coupons for your customers or have them bring two non-perishable food items and receive a $3.00 discount on admission! Food Items to be donated to the New Horizons for New Hampshire, Inc.
The latest in home-related products and services will be showcased – everything from mortgages to landscaping, hot tubs to custom home builders, and custom closets to fabulous kitchens.
We strive to make the best connections, not only between builders, remodelers and vendors, but also with the discriminating buyer. This year the doors have been opened to more exciting features to keep people coming back to the show all year long!
Some of the new features this year include:
The $100,000 Home Makeover Sweepstake! Sponsored by the New Hampshire State Home Show in conjunction with Clear Channel Radio. Attendees can take a chance to win a $100,000 home makeover with products from our sponsors. It’s free to enter on the website (www.NHHomeShow.com) or at the Show.
The year round online version of the show, which began last year, will now be available through an expanded resource,www.theHomeOwnersNoteBook.com. Visit this new website for all kinds of information about your home and revisit all of the exhibitors, products and resources you see at the Show in the“HomeShowAllYear” area.
Window World once again brings the cool and fast to the Show. On display in the North Hall is The Orange County Chopper from the TV show, American Chopper, that supports the St Jude Children’s’ Research Hospital. And, in the South Hall, view John Andretti’s Formula One Race Car.
Also, at Cedar Mill Group’s booth in the North Hall golfers of all abilities can take a chance to win $25,000 in the PGA Tour Simulator. It’s free!
One more feature - Do you want to know what you really look like? Have S. Liane Brown of Caricature Portraits “With a Smile” show you.
This year’s charity is New Horizons for New Hampshire Inc. Expect you will find Charlie “the Sherm” Sherman, Executive Director of New Horizons, roaming the halls throughout the weekend. Attendees who bring two non-perishable food items will receive a $3 coupon toward admission to the show from one of Charlie’s volunteers.
Once again, the show has crafts and specialty food items in the New England Room Pavilion in the South Concourse area. This was a very popular addition to last year’s show.
There will be several consumer workshops and seminars taking place. Visit the website (www.NHHomeShow.com) for more details or pick up a schedule at the ticket counter.
All are welcome to the 45th New Hampshire State Home Show which continues all year long. Visit the
This show is made possible through the efforts of members and staff of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire (HBRANH).
Special thanks goes to our Premier sponsor, Public Service of New Hampshire and Associate sponsor Merrimack County Savings Bank.
With now being one the best time in years to build a new home or remodel an existing one consumers will not want to miss out on the 45th New Hampshire State Homes Show.
(Maumee, OHIO) - aboutGolf, a world leader in golf simulator and golf performance technology, announced today the signing of a partnership with Dixon Golf, the first manufacturer of high performance eco-friendly golf balls.
aboutGolf will join Dixon in its philanthropic mission as an official sponsor of the 2012 Dixon Challenge. The Challenge, which included more than 800 charity tournaments throughout 2011, is a fun Par-3 game that helps non-profits increase revenue at charity golf tournaments.
As a 2012 sponsor of the Dixon Challenge, aboutGolf will offer a new Golf Performance Technology Suite, including an aG Studio launch monitor, aG Balance Pro weight transfer analysis system, aG Flix video swing analysis system and Perform Pro software, as a raffle prize to one lucky winner who registers at a Challenge event.
"Dixon Golf has an impressive history of progressiveness," says Chuck Faust, President, aboutGolf. "Our partnership with Dixon Golf is natural, as both companies embrace the modern values of golfers through technology, sustainability and social accountability."
The Dixon Challenge has been held at tournaments benefiting such well known causes as the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes and many others.
In addition to collaborating on the Dixon Challenge, aboutGolf will also soon begin offering Dixon Golf balls as the official eco golf ball of its simulators and will be available for use in its PGA TOUR Simulators.
"Bringing the best-in-class simulator and golf technology provider on-board with the Challenge will have a significant positive impact on the results for the charities we work with and for Dixon products," says William Carey, CEO, Dixon Golf.
Dixon Golf joins aboutGolf's list of distinguished partners, which includes PGA TOUR, Golf Channel, European Tour Performance Institute and David Leadbetter, as well as a lineup of golf experts on its Board of Innovation. The Board of Innovation, which includes world No. 1 golfer Luke Donald, is a group of industry experts who advise aboutGolf regarding research, development and market trends.
Sawgrass and the Old Course at St. Andrews.
