How has technology impacted the golf game?

With new technologies such as game improvement irons, smart golf balls, foul-weather gear, and analytics to help guide the golfer, it is hard to realize that the sport has not always been this way. Since the early days of golf, players have continually tried to revolutionize the sport’s equipment. 

In fact, the players themselves made the earliest golf equipment out of wood. Soon, they hired craftsmen to produce higher quality equipment. By the 1500s, the playing set included “longnoses” for driving, fairway clubs or grassed drivers for medium range shots, spoons for short shots, and a putting cleek—still made out of wood. It was not until 1750 that craftsmen made the club heads out of iron. In the 1870s, factories began to mass-produce iron club heads, making them more consistent and lighter.  

The game grew in popularity as production companies began to experiment with their designs in the 1900s. In 1925, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the governing body of golf, legalized the use of steel shafted clubs, which provided greater accuracy and durability. It also introduced a 14-club rule, which regulated golfers to carry 14 clubs instead of their average 20 to 30. The traditional names were also soon replaced by today’s numbering system. Following World War II, many golf clubs were introduced, such as the Ping Putter, the graphite shaft, and the Big Bertha driver. 

Today, the gear is typically made from metal, and drivers can be adjusted to a certain weight. Golfers have also seen the introduction of custom-made golf clubs, such as PXGs, which cannot be bought at any store, but rather are custom fitted and built for each golfer. Not only have companies remodeled golf clubs, but they have also adapted other parts of the game with the help of technology. 

One of the first new additions to the course today is golf carts with GPS or a satellite-based Global Positioning System. The golf course management system, powered through a computer and a 10-inch display, shows an overview of every hole to allow the golfer to find the next hole and how to play the shot. The system also provides different views of the course and score data. 

Sensors on the golf cart can also determine the distance from the tee to the ball. Using distance measuring lasers, golfers can easily assess the number of yards required for any shot. They can also use swing sensors, attached to gloves or clubs, to measure swing speed, tempo, and angle to guide them in taking a shot. Some golf courses also use sensors beneath the driving range to measure pressure and stance. The Doppler radar can measure the golfer’s movement, the shot distance, and the trajectory of the ball. 

Apps such as Arccos are using sensors to provide data tracking to help golfers improve their swings. The sensors, placed at the butt end of a club grip, are all golf-swing based, much like launch monitor technology. The clubs transmit data from the sensors to the app, which then turns the phone into a GPS rangefinder to measure the distance of certain preprogrammed courses. The system captures thousands of location data points during every round to provide golfers with specific advice on how far to hit each shot, which club to use, and what skills they need to brush up on. It also considers elevation and weather, including wind speed, wind direction, precipitation, and temperature, as well as collects data on how the golfer grips the club and determines a good grip through machine learning. 

Initially, PGA ShotLink was designed to keep historical data and the game’s score, but today it provides information on how players can improve their games. Because the system provides in-depth data and analyzes performance, golfers are always in the know. In fact, Dustin Johnson, a Butch Harmon School of Golf pupil and the number one ranked golfer worldwide, uses similar data to improve his short game.

Through augmented reality (AR), golfers can similarly use an app to scan the golf course around them and create a digital interface of the hazards and best paths in the real world, and in real time. 

Moving toward the turn, the impact when a golf club hits the ball lasts only 1/2000 of a second; this is when gravity and aerodynamics take over. Thus, aerodynamic optimization is important to shooting an ace. A smooth golf ball would travel only half as far as one with dimples. The dimples’ lift (directs the ball upwards) and drag (directs the ball against the motion) are sensitive to the dimples’ depth. The dimples allow a thin turbulent layer of air to follow the ball’s surface a little farther around the back, decreasing the drag.

NASA calls the Wilson Ultra 500 Series golf ball “the most symmetrical ball surface available, sustaining initial velocity longer and producing the most stable ball flight for unmatched accuracy and distance.” The ball, which features dimples of three different sizes, shapes, and depths, optimizes aerodynamics. The large dimples reduce drag and enhance the lift, the small dimples  prevent excessive lift, and the medium size dimples blend the two. 

Golfers have also been introduced to smart balls such as the GEN i1 and GENiUS Balls. Each of the two has an embedded sensor and onboard MCU that transmits data to a smartphone via Bluetooth. The balls can measure total distance, backspin, and initial ball speed. They can also connect to a club to provide more detail into the grip and force of the shot.

Maintaining a golf course is also much more easily manageable with technology. Remote sensors can report soil moisture, temperature, and salt concentration to smartphones and computers in minutes. They can also monitor the irrigation system, assess golf course conditions, record pesticide and fertilizer applications, track labor and inventory, and much more. Portable infrared cameras can also spot turf stress long before a human eye can. For example, in Sensative and Sensefarm’s greens project, Sensefarm’s sensors can take measurements of moisture in the ground, which are then collected by an IoT network built with the standard LoRaWAN protocol and shared via a cloud-based service to give an overview of how much water is consumed and needed during different periods. 

Technology has enabled broadcasters to quickly find the information they need. The PGA Tour collects around 32,000 data points at each game and has 174 million shot attributes in its database. The PGA Tour Content Relevancy Engine (CRE) enables the new ShotLink+ system to compile the data using AI. 

As with many other industries, technology is changing the way golfers play year over year. Though it is hard to know what the future holds, one can only predict what lies ahead. 

With engineers still researching the dynamics of impact, face rebound speeds, the center of gravity locations, and visual alignment, it is only fair to assume that the golf club will evolve to become more efficient yet lightweight. The industry has also begun experimenting with 3D-printed parts and new materials, such as steel, tungsten, urethanes, and plastics. 

Smart golf balls may become trackable as a way to find stray shots and to log rounds. They will also continue to capture data like rotational axis, rate, velocity, aerodynamic lift, and trajectory.

As for the actual golf courses, convenience will be key. Technology such as robotic mowers will become the norm. Drones can also help monitor the course area for any spots that need maintenance or control water treatment. With the rise of autonomous vehicles, driverless golf carts seem like another possibility. 

However, the question remains: How will the future of golf change?