Life is increasingly an augmented reality experience. Golf, less so. But a new smart phone app, called Golf Scope, is aiming to change that. The app launched on Monday.
Watch pros like world No. 2 Dustin Johnson and No. 5 Jordan Spieth reach the green, and you might see them pull out and study a little booklet before lining up and taking their best shot. Inside are maps of every green, with notes on the slope and speed of putting surfaces. A low-tech solution to an increasingly high-tech game where even putters might cost $500 and be carefully constructed from a selection of different materials.
Golf Scope’s higher-tech solution is an iOS app that uses your phone’s camera to read the exact topography of a green. First you scan your phone around until the app finds your ball, then you walk to the hole, keeping the camera pointed at the ground you’re passing over. Once Golf Scope has that data, it generates a trajectory for the optimum putt, and overlays that on your phone’s view of the real green along with tips on where to aim and how hard to hit the ball. Forget Pokémon Go, think Pokémon Golf.
But despite the power that technology like Golf Scope seems to offer to lower scores, there is a snag to adoption in the pro game. Any types of artificial device or unusual equipment that measures anything on a course and might affect play is prohibited.
In May 2017, the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the two organizations that control golf’s official rulebook, weighed in on this subject. “The R&A and the USGA believe that a player’s ability to read greens is an essential part of the skill of putting,” they wrote in a joint statement. “Rule 14-3 limits the use of equipment and devices that might assist a player in their play, based on the principle that golf is a challenging game in which success should depend on the judgment, skills and abilities of the player. We are concerned about the rapid development of increasingly detailed materials that players are using to help with reading greens during a round.”
Notably, the “materials” the sport’s rule makers are concerned about includes not just apps like Golf Scope, but even the notebooks top players are currently using.
However, the USGA and R&A left a hint that rules could change. “We are reviewing the use of these materials to assess whether any actions need to be taken to protect this important part of the game,” they wrote. “We expect to address this matter further in the coming months.” A spokesperson for Golf Scope explained that the company itself will do everything it can to expedite the process of making this type of device legal for professionals.
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SportTechie Takeaway
While professionals aren’t (yet) offered the use of performance-improving electronic tech during a round, amateurs are. For those of us looking to improve our game, there are options similar to Golf Scope. Take the Gen i1 Smart Golf Ball, for example. A bluetooth-enabled sensor inside of the ball tracks metrics related to putts and delivers them straight to your phone. This can help you understand why you might be missing putts one way or another on a consistent basis.
One piece of tech that has been permitted by the USGA under certain conditions is Arccos Caddie. This is a premium feature within the Arccos 360 app that uses AI to help with club selection and create an attack plan for every hole you play.