Here’s how TGL’s Full Swing launch monitoring system works

If there is one thing Tiger Woodsnew TGL Indoor Golf League not missing, are the groundbreaking innovations that will allow a first-of-its-kind virtual golf competition to take place when the league kicks off Tuesday night for its inaugural round.

To capture each player’s swing and hitting data so it can be displayed on the SoFi Center’s massive 64′ by 53′ screen, TGL has partnered with Full motion to provide all launch monitors and power the 3,800 square foot putting green where matches will be won or lost. Full Swing is the same brand that Tiger Woods uses for both his personal launch monitors and his home simulator.

In a video on the Full Swing YouTube channel, Full Swing VP of Innovation Evan El-Saden takes viewers behind the scenes of the SoFi Center virtual golf stadium:

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How many release monitors does TGL need?

To capture a player’s full shots during a TGL match, Full Swing will use 18 Full Swing Kit radar-based launch monitors positioned around the SoFi hub. Banks of six full motion sets will be located behind the TGL Screenzone back box and front box. Banks of three additional launch monitors are placed in recesses to the left and right of the Display Area.

Both right-handed and left-handed players have their own dedicated launch monitors and then there are extra units for redundancy to ensure no shot is missed during the competition.

“With 18 of these things that are live, they basically talk to each other,” El-Saden said. “So we’re bringing more powerful processing to the unit.”

Each of the boxes for TGL has three different areas to play in, including real grass, rough and sand. The simulation software sends specific coordinates so the software knows exactly where the next shot will be hit.

El-Saden said they expect to learn new things from building TGL and potentially bring those lessons to consumer products.

How was the game platform built for TGL?

Just like a regular simulator you might find on your golf course or set up in your home, the software brings the simulation to life to make it look like you’re on a golf course. Full Swing also created the software for the TGL simulator.

“They approximate the strategy as what they want it to be on paper, and then we make it three-dimensional to make it come to life and play strategically the way they wanted,” El-Saden said. “So we’re capturing the initial launch conditions, things like spin speed, things like club speed, and then we also work in conjunction with the Toptracer in characterizing the flight of the ball.”

There’s also a special screen called the “digital caddy,” where players can see what’s coming up on the screen for their next shot and plan it using a digital playbook. Players can watch slope overlays similar to how it works in a regular golf video game.

Greenzone is powered by virtual green technology

Once players are within 50 yards of the hole, play moves to the Greenzone, which is possibly the most advanced indoor short game area ever created.

Beneath TGL’s massive 22,475-square-foot short game space are three complete Swing virtual green assemblies, which contain 600 actuators that control the undulations of the green. Each assembly is 27′ ​​by 15′ and results in three different shades of green.

Between the actuators are three layers of Plexiglas and a double layer of Flex rubber before you reach the ground where the ball will land and roll.

The entire short play area rests on a 41-meter turntable that will rotate based on the holes created for TGL. The Overtop is a spotlight that will determine exactly where the player will play their next shot from, a technology that was completely new to the creation of the Full Swing.

“We created 30 landscapes, so 30 different combinations of how it waves,” El-Saden said. “And then each hole has it embedded where the pin should be, so when the thing rolls, the green waves, an official will know exactly which pin placement to use for that hole.”

Thanks to being a semi-virtual league, El-Saden said it allowed course designers to do things that wouldn’t be possible on a regular golf course.

“The possibilities are endless when you really think about making it feel unique and different,” he said. “So do you want to hit a trail left, right, center, that’s the benefit of having a golf league with technology. It allows for more possibilities because if you’re just designing courses as they are today, it kind of begs the question why do a golf league with technology if you’re not celebrating what the technology can do.”