Lower Your Handicap with the iPing Golf Putting App

 

Ping is a distinguished company within the sport of golf. Many people do not know that it is a family owned business first started by Karsten Solheim. Historically Karsten was unhappy with his putting or more likely his putter and started work on a club himself. After a while Karsten developed a putter which made a “ping” noise when a golf ball was struck and that is where the company got its name from. Nowadays, Ping is renowned for its innovative products and quality golf gadgets.

The latest offering from Ping is the iPING Golf Putter app. This is an iPhone app for golfers that tracks and calculates a Putting Handicap (PHcp).  Keeping a track on this data allows golfers to monitor their putting performance when changing grip, putter club, stance, gloves or any other variable.

Ideal for beginners up to experts, a PING cradle (available from Ping retailers) must be purchased along with an Apple iPhone 4 or 4^th Generation iPod Touch.  Once you have these items it is just a case of downloading the app for free from iTunes.

iPING Putter App Features:

• iPING motion sensing technology tracks swing of the club by user.
• Analyzes impact angle between golf club and ball to improve mechanics.
• Classifies a users stroke rotation, this allows for combining the right putter to the golfers swing.
• Measures the pace of swing which allows improved control of the club and therefore the putting.
• Compares your stroke with friends or even tournament professionals.

Just to clarify the iPING Putter App requires the PING Cradle to work correctly; this can be bought for $30 from Ping retailers.  Also the iPING Putter app can only be used to improve the putting game as opposed to drives, chips, iron shots, etc.

The Practice Green Putt Returner

 

This practice putting golf gadget is used by more than 150 PGA professionals which is probably enough to convince any amateur golf enthusiast to buy one. However, before buying one please read the rest of the post to see why it’s so good.  The gadget is called the Practice Green Putt Returner and does exactly that, returns the ball after a putt has been made. Currently when practicing putting, a golfer will use a single ball, and after each shot return for the ball whether it goes in the hole or not before making another shot. This repetitive nature is both time consuming and boring, never mind the constant bending of the back to pick the ball out of the hole.

The Practice Green Putt Returner solves this problem by using a mechanical ball return device to return the ball whenever the ball lands in the hole.  When the ball lands in the hole the device comes alive, catapulting the ball out of the hole approximately 14 inches. The golf gadget is powered by 4 AA batteries which should return the ball 12,000 times before a replacement set is required.

 

Pro Defender Golf Bag Alarm

 

I had golf down as a relative cheap hobby or sport. That was until I spoke to a few friends of mine who enjoy playing a few rounds. After discussing the costs involved with playing golf, and the actual costs of clubs and equipment I now understand why a company would design and manufacture the a security device to protect your golf clubs. It is called the Pro defender Golf Bag Alarm and it’s a motion based alarm system that warns the owner when the golf bag is moved.

A replica golf ball within the golf bag contains a transmitter which is used to send a radio signal to a remote which the owner holds. Any motion or movement of the golf bag will activate the transmitter which sends the radio signal to the remote producing an alarm and a vibration to alert the owner of the potential theft. The radio signal from the Pro Defender Golf Bag Alarm can be detected up to 30m away.

I suppose you could buy the same golf clubs again if they got stolen, however I am guessing no two golf clubs are exactly the same. I know myself when I play tennis, I have two racquets that are the same, yet I still do better with one than I do with the other. The grip feels better, the strings are more comfortable, I dunno it just feels better. I am guessing the same happens when you play golf. As you get comfortable and accustomed to a set of clubs, its hard if you ever have to change so its better just to look after them as much as you can. Not to mention the replacement cost if your expensive set of golf clubs are stolen. With the Pro Defender Golf Bag Alarm, for about the price of a box of golf balls you can ensure the security of your golf clubs.

Available: Amazon

Price: $8.50 (normally $55, on sale for over 85% off. Now that is a steal!)

 

Get a Grip with SensoGlove

 

Another day another golf gadget, honestly there must be more gadgets for golf than any other sport in the World. Anyway, today’s gadget is called the SensoGlove and aims to improve the grip between a golfers hand and their club.  How does it do this? Well the SensoGlove is a special glove with built-in sensors that constantly determine the amount of pressure being applied during the grip and swing of the golf club.

The display screen on the side of the glove can be used to review recent shots indicating the amount of pressure being applied; specifically which fingers and area of the hand are gripping too tightly. If you grip too tightly an alarm sounds as well as a further warning sign. Ideally, golfers should have a relaxed light grip on the golf club for maximum distance and swing speed. However, grip too tightly and you could end up hooking the ball left or right, or falling short of the all important hole.

The benefits of this system are firstly, it obviously provides data that you would not obtain when playing with a regular glove. By adopting a lighter grip, you can guarantee an improvement on the distance that a ball can be struck compared with a tighter grip, including chipping and putting. Secondly, the glove is like any other regular golf glove providing comfortability and gripability.

Thirdly, by relaxing and not holding the club so tightly, you reduce the ache and pains which you may get when playing a full round of golf gripping the club so tightly.

Available: SensorGlove

 

Who needs a caddie when you have SkyKap?

 

If you are interested in golf gadgets and more specifically GPS accessories, look no further than SkyKap.  SkyKap LLC are the leading innovators of golf GPS accessories with several products in the pipeline and patents currently pending.  The technology within their latest product utilises voice recognition linked with sophisticated GPS golf course mapping.   Specifically it is known as the SkyKap Advisor, a hands-free GPS system that is activated by voice recognition all built within the brim of a typical golf hat.

What sort of help can this be to golfers? Well the SkyKap Advisor can provide accurate responses to a golfer’s questions or commands, for example it may give distances to the green or hazards such as bunkers. This course data must be downloaded from the internet to the SkyKap via a computer and the supplied USB cable. If the data is not available, then information can be mapped on the day of playing and then uploaded to the database so other keen golfers can enjoy.

Retailing at only $300 from rangefinders.com, this gadget seems very useful and guaranteed to improve your round of golf. If you are still undecided, check out the youtube video if it in action:

 

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