I like playing golf. The green course, trees, nature, a gentle breeze, all contribute to a relaxed time. But scoring a 15 on a par 3 due to poor putting ruins the atmosphere. I had no clue that there are golf training devices that can help with your swing. But what about putting?
Golf Swing, mechanical, trainer via Lama Golf Institute.
Katherine Kuchenbecker, at the University of Pennsylvania, and her team have created haptic tactile feedback sensing robot that gently forces a perfect putt. "The cues it delivers are subtle, not even noticeable if you're trying to putt straight," said Kuchenbecker. "The system helps you feel what it is like to putt correctly, and the ball tends to end up closer to the target."
In a 1.5 meter by 70 centimeter training cell a user hold a putter on a mini practice hole. Four wires are connected to the corners of the cell and to the front and back of the putter. As the user attempts to putt, motors on the corners gently adjust the user to the ideal lines of the swing. Research team member Jacquelyn Kunkel explained, "The golfer feels forces pulling them back to the correct position when they go wrong, making it feel natural to swing correctly."
The team stated that early tests are showing improved results for trial golfers. The system was shown off at the World Haptics Conference 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.
I hope the next version will be able to adjust to putting course deviations, hills, and other issues. This way, users can see/feel how to adjust to such terrains. A future of super golfers to come?
Cabe