About Golf How Acurate is it

[Dave W]

Well i play the About Golf today for 1 hr on the range. What i found was a little surprising. The set up used two camera sets at 45 degree angles facing downward.
The hitting area used fairway, rough, sand , tee and stance mat left and right. To all wondering if the hitting surface makes a difference check this out.

6 iron weak grip 135 yrd strong grip 150 yrd on the fairway turf which was about 3/4" thick and soft underneath. I moved over to the stance mat which was stiffer and much firmer underneath and hit 165 which is about normal. My swing speed changed from 72 mph to 84 mph just from the mat change. I could not hit my hybrids off the fairway turf because it would divit to deep and slow the club down to hit anywhere from 110 yds to 200 yds. Not consistent.

I switched over to the driver and gave it my killer slam which usually ends in a major slice. The screen showed a fade of 20 yds off center. I know that 's not the real deal so i started thinking what could be wrong this isn't no better than Opti or Pro T. Well i was using my own unmarked balls and when i switched to the house marked balls things changed. The markings on the ball looked like the hieroglyphics's that predator had on it's wrist band control. After hitting the house balls the slices and draws came to life( way more realistic ). The markings really did not change the distance.

Club angles were a joke. Now i know why you guy's want club measurements and ball measurements together. Every Time i hit a slice it would show a open face with a straight approach. No in-out or out-in. I purposely swung in to out a ton to see what would happen and it showed a straight approach face closed pull to the left. I'm right handed.

I was not impressed with the ball flight at least not for this kind of jing. (That's Money for who don't know the slang).

I will be going back next Monday to play 18 with a friend. If Anybody wants me to check out anything let me know.

I did hit the Pro T sim on the range and had similar Results. I now know why you tweak the software and how valuable it can be.

Dave

[ZMax]

I switched over to the driver and gave it my killer slam which usually ends in a major slice. The screen showed a fade of 20 yds off center. I know that 's not the real deal so i started thinking what could be wrong this isn't no better than Opti or Pro T. Well i was using my own unmarked balls and when i switched to the house marked balls things changed. The markings on the ball looked like the hieroglyphics's that predator had on it's wrist band control. After hitting the house balls the slices and draws came to life( way more realistic ). The markings really did not change the distance.

So, the markings allowed the software to detect side spin, which made the ball flight more realistic. This is the reality. A 30-40k commercial simulator such as the Full Swing Golf simulator(with no club data) must have a spin camera. If not, it's a 30-40K piece of junk compared to a $400 Optishot.

Club angles were a joke. Now i know why you guy's want club measurements and ball measurements together. Every Time i hit a slice it would show a open face with a straight approach. No in-out or out-in. I purposely swung in to out a ton to see what would happen and it showed a straight approach face closed pull to the left. I'm right handed.

This is why most here say that it's important to have club data. It's also why the GC2 is adding club data.

I was not impressed with the ball flight at least not for this kind of jing. (That's Money for who don't know the slang).

I will be going back next Monday to play 18 with a friend. If Anybody wants me to check out anything let me know.

Can you try some flop shots, pitching, and chipping? I'm curious about the reported LA.

I did hit the Pro T sim on the range and had similar Results. I now know why you tweak the software and how valuable it can be.

Dave

Was it the old 2008 or earlier Protee? You could tell by the software it was using. ProX(Protee) or Protee Play 2.0.

Yes, tweaking is very important and I have yet to see a simulator I didn't have to tweak. One of the key factors I look for in a simulator software is the ability to tweak, especially the ball flight.

Thank you very much for posting your experience on the About Golf sim.

[ZMax]

I was not impressed with the ball flight at least not for this kind of jing. (That's Money for who don't know the slang).

Even when you started using the house marked ball, you weren't impressed with the ball flight? If not, that is sad, but I'm not really surprised by it. Perhaps some tweaking is needed.

[Dave W]

sorry it was the earlier version on the P3.

The markings on the ball helped quite a bit. If the markings were not there this sim did not impress me at all for the money. I haven't hit on a lot of sims but there was something that was noticeably wrong without markings.

I did hit the 56 and launched the ball into the ceiling. The distance showed 80 yds. For the amount of swing i put in it was about right.

In the ceiling there were baffles to slow the ball and knock it down. They worked really good.

The screen was a thin fabric very light. I seen a pic on this site before cant remember where.

[Dave W]

Going to play Pebble Beach next Monday. Give me things to look for and i will report back.

I also used the Full swing at Dicks.

[ZMax]

sorry it was the earlier version on the P3.

What's a P3?

