Golf is a great game, we, the afflicted, love it. Despite the frustration and self reproachment there are moments of elation that cannot be equaled. There is nothing that feels better than a striped long iron, a spinny wedge that frightens the pin, a smashed drive, two birdies in a row to make you forget all the dross we must endure between those fleeting moments of greatness.
Here’s one for you, I think JW and I have found a way to play golf with less frustration, less self loathing and a lot more euphoria! In this article we are going to share with you our discovery. An alternative golf club house in La Cala de Mijas, iGolf.
Facilities
Zen putting green
Practice putting green
4 Trackman golf simulator bays
Bar
Pool Table
Games Machine
Sports TV Screens
Bar food
Craft beer
Mobility impaired access
First impressions of iGolf – Golf Simulators in La Cala
We heard that a new golf venue had opened in La Cala, right next door to Sunshine Golf. With interest piqued, JW and I went in to investigate.
Our first impressions were very good. Eoin and the team have worked hard to totally refit, furnish and decorate the venue to make it look and feel like a sports clubhouse. Walking down the stairs to the subterranean entrance the broad staircase complete with stair lift makes access easy for the mobility impaired and those carrying golf bags.
As you enter the clubhouse the bar is on your right. Nicely lit giving the perfect balance between daylight and sundowner time. The bar is well stocked with a choice of beers and ciders. My favorite is a pilsner style beer named Cannon, a beer brewed by the proprietors of iGolf. It gives a deep strong flavor over laid by the crisp coolness and sparkling texture. A very good pint indeed.
Eoin gave us a hearty handshake and was delighted to take the time to show us around. Very impressive it is too!
Next to the bar are 2 bays, each equipped with the full Trackman suite of launch monitor, screens, projectors etc. Each bay can comfortably manage a 4 ball. The great thing is you can choose from 200 golf courses! The playing surface presents the ball very similarly to a well cut fairway. All you have to do is place your ball directly between the center of the launch monitor and the screen.
Each bay is backed by a bar height barrier cum table complete with bar stools that allow your playing partners to view your progress and offer encouragement! The bar also prevents people from walking into fast moving golf clubs!
In the rear of the room is a putting green, it is quite large with a number of holes laid out that allow you to practice putts of up to 8m. The pace of the green and the way the ball breaks is very realistic, probably running at 9 on the Stimpmeter.
Opposite the first two bays are another two. One doubles as the state of the art Zen putting green. This is an amazing piece of kit as it allows you to recreate the breaks of real greens! For those serious about mastering the flat blade the Zen putting green is an asset.
The center of the room provides comfortable tables and seating for those enjoying the beer, burgers, watching the golf or just chilling in a very cool sports pub!
So impressed were John and I by the facilities and Eoins genuine hospitality that we hatched a plan…
What’s it like to play?
A few days later we, whilst enjoying a cold one in Paddys Bar, our nineteenth hole close to Mijas Golf, we mentioned to the lads our new discovery and touted the idea of playing a challenge match around the Marco Simone Ryder Cup venue. Before the bottom of the glass had been reached 8 of us had formed two teams and the date was set for the following Monday evening!
I arrived a few minutes early in order to set up the golf course on each of the bays, download the Trackman, have a quick warm up and a sneaky beer. Setting up the system is easy, totally menu driven and intuitive. If you get stuck all of the hospitality team are well versed and will help out. We chose the Marco Simone Country Club. We could choose the tee boxes, the wind conditions and how to configure the putting element. We selected the forward tees, a gentle breeze and set up the system so that it could use its algorithms to decide how many putts you took based on the distance from the cup, the break, the speed when compared to its vast database of putts. In my view this is the best option, it keeps the game moving briskly and gives a fair result.
As the guys arrived it was a matter of moments to add their handicaps and names to the system. Four players in one bay, another four players in the other bay. We agreed on a 15 minute warm up session before beginning the match, a few touches on the screen and we switched from the course to the driving range and one by one we all took those first tentative swings.
This was the first time for some of the guys using an indoor monitor. It took a few swings for them to believe that they would not hit anything with the back swing or follow through, and another few swings to get hooked on watching the data for each shot appear on the big screen. It makes you want to be better shot by shot! As the desire to chase the numbers grew the swings got faster, follow throughs had more flourish and suddenly we were all smashing the ball with total abandon!
