I made a recent discovery at the PGA Show in Orlando that is certain to be a game changer, or better stated, a short-game changer. In professional golf, the cliché is drive for show and putt for dough, and once most amateurs finally arrive at the green, they find putting no easy task.
Welcome CONECTD GOLF, and yes, I used to spellcheck.
CONECTD GOLF is a pioneer in embedded technology for connected sports hardware and recently announced what Chief Operating Officer Preston Phillips calls a strategic investment from the PGA TOUR in a partnership seeking to bring transformative data analytics and insights to one of the most important parts of the game – putting.
As part of this investment, CONECTD GOLF is now designated as the “Official Putting Technology of the PGA TOUR.”
“What’s unique about this partnership and investment by the Tour is that we want to leverage the technology and the innovation of what’s inside the actual putter with new partners. The opportunity to scale this business with the official equipment manufactures of the golf world, said Phillips. “To start to manufacture clubs that have the sensor-based technology inserted inside of them. To allow for you to play using the technology and see your results instantly. That’s transformational.”
CONECTD GOLF seeks to provide amateur golfers with access to putting stroke data and analytics that is currently available only at select golf instructional facilities.
“We’ve got a growth and innovation mindset, and we’re trying to look at where the world’s headed a few years from now. CONECTD has the technology to really help every golfer, regardless of skill level, said Lance Stover, The PGA TOUR’s Senior Vice President of New Ventures.
Think of a product like Trackman, and how popular they in professional golf and at your hometown driving range. If you are like me and are willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on a putter. Would you be willing to pay more to have this sort of technology built into it?
“Our goal is for everyone – from touring professionals to aspiring amateurs and juniors to casual recreational golfers – to both enhance their understanding of putting and improve their individual performance,” added Stover. “While the technology is undoubtedly innovative and sleek, it’s really about connecting golfers/fans, coaches/instructors, and manufacturers/ retailers on an element of the game that everyone, regardless of skill level, can experience and appreciate.”
While data-driven insights have revolutionized many aspects of sport, putting science has been lagging, until now. Most golfers currently rely more on intuition, feel, and trial-and- error techniques. CONECTD GOLF seeks to change this by embedding its technology inside the golf putter, thereby unlocking the stroke motion data and analysis for all players.
“Our mission is to empower golfers with the same level of insights in putting that they have come to expect in other parts of their game,” said Antoine Delesvaux, Chief Executive Officer of CONECTD GOLF. “By providing real-time data – including face alignment, stroke path, impact dynamics, and tempo – we aspire to help players refine their mechanics, save strokes, and enjoy the game even more.”
This writer would expect golf club manufactures to be lining up to incorporate this technology into their products. CONECTD GOLF debuted its technology through LEMERLE Golf, a wholly owned subsidiary of CONECTD Sports Holdings. If you have not heard of LEMERLE, you are not alone.
Although, it was recognized at last year’s PGA Show for its innovation and LEMERLE’s connected putter is said to seamlessly integrate CONECTD’s advanced sensors, delivering accurate and actionable insights immediately to the player for game improvement while practicing.
Additionally, the screw-in sensor can be replaced by an equal weighted “dummy” module, thereby enabling players to play the putter with identical specs in competition. That too is an industry game-changer.
“Our objective is for amateurs and everyday golfers to be able to have some of the same tech that the pros are accustomed to, added Stover. We brought CONECTD to our PGA TOUR Performance Center. We had our putting guru, Mike Shannon, look at it. He said, ‘You know what, this is legit. There’s potential here’.”