The golf industry is evolving, and the University of Idaho is evolving with it.
On Nov. 3, the University Golf Course will open a new state-of-the-art simulator powered by Trackman. According to Doug Tyler, Director of Golf, the simulator has been in the works for years.
“It’s something that we’ve been working towards for a few years,” Tyler said, “Because it’s our duty to provide an environment for the Professional Golf Management (PGM) students that helps with their game but also helps them learn as golf instructors with the latest technology.”
The simulator, located by the Pro Shop on Nez Perce Drive, will be open to the public as well as PGM students. The fifteen real-life courses available to play include Bay Hill, home to the Palmer Classic; Pinehurst Country Club No. 2, host of many U.S. Opens; and Bethpage Black, repeatedly ranked as America’s most difficult course. Michael Wagner, Assistant Golf Professional and Pro Shop employee, said more courses will eventually be added.
Playing professional courses is not the only thing the new simulator can do. Students in the PGM program will also have access to every statistic the simulator measures and calculates, Wagner said.
“It’s insanely accurate,” Wagner said. “It gets all the statistics of the swing: ball flight, spin ratio, club head, all that. And it’ll tell you the exact yardage you hit it, exactly how the ball flight went, all that good stuff. It’s basically the most accurate one on the market.”
For a casual player, knowing that information is not as important, but according to Tyler, it will help PGM students practice their swing during the winter, when opportunities to play golf are limited. The only winter golf course in the area is in Lewiston, but even they get snow occasionally.
PGM students will also be taught to operate the simulators, which are becoming a staple of the golf industry. Tyler said he hopes installing the simulator will entice more PGM students to attend UI. Simulators are becoming more common, and Tyler said he believes it is important to rise to the same competitive level as other schools with the program.
The new simulator will be the only one in the area outside of Spokane. Tyler said the potential benefits to enrollment outweigh the $53,990 price tag, which is being split between the PGM Program and the Auxiliary Services.
“There are only eighteen universities in the country that offer the PGM program, so there’s a lot of out-of-state interest,” Tyler said. “About fifty, maybe a little over fifty percent of the students are out-of-state, and so by having a state-of-the-art teaching studio, which is what this really is, we hope to entice more students who are looking at the program to pick ours. Enrollment is one of the things that the University Strategic Plan is really focused on, and we think this can really add to that effort.”
In addition, the simulator will be open for public use. For $35 per hour, up to six people will be able to reserve time to play an eighteen-hole game on any of the fifteen simulated courses. A season pass will also be available for $99 per month. The Pro Shop intends to make it easy for golfers to reserve enough time for a full game.
“Right now, we don’t know how long it’ll take for six people to play eighteen holes,” Wagner said. “But when it opens, we’ll be doing some experimenting so that we can tell people making reservations how long they’ll probably need.”
The Trackman Golf Simulator opens on Nov.1.
D. Michael Austin can be reached at [email protected]