Mastering your technique, or sharpening your tool as the saying goes, is part of athletes’ daily routines to improve their sport. While athletes use all different methods to do this, the Weber State University women’s golf team is using technology to perfect their craft.
TruGolf, a golf simulator, helps players improve no matter the weather or time of day, so golfers can keep their game strong all year round.
TruGolf has over 100 different courses to choose from. The golfers can also make adjustments to the weather or wind in order to simulate a more realistic experience.
TruGolf is located on the bottom floor of the Wasatch dorms, allowing the team easy access.
Michelle Tierney, a junior on the golf team, said the golf simulator helped her fix some of the areas she struggled in.
“It has helped me improve my swing,” Tierney said. “The simulator gives detail analytics about your swing, which makes it easy to see why you’re hitting bad shots or good shots.”
TruGolf uses dual-tracking technology that communicates with the golf software to get a true ball flight. There is an infrared tracking system that measures the ball speed and launching angle.
TruGolf aims to simulate what the ball would do in the real world.
There is an Ion2 Vision camera system that measures the ball spin, back spin, side spin and spin axis. The Ion also captures the club speed, club path and club face angle.
TruGolf has been helping golfers at Weber State improve for five years now, especially during winter when the ground is covered in snow, and practicing outside isn’t an option.
Haylee Chugg, a junior golfer, said the simulator gave her a way to keep her game going during winter.
“The competitions and games we do on the simulator has helped me stay motivated when we can’t get out and play,” Chugg said.
According to Sara Federico, head coach of the women’s golf team, the TruGolf simulator has helped many of her players improve their overall performance.
“You can tell on their club head speed if you need to go up and hit it farther,” Federico said. “Some of the girls work on that and are now getting more distance. This overall helps our whole team a lot.”
