Dodgy putters of the world rejoice, a revolutionary new analysis tool is about to end your putting purgatory forever.
The Coach Labs Duotrac GEN i1 golf ball, best described as a launch monitor within a ball, turned heads at this year’s PGA Merchandise Show in the US.
At the heart of the GEN i1 is an internal nine-axis sensor and microcontroller, which uploads real-time data from the ball to a smartphone app, via a Bluetooth connection.
The internal electronics are safely protected within the GEN i1 golf ball, which weighs the same as a genuine golf ball and retains comparable feel and playing characteristics.
Information such as initial ball path, speed, rotation and impact force are recorded by the GEN i1 ball and interlinks with a putter sensor that is clipped to the butt end of the putter that records clubface angle, back and through stroke speed, path and tempo ratio.
Documenting the cold, hard numbers of putting parameters that aren’t able to be seen with the naked eye, the GEN i1 app provides a highly accurate snapshot of what has transpired both before and after the putt has been struck and is highly effective in determining the cause and effect of a faulty putting stroke.
Whether it’s a slightly open or closed clubface at impact that is imparting sidespin or an angle of attack that produces backspin instead of a desirable end-over-end topspin, the feedback from the GEN i1 will ultimately improve putting strokes and lead to more putts being holed out on the course.
The GEN i1 app also has a number of virtual drills that replicate flat, uphill and downhill putts as well as long, short and straight putts.
The app also includes several interactive putting games designed to test your skill under pressure. In fact, the games let you go head-to-head against anyone in the world using the GEN i1 app, which opens up a world of possibilities that will improve a yippy putting stroke and also be simultaneously enjoyable.
The putting-focused GEN i1 is the first in a series of intelligent golf balls Coach Labs intends to manufacture. Also in the pipeline is a second generation GEN golf ball to monitor chip shots, followed by a model that provides feedback on full shots.
Each GEN model will build Coach Labs' research and knowhow to eventually produce a single intelligent ball that provides data for every shot on the golf course.