[bubba22]

I personally think the About golf is very accurate and have used them several times. The ones I have used will pick up a mrking on the ball and use that to measure spin. The price of the About Golf is what is over the top. That is similair for the HD golf, Visual sports sim, Full Swing etc. They are just way too much for the average Joe. For that price range and quality, the GC2 is a steal.

[Dave W]

What's a P3?

P3proswing.

Bubba

I don't think the GC2 is a steal i cant justify the the cost of the About Golf.
Where is the money.

I used the Full Swing at Dick's and liked the ball trajectory better. There was not a lot of difference but it seemed more realistic.

[bubba22]

Most people would consider the About Golf over the Full swing. I have played on both and I think the About is better. The full swing is based on sensor technology and I don't think the ability to capture spin is as good as high speed cameras.

My comment was that the GC2 at 6500 (and up with courses) is a steal compared to the About, Full swing etc which are in the 50,000 dollar range. Do you not agree with that? Obviously that "steal" is for people that can afford 50,000 which there are , but not me.

[blackfire]

the guys from fullswing are recommending the GC2 as an replacement option if you don't have 110 000$ personnay I'd choose GC2 before fullswing as they are measuring spin and not full swing that is only measuring ball path, launch angle and speed.

but still you pay 15 000$ if you whant 5 courses club cam and ball cam.

I talked with a pro in US that as about sim, HD sim and protee and told me that the protee is better to show ball shape as it measures club path and face angle as well as ball initial direction.

I think at the end it dependes on how much you whant to pay and what you whant.

A BMW is a great looking car with luxury and performance but still not the most reliable one

[bubba22]

My point is exactly that. About golf is a great sim as is the Full Swing. I personally would chose the About Golf over the Full Swing. They are pricey and over the top for most of us.. I think the GC2 is as good and at a cheaper price. It is like the Flightscope vs Trackman debate. I am very happy with my ProTee and will be even happier once the updates are ready.

[blackfire]

I agree for protee and decided to go that also

[Dave W]

I will have to give more feedback on Monday when i play the course.

[rdh]

One thing I've always been a bit disappointed with from AboutGolf is their software. I need to qualify that by saying I've never played a round on an AboutGolf simulator, but I think that is what is at GolfTown, and I watch the Golf Channel a fair bit so I see it on Michael Breed's show, and I've always been underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong...it looks okay and is (in my opinion) maybe comparable to GSA Golf, but on a $50K unit I'd be expecting a lot more personally.

[ZMax]

I agree for protee and decided to go that also

Are you sure? You know you will have to tweaks some things on the Protee.

I think you should go ahead and get the GC2, since it's what you really want. Throw in club data and you'll be in 7 heaven. It's only 15K anyway and it's a lot less that the About Golf simulators.

[blackfire]

Yes Zmax but 15K would take me almost 2 years to get as I'm paying everything cash.

buy the base unit in august then the software with 5 courses in january and the club add on in december 2012.

All this time I would have to keep a tight budget and I'm not sure I whant that.

I'm freak with golf but I have a family and whant to do something else then spending all my money in a simulator.

I think that I will have something good enough to practice accurately and play without loosing my swing and will learn by doing tweaking test like you do guys

[rdh]

I think you're making the perfect decision blackfire. These technologies are exciting and very cool, but let's be reasonable and keep things in perspective. You can get a very solid system for a reasonable price that doesn't force you to jeopardize other aspects of your life.

[blackfire]

I'm realy happy with my decision.

It was'nt an ease one but I'm in peace with it and just hope that I'll still be happy after receiving the unit

I think I will. and more with the launch angle update soon

[ZMax]

I'm realy happy with my decision.

It was'nt an ease one but I'm in peace with it and just hope that I'll still be happy after receiving the unit

I think I will. and more with the launch angle update soon

Did you just buy the Protee 2.0?

Congrats blackfire. I hope it's what you're looking for and more.

Remember to come back here and give us a full review.

[blackfire]

I'm ordering next week

[Dave W]

The Aboutgolf Monday follow up.

I played the back 9 at Pebble Beach and 9 at the Teeth of the Dog.

I will go backward.

Putting
The putting was pretty much the real deal. The green's were a little slow but i think that could be controlled with an adjustment. Without the grid you would be a dead duck.

S wedge chipping
Here the system could use a little tweaking. No penalty for sand. That could be an adjustment though. Chipping 10 yrds from the fringe and landing on the green was a little to forgiving. I hit a low liner chip that should have rolled off the other side of the green a fair amount but stayed on.

Irons
The 6,7,8,9,P were probably as real as you could get. The P wedge and the 9 were spot on in how i swing speed vs distance. I was impressed.

