“Putting skill that affects golf scores by over 40% can now be trained with technologies.” While metaverse and convergence technology for it attracts growing attention, a solution that can maximize the effect of putting training based on real-world-like virtual environments and data statistical analysis has been introduced.
Vrotein, a leading extended reality (XR) and virtual reality (VR) solution provider, released ‘TourPutt’, an XR-based putting simulator that combined XR, AI and deep learning technologies with specialized putting training knowhow and data, bringing a new vitality to the golf education and training market.
Having been designed by Choi Jong Hwan Putting Academy, a prominent putting training institution in Korea, TourPutt was launched in November 2020 by integrating Vrotein’s XR technologies, such as image processing and projection mapping.
TourPutt is a putting simulator that supports pattern test mode which enables to diagnose players’ putting inclination, training mode which allows players to train themselves by projecting various visual queuings upon the green, and statistics mode which allows players to identify putting results.
The product is rapidly demonstrating its effectiveness at golf putting education sites since its launch. Being installed at Choi Jong Hwan Putting Academy, it is used for training over 180 golf players, including professional golfers, national golf team members and Pro golf aspirants. A large number of tour winners used TourPutt for putting training. Among others, they include Professional Golfer Jun-seok Lee who won the Korean Open in 2021 and Professional Golfer A-lim Kim, the winner at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2020.
In partnership with TPZ Studio, a leader in private golf studio service, Vrotein installed early this year TourPutt putting rooms at four branches of TPZ Studio. In addition, many other golf academies that train tour professional golfers and amateur golf players are also using this solution. As part of its efforts to expand the user base, Vrotein will open a TourPutt training center in Yongin in November this year.
Going forward, Vrotein will sharpen its competitive edge in technology and market by upgrading its solution based on a variety of data, such as putting patterns of professional golfers who use TourPutt and by continuously reflecting specialized curricula and training know-how of Choi Jong Hwan Putting Academy. Meanwhile, the company is seeking to expand into the global market, including the United States and Japan.
Vrotein intends to increase the development of products that can be used at putting fields where TourPutt is installed and other products for use at various training environments, including lobbies of golf courses, rest zones at indoor golf clubs and homes.
“Our solution helps all golfers to experience optimized practice and training by precisely diagnosing their putting patterns, strengths and weaknesses,” said CEO Chanki Kim. “We will leap forward to a total golf performance management platform that supports golfers to more vividly enjoy and learn golf.”
Established in 2012 as an XR·VR solution provider, Vrotein takes part in the ‘Program for Supporting Joint Overseas Expansion of Digital Content Providers’ of the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, an ICT industry promotion organization in Korea. The program explores the collaboration between providers of metaverse-related technologies and contents such as XR, while supporting their service development and expansion into overseas markets.
