Play Pebble Beach, the Old Course at St. Andrews or up to 40 renowned virtual golf courses. Work on your short game. Improve your swing. Finish 18 holes in less than two hours. Such is the case when introduced to AboutGolf’s technologically savvy indoor golf simulators.

AboutGolf Limited, based in Maumee, is the fastest-growing private company in the golf industry, according to Inc. magazine’s 2007 list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the United States. The company, in business since 1988, is the world leader in indoor golf simulator technology.

In addition to producing such game software as Microsoft Golf, Greg Norman Ultimate Challenge Golf, Microsoft Golf and World Tours, AboutGolf has revolutionized the golf simulator business by announcing two new technological advances:  3Trak technology and SimSurround golf simulators.

Over the years, golf simulators have gone from toys to tools for improving your swing. Stores throughout the country, including Golf Galaxy, Golf Town and PGA Tour SuperStore, use golf simulators for selling golf clubs. Today’s simulators use technology like never before.

Take, for example, AboutGolf’s recent announcement about its radical new technology called “3Trak,” introduced last week at the 2008 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.

“The 3Trak vision system provides the world’s most advanced and accurate ball and club-tracking data. It is the first and only system to directly measure spin and spin axis,” AboutGolf CEO Bill Bales said.

3Trak uses 3-D machine vision, or high-speed photography. Bales said this is the highest scientific standard in ball and club tracking. The vision system applies three “smart” cameras, designed by AboutGolf, which contain three cutting-edge processor cores as well as an amazing proprietary technique to process up to nearly 2,000 frames per second virtually instantaneously, he said.

“We are developing technology that combines teaching and club fitting content with artificial intelligence to take advantage of the data our various monitor technology provides. The goal is to be able to highly automate teaching, club fitting and self-analysis, as well as learn new things about the golf swing and the various equipment used,” Bales said.

“We are now targeting [our company] to become the dominant force in golf performance technology, an industry that is just forming,” Bales said. “The golf industry has been slow to understand technology.”

He said, “AboutGolf is positioned to bring legitimate technology to [things] from the past that are not wholly functional.”

Analysts of launch monitors, including Tony Nelson, president of Fairborn, Ohio-based Advanced Golf Solutions, LLC, have found that the 3Trak system can calculate the backspin and side rotation of the golf ball.

“This system can precisely measure the true backspin, sidespin and rifle spin of the ball. The end result is amazing,” Nelson said.

Another technological advancement AboutGolf has launched is its patent-pending indoor golf simulator model, SimSurround, which takes indoor golf to another level, Bales said. Powered by 3Trak technology, the SimSurround simulator uses a three-screen technology where the user, standing on the tee, is surrounded by the graphical display of the golf course.

“This provides almost total immersion. Now our golf courses have three times the viewing area of the standard system,” Bales said.

He said the SimSurround unit can fit into as little as 16 feet in width and can be configured with custom cabinetry in an interior space. The cost is approximately $60,000.

After nearly 20 years in business, AboutGolf is launching AboutGolf Labs, a state-of-the-art research campus that will include at least two separate buildings, designed to resemble the clubhouse at New York’s famous Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. To be located in Ottawa Lake, Mich., the AboutGolf facility will include both real and artificial teeing areas, a 350-yard driving range surrounded by towering trees and a putting green in a country club-like environment. The company’s labs will include its core staff of 12 design engineers who develop technology for enhancing indoor golf experiences.

AboutGolf’s sales growth has led to an international outreach effort in Europe, Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia. The company is a subsidiary of Friendly Software and now has software available in six languages.

Locally, Toledo’s Tamaron Country Club features AboutGolf simulators in its indoor golf center. Tamaron offers indoor golf memberships and leagues in addition to single rounds and driving range time on the simulators.

Kristine Hoffman is host and producer of “Business 360,” which airs every Monday and Friday on WGTE-TV, during PBS’ “Nightly Business Report” at approximately 7:45 p.m. She can be reached at kristine_hoffman@wgte.org.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under TFP Version 1.
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