We featured the GAME GOLF device in the beginning of 2014 and it was one of the biggest product announcements during the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show. Since its inception, many PGA TOUR professionals have advocated for the device including Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and Jim Furyk. The device works by using GPS and motion sensing technology. Over the last two months, we’ve had the opportunity to test GAME GOLF ourselves and in this post, we will share our experiences with you!
GAME GOLF believes that improvement in golf comes from monitoring what you’re doing. The platform enables golfers to capture all of their statistics and trends in their golf game, upload it onto a computer and allow them to review their game and share with their friends. This is done with a “tap and go” model with a lightweight, non-invasive, easy to use and seamless device that hooks onto your belt buckle. When we received the package, we were very impressed. First impressions were feelings of excitement – the packaging comes in a white and orange box that would be suitable for any high-end electronic device. The box includes the wearable device, a protective pouch, USB cord and 18 tags for your clubs, which “screw” into the butt of your golf grip.
The first step is set up, which is extremely easy. Simply plug the GAME GOLF device into your computer and set up an account online. Through your account, you set up your “virtual bag” to have each tag correspond to a specific club. You will also need to download the software (.EXE file) for your computer. Before your first use, make sure to leave the device plugged in for two to three hours to fully charge. In the meantime, you can screw each tag into the butt of your golf grip and you’re ready to go! The tags do not do any damage to your grips. Set up in total takes about 15 minutes.
Next comes on course use. The first time we brought it out on the golf course, we got a ton of questions about what these orange tags were on our golf clubs and what that device we’re wearing on our belt buckle does. After a quick explanation, the other golfers in our group were definitely interested and excited to see the results. Because it was the first time out with the device, we did forget to “tag” our golf clubs a couple of times. That’s fine though, as you can review your round and statistics online after uploading the data onto the computer. You’ll know that a tag has been successful when the GAME GOLF device vibrates. In addition to adding “missed tags,” you can also add penalty strokes and more before you “sign” your virtual scorecard and post the round to your account.
Once your round is complete, you can go home and upload your round for review onto GAME GOLF. Once uploaded, you can see all of your statistics for that round including average distances per club, fairways hit, greens hit, putts per hole, scrambling and most recently, tee shot and approach shot dispersion (see video below). With all this data, you can definitely analyze your game post-round to see exactly what you have to work on, whether it be eliminating the big miss or shots around the green. Distance averages should be taken with a pinch of salt though – for example, one of your drives could hit a tree and bounce backwards thus, bringing down your club average. After editing your round, you can “sign” your scorecard for the round which then makes the data unchangeable. See screenshots of the Game Golf interface in the photos below.
Some things we noticed though is that during our round review, sometimes tagged shots can be off by a couple of yards. Some shots that were on the fairway that got tagged in the rough and vice versa – nothing a bit of quick editing won’t fix however, if you’re playing on a course you’re less familiar with, it may be more difficult to recall all of your shots. Furthermore, if one’s game starts to deteriorate mid-round, they may not want to tag their shots for the rest of their game.
From the social perspective, you can share your stats and rounds of golf with the public as well as follow other people (even the pros like Graeme, Lee and Jim!) to see how your game compares to others! It can definitely be a lot of fun. Overall, GAME GOLF is a easy to use device that allows golfers to monitor their golf games in order to see exactly what they need to improve on. It’s a great way to analyze and understand your game and see exactly where you’re losing your strokes. Make sure to visit the GAME GOLF website for more information – you can purchase the device for USD $249.
Source: GAME GOLF
