Bag Drop: Taking A (Full) Swing Into 2006

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By Donald MacKenzie via TheSandTrap.com

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The best and most popular golf simulator is made by Full Swing Golf, and the company has a fun new wrinkle ready for 2006.

Happy New Year from The Bag Drop, where the arrival of 2006 means the PGA Merchandise Show is only a few weeks away. We'll hit on some minor news on the Show front, but first let's look at a cool new development on the golf simulator front.



Full Swing Golf has come a long way in the last decade. 10 years ago the California company debuted its high-end golf simulators at the PGA Merchandise Show. The initial reaction from folks in the industry was that the simulators were a curiosity, but not a significant business opportunity.

That initial reaction was dead wrong. Full Swing Golf now has simulators in more than 3,500 locations around the world. Some golf shops use them to let shoppers try out new clubs indoors. Some golf facilities have them for lessons or practice. And a growing number of individuals are buying them for home use.



If you're stuck in northern climes at this time of year, a golf simulator might be your only chance to swing your clubs for a while. Full Swing's simulators are remarkably lifelike. You stand inside the simulator and hit balls toward a massive screen, which has video-game quality graphics of a golf course (more than 50 courses are available). When you hit your shot, the ball flight is tracked and you see your "shot" fly toward the target on the screen. There are different mats for hitting shots out of the fairway, rough or sand, and there's also a chipping and putting mode.



New for 2006 is an online tournament play mode. Up to 8 players from around the world can now play a real-time round together, thanks to the Internet. That means someone in snowbound New England can challenge someone in soggy Northern California to a game - on the Old Course at St. Andrews. Pretty cool.



Even more interesting is the possibility of someone at the Isleworth men's grill challenging a tall, low-handicap golf nut from outside Chicago to a quick 18. That's right, Tiger Woods' home course has a Full Swing simulator in its clubhouse, and Michael Jordan has one in his home. Can't you just imagine the cell phone call? "Hey Mike, it's Woodsy. You want to get in a quick 18? Cool. You want to play Pebble, Pinehurst No. 2 or Oakland Hills? Yeah, I'll give you four a side - but no mulligans!"



Show Notes: The 2006 PGA Merchandise Show is set for Jan. 26-29. That means you can expect a flurry of pre-Show announcements in the next couple weeks. TaylorMade will make the new R7 460 driver official, and Callaway will do the same with the X 460 driver and new Big Bertha irons. Maybe we'll hear something from Titleist on the 905R front, too.



An interesting wrinkle to the Show this year is a decline in pre-Show golf outings hosted by the big companies. In the past, manufacturers like Callaway, Nike, Ping, TaylorMade and Tour Edge have spent big money to show off their new products to top retail clients and media types at Orlando-area golf courses. This year, the tee sheet is empty. The only pre-Show golf activity will be at the massive Demo Day the day prior to the Show, with manufacturers preferring to host smaller cocktail party-style events to wine and dine key clients. It'll still be fun, but I'll miss teeing it up in Orlando. Guess I'll have to find a Full Swing Golf simulator if I want to get a few rounds in this month.