At Urban Golf, we have 20 years’ experience working with leading hardware and software developers in the indoor golf market, as well as understanding the way golfers interactive with the experience.
A compelling indoor golf experience can only be delivered using camera-based ball tracking. Radar systems (such as Trackman) simply can’t perform to the same level indoors, and as the cost of hardware falls, new operators with low margin models will be unable to invest at the rate required to keep pace with the market.
We are already seeing software and hardware functions diverging. As third-party software platforms mature, hardware specialists will be unable to keep up – a de-coupling that will price prices down and put pressure on operated with fixed technology infrastructure.
Success in this market will demand flexibility and experience to benefit from a rapidly-evolving eco-system – we are confident that we have the experience and expertise to help our partners navigate this new world.
First Generation Simulators Early sims used infra-red sensors on the ground to measure the clubhead as it approach the ball, using the direction, speed and orientation of the club to project a ball flight. Once the novelty wore off the limitations infra-red were quickly exposed – a cautionary tale for partners heavily invested in the technology.
Second Generation Simulators (2000 – 2008) The next generation of sims tracked the ball rather than the club, using either radar or infra-red. We launched Urban Golf with infra-red Full Swing sims, which use three locations between the golfer and the screen to measure ball speed and trajectory. While this offered an improvement on first generation technologies, it still couldn’t measure spin on the golf ball – a critical factor in predicting ball flight. Developers started to use doplar radar to tackle this issue – a solution that succeeded in outdoor environments where the radar can ‘see’ the whole flight of the ball, but still very limited where the ball is hit into a screen just two metres away. Radar systems cannot accurately measure spin, and cannot be used for putting – two fundamental limitations that we believe will limit the future for operators invested in such platforms.
Third Generation Simulators (2008 - present) The rapid emergence of smart phones featuring high-quality cameras lead to enormous advances in camera technologies, while huge volumes and economies of scale reducing the price of hardware components. Our frustration with the limitations of second gen simulators led us to start work on a proprietary ball-tracking system – an investment that led us to meet with aboutGOLF, whose CEO Bill Bales, who gave us a private demonstration of a prototype camera-based system. We joined forces with aboutGOLF and have used their camera-based ball tracking in our venues ever since, as well as installing aboutGOLF technology in hundreds of commercial and residential settings in the 15 years since then.
A brief history of golf simulators
At Urban Golf, we have 20 years’ experience working with leading hardware and software developers in the indoor golf market, as well as understanding the way golfers interactive with the experience.
A compelling indoor golf experience can only be delivered using camera-based ball tracking. Radar systems (such as Trackman) simply can’t perform to the same level indoors, and as the cost of hardware falls, new operators with low margin models will be unable to invest at the rate required to keep pace with the market.
We are already seeing software and hardware functions diverging. As third-party software platforms mature, hardware specialists will be unable to keep up – a de-coupling that will price prices down and put pressure on operated with fixed technology infrastructure.
Success in this market will demand flexibility and experience to benefit from a rapidly-evolving eco-system – we are confident that we have the experience and expertise to help our partners navigate this new world.
First Generation Simulators Early sims used infra-red sensors on the ground to measure the clubhead as it approach the ball, using the direction, speed and orientation of the club to project a ball flight. Once the novelty wore off the limitations infra-red were quickly exposed – a cautionary tale for partners heavily invested in the technology.
Second Generation Simulators (2000 – 2008) The next generation of sims tracked the ball rather than the club, using either radar or infra-red. We launched Urban Golf with infra-red Full Swing sims, which use three locations between the golfer and the screen to measure ball speed and trajectory. While this offered an improvement on first generation technologies, it still couldn’t measure spin on the golf ball – a critical factor in predicting ball flight. Developers started to use doplar radar to tackle this issue – a solution that succeeded in outdoor environments where the radar can ‘see’ the whole flight of the ball, but still very limited where the ball is hit into a screen just two metres away. Radar systems cannot accurately measure spin, and cannot be used for putting – two fundamental limitations that we believe will limit the future for operators invested in such platforms.
Third Generation Simulators (2008 - present) The rapid emergence of smart phones featuring high-quality cameras lead to enormous advances in camera technologies, while huge volumes and economies of scale reducing the price of hardware components. Our frustration with the limitations of second gen simulators led us to start work on a proprietary ball-tracking system – an investment that led us to meet with aboutGOLF, whose CEO Bill Bales, who gave us a private demonstration of a prototype camera-based system. We joined forces with aboutGOLF and have used their camera-based ball tracking in our venues ever since, as well as installing aboutGOLF technology in hundreds of commercial and residential settings in the 15 years since then.