Trackman
LEADERSHIP
Kevin Noble, U.S. VP of Operations
Trackman is among the most noteworthy recent technological advances in golf, providing the ability to analyze a ball’s flight via optically enhanced radar tracking. The system returns the most accurate impact conditions in the industry, measuring a multitude of putting and full swing data points, including clubhead speed, launch angle, face angle and smash factor.
Based in Denmark, TrackMan A/S was established in 2003 and today almost 87,000 shots an hour are tracked. More than 700 tour pros, including Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Jason Day, travel with a TrackMan unit. The company owns an extensive patent portfolio and, in addition to the U.S., has representatives and offices in Canada, Australia, Finland, United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, Netherlands, Dubai, Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong.
Tour players, teaching pros, club fitters, simulator facilities, and avid amateurs are among TrackMan’s core consumers. Licensing the technology, such as in for use in PGA Tour telecasts, is another significant vertical for the company, while equipment manufacturers often rely on the product for club testing purposes.
TrackMan’s launch monitor, the TrackMan 4, is able to track putts in addition to full shots. Data points for the putted ball include: Launch Direction, Ball Speed, Speed Drop, Roll Speed, Skid Distance, Roll Percentage, Effective Stimp, Side, Total Distance, and Break. Club data include Club Speed, Backswing Time, Forward Swing Time, Tempo, Stroke Length and Dynamic Lie.
‘’Every time we create a new product, we introduce something that’s both radically innovative and strikingly meaningful at the same time,” the company says. “With the TrackMan 4, it’s Dual Radar Technology. For the first time ever in golf, two radar systems within one TrackMan unit track all the critical movements in a golf swing. One tracks the golf club, the other one tracks the ball. This simple, yet groundbreaking and innovative configuration enables the TrackMan 4 to capture data in its purest and most complete form.”
TrackMan’s products are used outside of the world of golf as well; in particular in baseball where its technology is installed in all MLB stadiums as the exclusive data provider for MLBAM (MLB Advanced Media), but also football, soccer and tennis.
The radar technology used in Trackman was initially used to track missiles and bullets. It was adapted for golf by Dr. Klaus Eldrup-Jorgensen and a radar engineer named Fredrik Tuxen. It took several years to develop the product, but once introduced took the industry by storm. After making pitches to TaylorMade, Callaway, Nike, Mizuno and PING on his first sales trip, Jorgensen received five offers on his flight back to Denmark.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
It’s difficult to overstate just how industry changing Trackman’s technology has been in the world of golf since the business started with a single question: could a golf ball be tracked? The company’s findings have single handedly transformed understanding of the so-called “ball flight laws” and what professionals are really doing with the golf club.
Forgetting about TrackMan’s place in the simulator/launch monitor arena, consider the overwhelming import for professional golfers, instructors, equipment companies, golf media and facilities. The product in many respects has changed the way technology is used in the golf industry – from how pros and amateurs practice and take lessons to equipment fittings and even how the game is watched on television.
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