Anybody visiting the recent PGA Merchandise Show, in Orlando, would have seen one brand of technology dominating the event: Foresight Sports. Its GC2 and HMT systems were in action all across the show, both as individual units for analysing ball flight and club-head data and also as full-immersion simulators.
In total, around 20 standalone GC2 units were in operation, while manufacturers Callaway and Ping alone had seven Foresight simulators in use between them, with a dozen utilised across the show.
That included one on the stand of Jack Nicklaus Digital Course Solutions, which provides value-added concierge services to the signature brand’s network of exclusive courses. The Florida-based company – a provider of innovative digital and mobile app-based solutions, such as 3D course fly-bys and tee-time scheduling – announced that it had chosen Foresight Sports as its exclusive provider of golf simulation technology.
Bobby Root, manager of technical applications at Nicklaus Design, said: “Foresight Sports’ performance simulation solutions represent a perfect complement to our current services. The golf industry is seeing a rapidly growing interest in simulation for a variety of reasons that range from serious club fitting to pure entertainment, and it’s clear that Foresight Sports’ technologies are leading the market in terms of accuracy, reliability and value.”
The company is now offering Foresight Sports’ simulation to its clients as part of a larger, value-added offering, and, simultaneously, Foresight Sports will be adding a full complement of Nicklaus courses to its current simulation library.
The prevalence of the GC2 on the 1,000,000 ft2 of exhibition floor is testament to the fact that many others within golf concur with Root’s appraisal of Foresight Sports market-leading credentials.
The GC2 – which measures ball-flight data at launch using ultra-high-speed cameras – and HMT (Head Measurement Technology) is clearly the most in-demand technology in golf, having revolutionised club fitting and analysis since its launch in 2010. It was swiftly approved and recommended by many of the world’s leading club manufacturers including Titleist, Cleveland/Srixon, Cobra/Puma, PING and TaylorMade. It’s also used by many of the world’s top professional golfers – and, clearly, dozens of other companies within the golf industry.
The GC2 is also familiar to TV viewers who tune in regularly to watch Sky Sports PGA Tour coverage, as it provides the data that drives the Shot Centre simulator. And the UK’s best-selling golf magazine, Today’s Golfer, has recently adopted the technology for its equipment tests and coaching features, with editor Chris Jones admitting the GC2 “…blew me away!”.
Through the distribution channels of Foresight Sports Europe, it is also in use at dozens of golf clubs, driving ranges and hotels, where its portability and flexibility lends itself to coaching, club-fitting and simulation, ideal for the recent weather which has seen many courses closed during the past few weeks.
Edward Doling, sales director for Surrey-based Foresight Sports Europe, said: “The dominance of the GC2 at the recent PGA Merchandise Show was staggering – both in terms of full simulator use and as standalone GC2 and HMT systems. It confirms what many of us have known for some time, that the GC2 is the most accurate, flexible and affordable technology on the market today.
“So many big-name companies are now coming out and saying it, or acknowledging it, by using the GC2 as their preferred and recommended technology. And that is reflected in our experience, because as soon as we demonstrate it to people they immediately see the potential. That’s why we always say, if you’re considering technology for your business please do get us in for a demonstration or come along to one of our demo days. Seeing the Foresight system in action really is believing.”
Demand for the innovative Foresight technology continues to grow month on month, as the introduction of HMT means all teaching professionals and club-fitters can gain access to critical club-head data, including dynamic loft and lie, as well as ball-impact location – all to unprecedented levels of accuracy. Previous techniques for calculating this information often proved inaccurate, but GC2 and HMT technology offers sub-millimetre accuracy on critical data and whereas, previously, such expertise would have been available only for use in R&D departments of the major manufacturers, now it is available to all golfers, either directly, if they purchase a unit, or indirectly through their club pro.
Doling added: “The GC2 directly measures all of the core ball-flight data at launch using ultra-high-speed, dual-camera technology. In principle, the HMT does the same thing, only with the golf club. HMT represents a quantum leap in terms of technology available to the golf industry. By looking directly at the clubface, HMT is the only technology that directly measures club-head data into and through the ball.
“Just like the GC2, HMT is incredibly easy to use. Attach it to the GC2, turn it on and you’re done. It really is that simple. You just put it down, turn it on and you’re ready to go.”
The Foresight Sports GC2 costs £5,295; HMT costs £4,990. An indoor swing room starts from £12,500 or a hard-sided, full immersion simulator, fully installed, starts at £21,995. The cost of the complete Foresight range can be spread with an easy-finance option starting from just £6 per day. All prices exclude VAT.
Foresight Sports www.foresightsports.co.uk