INNISFAIL - Imagine for a moment taking a mighty golf swing and within seconds you not only know how close you are to the pin but also the precise ball and club speed.
Imagine still playing on some of the best 60 golf courses in the world and you’re doing it indoors right in Innisfail at any time of the year.
For both recreational and professional golfers, as well as kids who just want to have fun, its all true. This is cutting-edge technology that can collect and provide all essential data on every type of golf shot for every level of golfer. Even Tiger Woods is a big fan.
“It just feels real,” says Woods in a Golf Digest article in 2018. “I use my simulator to practice every type of shot from tee to green. Rain or shine, day or night, I can get my practice in.”
And Mathew MacDonald, the head pro at Innisfail Golf Club, agreed. He persuaded the club in 2021 to invest $100,000 for two top-of-the line golf simulator systems, with the first launched in the holiday season and second coming in February.
MacDonald said reactions with pros and the public have ultimately been positive.
“We’ve had a lot of people that were initially very hesitant or very concerned about the cost of the investment. We’ve changed a lot of peoples’ minds,” said MacDonald, noting a holiday season open house attracted dozens of local golf enthusiasts. “Yes, the reaction was spectacular. Even some of the people I knew personally had a very negative opinion of it originally but once they were actually able to see it, try it and understand the power of the system and how well it worked they were all smiles.
“We had a group of six in here who were all, I would say age 60 plus, and they said it was the most fun thing they did all winter,” he added.
As for the pros? MacDonald notes the simulator systems have been a great way for them to practise during the winter-time off-season as the technology can work through any problem they have on the links.
The two new simulator systems, Foresight GC Quad and Foresight GC Hawk, have industry-leading quadroscopic imaging to take more than 200 pictures of the clubface/ball interaction through the impact zone. This allows for precise determination of exact speed, direction, spin rate, and curvature of a golf ball and where it will go through in real-time.
The end visual result is spectacular as both systems have state-of-the-art graphics depicting each user’s chosen golf course. The Quad unit is now up in the clubhouse, with the Hawk system coming in February.
“From an instruction or club fitting stand point it finally gives us at the Innisfail Golf Club the ability to fully be confident in everything we are teaching,” said MacDonald. “There’s no guessing any more. Everything is measured, whether it’s the improvement over time, whether it’s on a specific golf shot. We can actually go through individual golf shots and show you exactly why it did what it did.”
The new simulator initiative is part of the club’s plan to become a year-round attraction for both locals and out-of-town guests. With the club’s gates now open and welcoming cross-country skiers and snowshoers to access trails, the clubhouse’s food and beverage service is open Thursdays through to Sundays.
The simulators are now available seven days a week. Hourly rates for adults are $50, and $40 for juniors.
For kids, the simulators also have unique golf-related games, which are part of the system’s Foresight Fair Grounds, and what MacDonald describes as “basically a carnival game you hit golf balls with.”
COVID restrictions are in place under the province’s mandated Restrictions Exemption Program. The club requires Alberta-issued COVID-19 vaccine record with QR code. Masks must be worn at all times except for dining at tables, or playing the golf simulators inside the cordoned-off areas.
“It is one of those things where we feel we can do safely,” said MacDonald. “Golf has done a fantastic job in my opinion in the last two years of proving it can be done safely, and we know it can continue to be done safely even in an indoor environment, and still allow people to come out and play and enjoy and have a bit of a social life as well.”
