The Prospect of an Augmented Reality Golf Simulator

[GolfGuy72_2000]

I hope this isn't too far off topic here, but is anyone else here really excited about the prospects of augmented reality technology and what it could bring to golf simulation? I'm not talking virtual reality, but the HoloLens, see-through type of eye wear that has yet to be released to the public. I foresee a day hopefully within the next decade or so where a pair of AR glasses will transform my hitting mat into a bent grass tee box, and my net into the 12th green at Augusta... whoops, Magnolia National. Beyond that, on a course in real life, you might use a set of AR glasses to see a heads up display with distances to various obstacles, arrows pointing to aiming points or hidden trouble, wind speeds, elevation changes, etc. I'm sure VR golf is fun, but AR golf is what will let us hit a real ball with a real club in the simulator, because unlike in VR where the entire image is generated, AR will let us see those items and will generate the supporting environment. Of course, the 3-second shot launch delay on my SkyTrak will render that piece of equipment obsolete. But hopefully better hardware will be in the pipeline. It's amazing some of the new products that have been introduced within the last three years! I think some exciting times are in store for us as golf simulator users!

[sb944]

It would be nice. It's more VR than AR though, as AR is suppose to build objects in your current environment, not completely hide everything. Though I know VR is no good as you can't see the ball. It would be nice if you could turn it off during the swing, but then activate as soon as the swing has finished, you don't want any further excuses for not swinging it right.

Imagine AR on the course though. Built into a nice pair of sunnies. As you walk up to the tee it's showing you carry to the bunkers fairway width, etc. When you hit your shot it tells you stats about the shot you hit. When you get to the green it gives you green layout. It's not that you can't get all this on your phone now, but it would be great to get it without having to reach for a device.

Either way, it has to be light and not get in the way.

[GolfGuy72_2000]

I totally agree on the real course application for AR. How convenient will that be, not having to mess with your phone or GPS device? I would think that tech has got to be coming in the not too distant future. Hoping they can come up with a VR or AR solution to let us hit indoors using real clubs and balls while being immersed in a virtual golf course environment, too. Maybe a few more years down the road, but it's coming and it's going to be awesome!

[Andrago94]

I have TGC for my HTC Vive headset. It is pretty cool, but would be a lot more realistic if the controller were better. Right now you use one of the Vive controllers which is really light and not shaped like a golf grip. Would be better if a custom controller with a golf grip and a short weighted club were available.

[shimonko]

I'm an AR developer and did some ground work developing an AR product for the (real) course like you describe, but found the GolfShot guys (GPS app on phones) had a strong patent on it a good 7-8 years ago - checkout Golfscape on the Apple store, a screenshot shown below. Golfscape went nowhere - but until AR glasses become fashionable, it's just not worth it.

Having AR on a simulator - yeah, tee boxes, even a hole one can putt to for putts shorter than the screen distance would be nice.

[BlechBOX]

I have an oculus rift and would love to be able to play with a real club and ball but be in the virtual world. I don't even care if they use the teleport mechanic like robo recall to prevent motion sickness.

[BadEddieKit]

TGC VR is not the same as what you are hoping for, but its damn close in my opinion! The more I play it the more i like it.

[mikestuewe]

I have an oculus rift and would love to be able to play with a real club and ball but be in the virtual world. I don't even care if they use the teleport mechanic like robo recall to prevent motion sickness.

worried about whiplash at all with the giant headset on trying to swing 110 mph?

[BlechBOX]

Isn't the goal to keep your head still anyway? JK but honestly the Oculus is a lot more comfortable than i ever thought it would be and I find myself spinning, jumping, ducking and dodging all the time ingame so i don't think it would be that bad.

[ProTee United]

One of the issues with AR at the moment is the speed of the video camera displaying the live video of the user's environment. There is a delay, which will make you sick when you move your head up or when looking around. The Microsoft Hololens should be the big breakthrough. With this you can project a golf course anywhere. When the hololens comes down in price (currently $3k for the dev edition) it would be worth the effort of building a sim in AR.

[GolfGuy72_2000]

I started this thread back in July. Check out this article from August 31. Between the last post from ProTee United and this article, I am very excited about the prospect of golf simulation within the next 3-5 years. Not that I don't love TGC on my screen, but to be able to hit a real ball into an immersive environment that surrounds you would be amazing, and you won't even need a screen, projector, or TV. Looking forward to seeing how these new technologies develop!

[wbond]

Very interesting. Looks like it would well for individuals, but how would it work if you had a group of friends over to play?

[GolfGuy72_2000]

I would think it will be a matter of sharing glasses, or everyone bringing their own, although that would likely require tremendous PC horsepower as the computer would be generating course images from multiple different perspectives. It will be interesting to see how this is rolled out. They'll also need to get the ball tracking device to register shots with zero latency, which will be really interesting to see if they can pull off. Hopefully in a few years!