The LPGA and Golfzon teamed up for their second international indoor golf simulator competition, the Golfzon LPGA Skins Challenge. Featuring LPGA champions Sei Young Kim and Chella Choi and American sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda, the Skins Challenge was played in real time on opposite sides of the globe.
Team Korea’s Kim and Choi competed at Golfzon’s ZOIMARU in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, while the US Team’s Korda sisters played at Golfzon’s Popstroke in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. The teams competed for 36 total skins, equating to $50,000, to be donated to the charity of their choice.
Starting September 22, fans can watch all the action on the Golf Channel and LPGA’s YouTube channels.
What the LPGA Players Had to Say About the Golfzon Golf Simulator Match
Overall, South Korea’s Chella Choi had this to say about the event: “Teaming with Sei Young, it was a pleasure to play…I enjoyed playing these games more than solo ones. I was happy to play with the Korda sisters too.”
Her counterpart, Sei Young Kim also was grateful for the opportunity. “While we had so much fun, sponsored by Golfzon, we also raised money for charities, which made our time well spent. I think it’s very meaningful for us to be able to give hope and to entertain a large number of people.”
The Korda sisters were also excited to give back and showed their gratitude. Jessica Korda said “It’s amazing anytime you can make a little bit of a difference for the people that are going through a hard time,” with Nelly echoing the same.
Golfzon’s Unrivaled Golf Simulator Technology
While no golf simulator can replicate playing on a green grass course, Golfzon’s unparalleled technology gave the LPGA players the most realistic golf experience possible, next to playing outside. The hitting mat consists of three different playing surfaces—bunker, rough and fairway—the type of terrain the players encounter on a real course. In addition to these realistic hitting surfaces, the swing plate moves hydraulically around eight directional pivots to match the real-life terrain features, such as downhill, sidehill and uphill.
Furthermore, other simulators only use one type of imaging. Golfzon utilizes three distinct videography and imaging techniques: Drone Flyer, Ground Level Scans, and Google Satellite Data to produce crisp, 1080p HD imagery.
Another unrivaled strength is the accuracy and instantaneous putting, which is one of the biggest shortcomings of other golf simulator brands and one of the biggest concerns for screen golfers. But, with 5 professional tour wins under her belt, Nelly Korda was immediately impressed when playing on a Golfzon simulator for the first time. “I mean we actually, once we started figuring it out our putting, got a lot better towards the end. We made some birdies which were good…We’re getting better, slowly but surely.” With the distance, elevation, and grid that shows the slope, the technology challenges those of all abilities- even professionals with the most pure of putting strokes.
Golfzon’s Gameplay Modes
Golfzon’s advanced proprietary Network Play mode allowed the two teams to play simultaneously, in real-time, on the same hole from tee to green and green to cup. Each team put everything out and conformed to the rules of golf.
‘Battlezone’ is another type of online gameplay that allows players to play at any location with Golfzon simulators. In this gameplay, players can play individually or on a team vs. another individual or a team at a different location. Maximum number of players on a team is four golfers. While this is currently only available in Korea, it will eventually make its way stateside.
Unlike the Network Play that is in real time only, Battlezone allows you to play at different times, and if you are oceans apart at different time zones, you can play at your own schedule on your own time zone. For example, a team plays all 18 holes of their match and the system saves all of their data from the completed round, and the competing team can play “against” them as if in real time at a later time. Or, if a professional plays a round you also can play against them whenever you’d like.
The final type of gameplay in the Golfzon golf indoor simulator is known as the ‘GLF’. This is an acronym for Golfzon Live Festival. This is like a free-for-all tournament and is the mode that’s currently available in the United States. GLF provides real-time rankings and can be played both publicly and privately. It’s used for all of Golfzon’s biggest tournaments with pros.
Golfzon’s research group continues to raise the bar in engineering and software development through various types of fun and interactive golf gameplay. About 50 percent of Golfzon’s employees are Research and Development Engineers, holding more than 250 patents, with another 350+ patents pending.