Indoor golf

Indoor golf is an umbrella term for all activities in golf which can be carried out indoors. Venues include indoor driving ranges, chipping areas, putting greens, and machines.

A golf simulator allows golf to be played on a graphically or photographically simulated driving range or golf course, usually in an indoor setting. It is a technical system used by some golfers to continue their sport regardless of weather and time of day in a converted premises. Simulators have been available since the early 1970s, and systems range in cost from compact units costing well under $200 that work with a computer or video game console, to sophisticated ones costing tens of thousands of dollars. Advanced systems may utilize a dedicated room, hitting screen, projector and other paraphernalia.

An example is Wilding Golf in Bangkok, Thailand which uses sophisticated technology to analyse the spin, projection and contact of the ball. It even films the swing for analysis with a professional, and one can play courses from all over the world. In South Korea, which has the largest number of golf simulators in the world, simulator design is perhaps the most advanced. In addition to tracking and analyzing factors such as projection and contact information of ball and club, simulators are now able to fully automate ball retrieval and tee height. Other unique capabilities of the Korean simulators include multi-directional slope sensing that synchronizes the angle of the golfer's hitting position with the slope of the lie on a 3D interactive golf course.

Simpler simulators typically do not possess built-in software, but measure the movement of the hand-held sensor and feeds the information to the video game. The information received is then translated into an action of some sort, usually hitting the ball. More advanced simulators often come with their own software, allowing the user to use the system as if they were on a driving range. Relying on a battery of environmental sensors, the software tracks each shot and represents the entire shot, from impact to how the ball bounces visually on screen. In this way, the golfer has a detailed analysis of the entire flight of the ball which can be used for practice or training.

It utilizes a projected landscape, sometimes with natural images. A computer calculates the expected trajectory of the golf ball from data gathered on the swing, and the image of the golf ball flight is then simulated on the screen via a projector. Golf simulators need to present club speed, club path, club face angle at impact, ball speed, ball path, horizontal and vertical launch angle and spin. There are several types of measurement system used in golf simulation to achieve this, such as simulator mats, sonic sound systems, optical sensor arrays, radar and camera ball tracking systems.

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