"Apps May Kill Golf As We Know It"
Roger Groves thinks smart phone apps will eventually kill the game. I'm not sure I'm buying it, but he certainly makes an interesting case that they could, at some point, add to golf's slow play woes.
The way I play, 18 holes is long enough. Apps that prolong it and then remind me of my failures are App-torturous and should be illegal. Yet we would have to reverse the profit motive in one of America’s most lucrative and ascendant for-profit industries to stop the intrusion of Apps and STU phones on the course. There is probably no handicap that can equalize my chances of avoiding these consequences.
As of early December, 2011, we crossed the threshold of having over one million Apps. The techno golf era is stalking the fairways. Nothing I see is sending it back to the clubhouse until every player is solicited with Apps for the swing, the strategy, the shot, the statistics, the co-golfer comparisons, and other score-dropping calculations from your STU phone. Don’t expect the golf courses to ban STU phones. If billion-dollar football and basketball industries cannot resist the advertising revenues, why would a struggling golf course industry? Will you resist? See you at the “How to Correct your Slice” App.
And on that note, Golf Digest announced two new partnerships, including a GolfLogix app tie-in that Groves will hate and a GolfNow app with course ranking info.
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 08:29 PM
Reader Comments (25)
Up until last week, I worked for a education and golf foundation that rewarded kids with Golf if they did good in their studies. Most of them did great with the education, and a lot of them/the majority of them hated it and didn't understand golf at all with no intention of ever learning--just like me when I was a kid, where I swore that Golf was for old people next to death. We are talking kids that complained and even threatened to quit the foundation because they hated golf that much.
Early last year, some of us started utilizing iPhones and iPads (at our own expense) with the V1 Swing analyzer app and we started showing them their swings on video whilst on the driving range. We drew the colored lines that are included on these apps to show them what they were doing right, and mentioned a few things they could improve on--because we all want the positive--suddenly, I myself saw a remarkable advancement in engaging the ones that didn't want to hit shots. I let them operate the iPad; let them email it to themselves so they could watch and read their swings when they got home and up until last week, when this wonderful foundation shuttered its doors forever, they were engaged into Golf, and it was the very electronics gizmos that got them there....
If we want golf to succeed throughout the world, or at least here in America, we have to engage the youth and make them feel that there is nothing to worry about. That its O.K. to fail, and succeed, and prosper and do so in a healthy, honest way.
Golf is that for me despite my opinions so long ago. It changed my life. (imagine that)
You can make an many arguments that smartphones will speed up play - they all have gps radios - eventually someone will hook all phones together to get distance from measurements so people know exactly when to hit and waiting for someone 300 yards away to clear will be a thing of the past for one instance. Hell I bet someone could write an app that runs simultaneously on each person in a foursome and tell them what to do to keep pace, like that gadget/smartphone app that keeps your fitness stats and tells you when to move around.
For now, since slow play doesn't seem to be going anytime away soon, I am glad I can pretty much do whatever I can do on a computer on the course while waiting for the group in front of me taking 10 minutes to find their balls.
Slow play is a people problem first, it doesn't originate from smartphones.
You can make an many arguments that smartphones will speed up play - they all have gps radios - eventually someone will hook all phones together to get distance from measurements so people know exactly when to hit and waiting for someone 300 yards away to clear will be a thing of the past for one instance. Hell I bet someone could write an app that runs simultaneously on each person in a foursome and tell them what to do to keep pace, like that gadget/smartphone app that keeps your fitness stats and tells you when to move around.
For now, since slow play doesn't seem to be going anytime away soon, I am glad I can pretty much do whatever I can do on a computer on the course while waiting for the group in front of me taking 10 minutes to find their balls.
Slow play is a people problem first, it doesn't originate from smartphones.
As for slow play...yes it is a "people" problem more than a gizmo problem...but they don't help people stay focused on the game IMO...they help distract some people from being ready to play when it's their turn, all it takes is a few groups and then the course is backed up. In the end, each club should have the decision making power whether to allow cell phones on the course and other related policies.
And...for all the wonder those apps promise, they won't help you carry it 200 over water from a hanging lie to a front pin...that's up to what you brought to the plate that day....thank god for that!
We have tested it here at Rockbottum CC and found it actually works.
http://youtu.be/jp8QxN0p9QM
I have an iPhone and a yardage app. It's a great tool on courses I've never played before to know what I'm up against. But for yardages, by far the coolest thing ever is the Garmin Approach gps watch. It doesn't get any better. Several players I play with have bought one after seeing mine.
I use a GPS app to get my yardages and keep my score. It speeds up my play; by the time I get to the ball, 2 seconds later I've got a yardage and a club in mind. Step in, hit the shot, rinse, repeat. I input my score walking from green to the next tee. Playing on my own, I'm done 18 in ~3hrs if I've got no one in front of me. Not having the need to "eyeball it" or look for a sprinkler head can only speed up play, not slow it down.
Groves comes across as a curmudgeon in the article who's selective memory from one day on the links prompted the doom-and-gloom article. "Public course users can buy its older iPhone 3 for as low as $49..." I wasn't aware Apple had a lower priced option for all the lower income players relegated to public course play, thank you.
@Marge, maybe you should suggest he enters the data while you're riding in your cart from the green to the next tee and not be so judgmental on the gent for using his phone on the course.
As a spectator sport, golf is propped up by Tiger Woods and Tiger Woods alone. The other players, nice as they may be, lack charisma. Take Tiger out of the mix and what do you have (please avoid the oh so witty remarks about his personal life, deceit, role model,etc.)?
Sure, you've got the "course condition" apps, but I tend to play the tiny, local courses near me. However, on the training and coaching side of things there seem to be some real winners out there. Instant critiquing, sharing and coaching certainly can't hurt someone who's trying to improve their game. One of the coolest apps that I've downloaded recently has been the "Coach's Eye" app. It lets me or my instructor record my swing, and then play it back in Slo-Mo or go frame-by-frame using a nifty little scroll bar. Add to that the ability to draw on the video, record feedback, and email, MMS, tweet or upload it to YouTube.
Everybody has an iPhone or Droid lately, and the fact that, with two clicks, I can capture the results of my $100/hour lessons and review them instantly or later on at home make a $5 or $10 investment in a quick app so well worth it.
At the end of the round, I also know where my misses are going, so I can work on that at the range, to play better (speed up) my next round.
Plus, if I'm with a slow playing hemmer/hawer I can just drop their info - "You're 150 to the flag, 120 to carry.... Five iron or so?" They indignantly answer something like "No. That's an 8!" Then hurry to make their club choice and hit. Just to show me how much better they are than I think. It's a great way to eliminate wasted time.
I love my apps.
Roger sounds to have a fear of technology. I wonder if he might have suggested 5 years ago that GPS units in cars would cause more people to get lost and take longer to reach their destinations?
Sorry Roger, but you need to rethink this one.