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Golf's Digital Divide

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the pay-to-play dept.

theodp writes "Are $50,000 simulators and $4,500 sensor vests driving a wedge between golf's haves and have-nots? That's the question posed by the WSJ, who reports that a new generation of expensive high-tech tools is stoking a costly arms race among golfers looking for an edge in a sport that already has an elitist reputation."

2 of 228 comments (clear)

  1. Doesn't help by jimmyhat3939 · · Score: 4, Informative
    The funny thing about this stuff is that, except at the super-elite level, it's not proven to help very much. And, even guys like Tiger Woods don't really use equipment like this all that much. They spend most of their practice time either putting or working on specific shot situations on a real course.

    That's not to mention the fact that in golf a fair bit of the skill is in knowing what to do, not just how to do it.

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  2. None of this matters... by HomerJ · · Score: 4, Informative

    All of this is just to get money from people that already have too much of it.

    The only things you need for golf are a swing you can repeat, and knowing how to putt. Neither require anything more than a normal set of clubs, and some practice.

    Ben Hogan said it best that there is no reason the average person can't break 70. And there was no tricks, no $50k electric vests, no goofy clubs that collapse when you swing the wrong way, or anything else. It's just having a swing that repeats, and includes the fundamental things you need to have that all great golfers do.

    Best thing to be a better golf game is get the Ben Hogan book about the 5 fundamentals. About $5-$10 at any bookstore. Ben Crenshaw has a video on putting that's also good, and it's about the same price if you can find it.