Trackman, as Brandon Phillips describes it, is a “tour-level launch monitor”.

“It’s what they use on the PGA Tour,” he said. “Whenever you’re watching broadcasts and things like that, it’s what’s producing that shot tracker, that shot tracer. It’s basically the most accurate launch monitor on the market.”

What makes it so accurate is how the Trackman measures swings.

“It’s using double Doppler radar to track the golf ball and the golf club through space,” Phillips said. “So, it’s not using cameras, it’s not using lights like other systems do. Whenever you use cameras and lights, it actually has a decently high percent error. But, because it’s the double Doppler, the percent error is very small. So, the numbers that we’re getting in here playing indoors, and using it for fitting and instructional purposes, are accurate within a half of a yard.

With a wide variety of golf courses to choose from, the Trackman golf simulator at the Portage Lake Golf Course in Houghton has many options for golfers to enjoy while working on improving their game. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

“So as far as indoor golf simulation goes, there’s nothing that’s even remotely even close to what Trackman can offer from an accuracy standpoint.”

In fact, because of the technology involved, the Trackman does a tremendous job of measuring, displaying, proper golf physics.

“The virtual playing side, the virtual course side, the physics engine that they use, has been so dialed in and updated over and over again, that everything from lies, the lie in the fairway or the rough, the amount that it’s impacting the ball, the wind that you’re experiencing, how the ball is flying off of, say, like an uneven lie, if it’s an uphill lie or the ball is below your feet, it’s reacting appropriately,” said Phillips. “So, it’s taking all the data, tracking all the data metrics for the club and the ball, and then putting that into an interaction with the virtual turf, which is producing a reality-based shot.”

For the average golfer, who is just interested in experiencing a course they may never get to see or play live, the Trackman experience is well worth the time.

“From a recreational standpoint, if you’re a recreational player and you want to play, just come in and play on the virtual courses,” Phillips said. “It’s great, because it’s going to give you accurate numbers. It’s going to feel more like real golf.

“We’ve all played in a simulator where the numbers just seem off, and you’re hitting your eight iron, 190 yards, and you normally only hit it 140. So, those types of setups are great for recreational use. This is basically just the top of the line of golf simulation. So, if you like to play golf, then this is like playing real golf, only it’s indoors.”

For golfers looking to improve their game, even slightly, the Trackman is a tremendous tool for that as well.

“As far as using it, from a fitting and instructional standpoint for the average player, it’s huge, because what it allows is, for the instructor or the coach, we have our eye, we can see what’s going on in the golf swing,” said Phillips. “That’s why instruction has been done without this technology for so long. It’s because you’ve developed the skill of being able to see what’s going on in a golf swing and how to fix it. But now, with this, we get hard data every single shot that you hit, and it basically just takes all the guesswork for us. It also allows the player to see why something may be happening with their ball flight, or why they’re getting the results that they’re getting.”

For the coaches, the Trackman gives up 30 different data metrics, which can then be applied to a golfer’s swing, giving the golfer a better targeted fix to their swing issues.

“It’s capturing up to 30 data metrics for the ball and the club every single time, so it’s tracking everything from the path that the club is coming in, either degrees in from inside to out, or outside to in, and then, from there, it is tracking how the face is relative to that path,” Phillips said. “So, it gives us a lot of information about how the golf club is actually moving through space. Then from there, we get a lot of information on the golf ball. How much the golf ball is spinning whenever it comes off of the face. There are ideal launch conditions and launch metrics that we’re trying to hit to maximize ball flight, carry distance, all that type of stuff.”

The other area of the game that the Trackman simulator is ideal for is equipment. With the simulator, coaches at Portage Lake can look at a golfer’s swing and help pick out clubs, shafts, and grips to maximize their game.

“If we have somebody, say, hit a new driver with a certain shaft in it, and I see that it’s spinning at 4500 rpm, then that’s way too high of a spin for a driver,” said Phillips. “Then we change the shaft. Now we put a shaft that’s a lower spin model, have them hit again, and then that spin number comes down to 2600, which is pretty ideal, more in the ideal range. So, instead of having to kind of eyeball it from a fitting standpoint, it takes out, again, kind of all the guesswork.

“We get hard data every shot, and then we’re able to fit people into the exact equipment that they need, that’s hitting the appropriate metrics that are the most ideal for them to get the best results possible.”

The Trackman simulator at Portage Lake offers area golfers an experience they cannot find within a four-hour radius, with Green Bay, Wisconsin, being the closest. Alongside the simulator, however, Portage Lake is offering something new this year that they hope will grow in the coming years. They just launched their “Get Golf Ready” program, which is a strength training program intended to help improve a golfer’s game through a variety of key exercises. The class for this season is already full, but they are planning on expanding it for the future.

“That is essentially doing everything from working on flexibility, mobility, core strength, speed, agility, balance,” Phillips said. “That class is done on site at MTU’s Student Development Complex. We’re really starting to attack the golf swing and improvement, not only from having the club in your hands, but also from getting your body in a position to where it can perform. Because, as we know, a car can only go as fast as the engine will allow. So, if our engine is not able to produce what we want it to do, then we have, again, kind of a physical ceiling on what we’re going to be able to do on the golf course. If you want to add clubhead speed, things like that, then we can do work in the gym, which has never really been done here.”

The course is not just good for golf, it is also good for life.

“We can do work in the gym, better your body, makes you feel better when you’re playing golf, give you better performance when you’re playing golf, but, to be really honest with you, make you feel better in your day-to-day life,” said Phillips. “If you’ve got low back issues, tight hamstrings, tight hip flexors, knee problems, shoulder injuries, things like that, then our program is designed to essentially make everything better in your physical day-to-day life, which will then allow you to play better golf.

“I think that’s probably the most major development that we have, as far as our instruction goes, and our offerings go for people, is the kind of attacking it now, even from the gym side as well as just instructional golf.”

For more information, or to sign up for time with the Trackman, contact the golf course at golfcourse@mtu.edu, or call 906-487-2641.