PGA Tour Simulators: Golf the World at Anytime...

...And stay a stones toss from the bar!


My brother recently booked us a tee time at Tee's Golf Grill in Chesterfield, MO. Tee's is equipped with 10 state of the art, PGA Tour certified, golf simulators. These simulators allow you to choose from a long list of real championship golf courses and play them from a friendly bar/grill environment. You bring your own clubs and hit a real ball into a giant video screen while the cameras do the rest.

About Golf, the makers of the simulators, started releasing their simulators about 9 years ago. They are trusted by some of the most talented golfers in the world, including Luke Donald, the current number 1 in the world, who has one in his basement.

They appear much like the launch simulators or video driving ranges you might see at golf shops, measuring 15'x22', but the accuracy lies in the cameras used by the simulator. The game platform itself is like a highly realistic golf video game, with you as the controller. The cameras detect your swing speed, strike point, launch angle, ball speed, top spin, side spin, and other data to create a realistic flight path. Different lengths of fake grass are available to hit off of for fairway shots and rough shots. It measures total distance and carry and tells you your distance to the pin. It also simulates wind speed and direction.

The chipping and the putting are the hardest parts to get the hang of. Sometimes it is difficult to tell how far away from the pin you actually are and the distance doesn't seem to be as consistent with the swing speed on chips as it does with full shots.

We played Pebble Beach, and other courses include Spy Glass, the TPC courses, The Old Course at St. Andrews, and dozens of others.  It takes about 1 hour for 1 player to play 18 holes. At Tee's it cost $25/h for weekdays and $40/h on weekends. (If playing a foursome for four hours it would cost each player $25 dollars, cheaper than playing 18 on a real course!)

All in all, I would say the simulators are about 75-85% realistic. It was never going to be a perfect simulation but for hitting irons and woods and getting to experience professional courses, it is well worth the money and is a pretty fun way to spend the afternoon.

To find a simulator near you just do a quick google search (ex: "about golf simulator st. louis mo"). Just please don't get in a bar fight at one of these places... too many easily available weapons.

Geocaching

It's like National Treasure, but in your neighborhood!

If you're bored and looking for a fun activity to do with friends, give geocaching a try! All you need is a GPS tracker or a cell phone with GPS capabilities and a membership to geocaching.com (don't worry, it's free).

Now, you're probably wondering... What the hell is geocaching? It's a global hide and seek game where any player can hide a "cache" basically anywhere they want to (given that they have permission from the property owner). Then, it's up to you to find it! Caches come in many shapes a forms. They can be small film containers, or ammo boxes. What's in a cache you might ask? Well it depends. Most of the time inside the cache is a "log sheet" for you to sighn, noting that you found the cache. Sometimes there are small keepsakes you can take with you to remember the cache, and you are encouraged to leave something behind if you take something from the cache. Occasionally one might find a "tracking" piece, which has a series of numbers on it. If you find one of these you are asked to enter the numbers on the geocaching website. This allows the owner to track the objects movement. You are then suppose to deposit it into a different cache that you find. Some clubs use these to have races to see whose coin can travel the farthest in a given time period!

How do I find the caches? When you get on geocaching.com you can enter your current location. It will give a list of nearby caches to search as well as the coordinates of the cache. You enter the coordinates into your GPS and away you go! Sometimes finding the coordinates isn't enough and you have to solve puzzles, decode encryptions, or do other tasks that may lead to more clues. But in the end, when you find the cache, you have a deep sense of satisfaction that you were able to channel your inner Indiana Jones in this world wide treasure hunt! Often, to spice things up, my friends and I find a group of potential caches within walking distance of a bar. We go find one, head to bar for a shot of Jameson, repeat! Just don't do this and drive! Check the videos below for more details!