GAME ON!
First on the tee was Pete Jolly, Using the aiming crosshairs he changed his aim a little to the left and the nearest part of the fairway before dispatching a very satisfactory effort. Next up Garry Goodman steadfastly found the middle, I missed the fairway on the left as normal and Kim Thompson playing from the red tees has no issue in finding the short grass.
The information displayed on the screen tells you how far the shot is to the pin, the elevation, wind speed and direction along with the type of lie and how much power you will lose from a poor lie, displayed as a percentage, the lower the percentage the worse the lie and therefore the more you need to compensate – just as you would when playing from rough.
After a shot has been played the system displays some numbers that describe the shot, the clubhead speed, the ball speed, the side spin, back spin, the distance the ball flew and the distance it ran giving the total distance.
For me when hitting long shots I found it helpful to play according to the number displayed. I was not distracted as I can be on the golf course second guessing myself because of how far it looks, I focused only on the number showing the distance to the pin. I found this to be a great help, I found a lot more shots coming to rest in the center of the green.
Oddly it took me longer to convert to playing to the number with short shots, that is shots of less than 100m where touch and feel are more critical than a bare number. It did not take long for me to adapt and then I found that I could, with a surprising degree of accuracy, hit those little chips and punches to the correct distance just by converting the number into a “swing feel”.
Within a few holes all of us had learned how to play to the numbers, and all of us were scoring well.
After nine holes Garry Goodman and Pete Jolly had recorded astounding scores of 24 and 27 points each using the stableford method! We had each enjoyed a beer or two making it a remarkably good experience so far!
With growing confidence my back nine got off to a flying start, a stiffed iron shot into the 10th gave me a birdie. No match for Garry and Pete however, who with great wisdom were able to extract the best out of their handicaps and continue amassing points at a dizzying rate. Their growing confidence helped then accrue 47 points and 45 points respectively!
The feedback form our group was 100% positive, so much so in fact that iGolf has become a regular fixture for us. Each of them arrived at similar conclusions, it is fun, bad shots do not matter, you play with ever increasing levels of confidence, it is fast, it is perfect social golf, the bar and restaurant make a good clubhouse.
What Makes iGolf So Enjoyable
Shots that find rough always have a good lie
Bunker shots are easy
Tree branches never impede your swing
You never get a side hill or downhill lie
You never get a mud ball
You never lose a ball
A fourball can play 18 holes in less than 4 hours
It is just as satisfying as real golf
You never get stuck behind a slow group
The beer buggy is 4m away at all times
Its family friendly – get the family to try golf in a great fun environment
There is no trepidation!
18 Holes at any course in the world will cost around 12 euros!
Does a Golf Simulator Help Improve Your Golf?
Yes! Clearly learning how far you hit each club is a big positive step for all of us. Learning to hit a prescribed distance with your wedge play will save many shots each round. Using the metrics of trackman to improve your swing has been the foundation of modern teaching for many years now. There is no doubt that the mechanics of your game will improve as a result of paying at iGolf.
For me the benefits were different. It felt as though I was playing golf with all of the fear removed. There are no consequences to a bad shot, no anger, no frustration. I found that I was able to focus purely on the shot I was about to play, it gave me a sky high level of confidence. I was able to stand in front of the screen and hit the ball with total commitment. I felt I was able to swing the club with the carefree joy that you see when you watch the juniors practicing! It has given me a feeling of freedom and helped me rediscover the pleasure of the game.
On the golf course this translated into reduced anxiety over previously troublesome shots. Better ball striking, higher confidence and far less disappointment when it does not go my way. It has helped me to stay in the present and concentrate on each shot. My pleasure now comes from hitting as many good shots as possible rather than solely focussing on my score. Lets face it, if we only derive pleasure in golf from building a good score, then we are going to be disappointed most of the time!
In fact, after a terrible slump in form, my experience at iGolf has put me back on track. There is no doubt that these rounds at iGolf were the catalyst that helped me get my handicap down to decent levels again!
Summary
iGolf is a tremendous facility. If you get the chance, come and try it out for yourself. The relaxed atmosphere of the bar and the excellence of the facilities will make it a great experience for you.
When you play at iGolf and you too start to feel the freedom, you may well get a glimpse of how good a golfer you could be, you will love it!
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