‘Fore’ the love of the game: Bobcat Golf uses tech and tradition to get game-ready

By Al Weston and Amanda Respess

G eorgia College & State University's golf team has been busy preparing for their upcoming season with methods that range from cutting edge technology to back-to-basics physical conditioning.

Since the start of the calendar year, players have been refining their games using virtual reality in a new performance lab housed on the bottom floor of the Centennial Center. The centerpiece of the lab is the new Trackman golf simulator, gifted to the university by a generous - and anonymous - donor.

"It has enabled them to work on their club paths, club face and where they are hitting the ball," said Ben English, Georgia College golf coach. "We use the information gathered from using the simulator and take it to the driving range to work on our shots. It helps us get better."

The simulator also customizes players' practice experiences.

"It's not all the same for everyone," English said. "It gives each player the opportunity to work on the specific things that each of them needs to work on."

The simulator also allows the players to practice at night or during bad weather, giving them extra time to improve. Additionally, the interface - which models ball trajectory and distance, among other metrics - encourages the teammates to critique each other's shots and compete in minigames, which promotes team bonding.

In addition to the high-tech simulator, the team is also focused on conditioning through a decidedly low-tech method: Ballet classes.

Team members are taking ballet classes with instructor Amelia Pelton.

"Athletes and coaches have been seeing the benefits of ballet for years," Pelton said. "Coach English is specifically looking for better balance, stance, centering over the ball, core strength, posture and endurance for his golfers."

English agrees. "The exercises we are working on in dance are designed to teach rotation and proprioception. Proprioception is the sense of knowing the position of the body through feel, and not having to look or focus on that body move. If we strengthen that awareness of where our body is in the swing, we can...focus on the specific muscles we need to use in each individual's swing. Ballet conditioning is the perfect way to achieve this," English said.

Natalie King, interim director of the Georgia College Dance Program, says ballet is the secret weapon of many world-class athletes.

"Ballet training enhances core stability, coordination, mental focus and overall flexibility, which are essential skills for any athlete. Great athletes, like U.S. tennis star Naomi Osaka, have understood the potential benefits for cross training in classical ballet," King said.

Header Images: The Trackman golf simulator (photo by Anna Gay Leavitt) and ballet classes (photos by Natalie King) are part of Bobcat Golf's pre-season training process.