Hybrid 4,5
Were good

Driver
Would pick up a fade or a pull. A bad slice or a strong draw just didn't seem to realistic. The sim would show a slow curve for a long distance kind of like a push fade together. The distance was good. I hit balls at my house into a field and then rolled them out. ( Measured ) average drive 230 yds. On the sim 226 yds.

The Hitting surface
This is the down fall. Tee is fine. The fairway turf is to soft underneath and will just flat out kill the the swing speed. A good swing with a 6 iron and brushing the top of the fairway turf will land you 110-115 yds. The rough pad and the sand pad don't waste you money. All they do is fluff the ball real nice unless you step on the ball and bury it. The stance mat was the place to put the ball for irons and hybrid but was off center 8 to 10 inches. Don't know if that will throw things off from being off center.

The projector
The pictured flat out was bad. The pixels seemed to far apart. The color was bland. Depth perception was really hard on long shots. Looking for the pin from 170 out was tough. You could compare this with a 1990 TV to today's digital.

The screen
The outer skin was a cloth like material very thin like a piece of white felt. I guess its the material you guy's call cordura ??? The surprising part while digging for my ball i found this felt like material was backed by a net that had very small holes maybe 1/8" or 1/4" with some tension on it. I will have to go back and do a little more digging.

All in all i had fun. Will this sim improve my game, the answer is without a doubt. Would i spend 50k, hell no! I think from the information on this board and the feedback from different sims the accuracy of this sim is easily obtainable from a mid grade system without the cost.

Dave

[ZMax]

Thanks for the update Dave. It sounds like a Pro7/Protee 2.0/GGS with LA, at $4-7K, will actually be better, with tweaking, than the About Golf sims.

Wow! I'm thinking the GGS+LA+E6 will probably blow away the About Golf simulator.

[bubba22]

Thanks for the review Dave. I am very happy with my sensor mat. Don't get me wrong, if anyone out there wants to trade their About golf system with me then pm me . I do think that the add on option are nice and I am patiently awaiting the LA. The nice thing about the GSA is the modularity and endless upgrade options including the E6 when available.

[Dave W]

Thanks for the update Dave. It sounds like a Pro7/Protee 2.0/GGS with LA, at $4-7K, will actually be better, with tweaking, than the About Golf sims.

Wow! I'm thinking the GGS+LA+E6 will probably blow away the About Golf simulator.

The software without a doubt. From your tweaking and adjustments i don't see why you can't achieve the same accuracy with cameras. I'm sure there stuff can use a little tweaking but my guess there is no one there that can handle it. One other downfall to the system is club angles. I think for anybody in the 15 and over handicap this is a must. I will try to go again next week and do a little digging into the construction part of it with some pics.

Dave

[ZMax]

The software without a doubt. From your tweaking and adjustments i don't see why you can't achieve the same accuracy with cameras. I'm sure there stuff can use a little tweaking but my guess there is no one there that can handle it. One other downfall to the system is club angles. I think for anybody in the 15 and over handicap this is a must. I will try to go again next week and do a little digging into the construction part of it with some pics.

Dave

No, there is probably nobody there that knows how to do it. These commercial systems are designed for ease of use and fun. A big part of the price is installation/setup and service.

Did it have two cameras? Left and right? How were they positition or pointed?

[rdh]

E6 does look fantastic. Like I said, I was thinking about it...but now that I know red chain is working on their new graphic engine (and they say they're aiming for it to be better than E6) I'm going to wait until next year to see how that turns out. E6 is a lot of money, so if I can get something of a similar level next year and save the cash (assuming the red chain update is free or that any upgrade price is at least much lower than buying E6). I'll be looking forward to seeing that...

[Dave W]

Did it have two cameras? Left and right? How were they positition or pointed?[/QUOTE]
Yes both at about 45 degree angles about 12 feet high. I will bring my tape measure and flash light next time and take pics and measurements.

[bubba22]

I think it is worth waiting. I hope if a new customplay engine comes out that ProTee will add it as well .

[ZMax]

E6 does look fantastic. Like I said, I was thinking about it...but now that I know red chain is working on their new graphic engine (and they say they're aiming for it to be better than E6) I'm going to wait until next year to see how that turns out. E6 is a lot of money, so if I can get something of a similar level next year and save the cash (assuming the red chain update is free or that any upgrade price is at least much lower than buying E6). I'll be looking forward to seeing that...

I think it is worth waiting. I hope if a new customplay engine comes out that ProTee will add it as well .

Me three.....It would be awesome if they can get it done by the end of the year.

Does this means that we won't be seeing updates on feature requests for the current CPG/GSA?

[ZMax]

Yes both at about 45 degree angles about 12 feet high. I will bring my tape measure and flash light next time and take pics and measurements.

2 cameras in stereo mode. Interesting. GGS can do this also....