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Golf's Digital Divide
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."
CyberSteroids for the men with little balls.
Faith: n. -- That human impulse that drives them to steal appliances when the power goes out
You mean rich folks have an advantage? Damn. ll my life, there has been equality between the haves and the have nots. Especially in golf. Now, that is falling down like a house of cards.
My life is over. Anyone want my user id before I go to end it all?
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
SHOCKED to hear that technology might be introducing the taint of elitism into the great Everyman's Sport that is golf.
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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I golfed for 18 years. It's a great head game, really almost zen like, but championship calibre play doesn't come from expensive toys. Expensive toys can hone natural talent but that's about it. For all that, expensive toys can ruin natural talent.
Micheal Jordan was touted a a "physical genius", whatever that is. When Jordan turned to baseball it was said his physical genius would allow him to achieve the same greatness in baseball as he did in B ball. Did not happen, and it's likely Jordan had access to every toy available.
The X factor will always be part of championship play and all the toys for all the boys won't replace it.
"Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
Cohen
Malike Bamiyi wanted my assistance.
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.
If you're a Tiger woods then perhaps equipment that gives you an extra 1% edge is worth it, but most people would not tell the difference. The biggest success determining factors are ability and practice. Expensive kit does nothing unless you actually use it.
Marketers understand what drives buying for premium spending sports (golf, fly fishing,...). Most of the sportsmen don't have enough time to get out and practice sufficiently and feel a bit guilt about it. Being able to buy the toys helps alleviate that feeling of guilt rather than actually improving the game directly.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
There was a time when we used to play golf with:
1. persimmon woods
2. hickory shafts
3. blade irons
4. something called a "mashie niblick" (look it up, for a trip down memory lane)
5. leather balls stuffed with feathers
Now, thanks to new technology we play with:
1. oversized titanium drivers
2. graphite shafts
3. cavity back irons
4. 60-degree wedges
5. four layer solid-core distance balls
Now for the kicker - according to the USGA, the average handicap hasn't dropped significantly. What does that tell us?
A game that involves sunlight and walking? Like anyone here would play that!