Ideas

How do you intent to get the content?
How does it tell you what you did wrong?
How does it know what to do now?
Tommy

I can see basic implementation of this idea working very simply. If you had a small video camera/player device on a tripod, you could set it up at a specific position to record your shot. Then you could play it back to review what you did. You could do a split-screen presentation that showed your video along side a shot of a pro doing the same swing.

The pro content might have to be fairly limited, but you could start with a fairly standard set of shots (tee shots, long drive, chip, putt) from several angles (back, side, etc.). This would let the user see a pro do basically the same move alongside their own video, and most golfers could see for themselves what the problem was if it was something basic like raising their head, straightening an arm, etc.

I don't golf, but I know from martial arts, snowboarding, and other sports that just seeing a video of myself lets me pick out a lot of things I need to work on. I know what it should look like, so if I can see myself, I can diagnose my own problems to a certain extent. And golfers just love to spend money on anything that promises to help their game, so this should be an easy sell.

i stumbled a similar site about this before and i think a software is available too. I'll be back and try to find this...

seems like it'd be better, more feasible, and more 'viral' to leverage existing devices & technologies to make this happen. couldn't this all happen with a cameraphone/videophone interacting with the golf website that serves as info hub.

that would actually be cool if users could register, and log in in their spare time to watch someone take a shot/swing/whatever. when you log in there could be a list of people playing or about to take a swing, and you can log in to then give feedback right after.

the difference between what I propose (for which I admit I have little idea how to realise) is that most systems now are NOT mobile and NOT interactive.

content would come from buying the gizmo (help from techy people required here), which would have a recording software (help from blablabla...) that would allow lessons with your pro to be recorded.

all and all, this is my first idea post...and it is just that, an idea for something I have wanted for my own use, have not the slightest clue how to implement and figured this was the best place to find "partners" to make it happen.

next step????

build a team?
sell the idea?

will sleep on it...and welcome advice on next step...

Cool idea, I look forward to seeing what the techy people and the blablabla come up with.

I'm not sure if the technology is "there" yet. This would be tough to do with conventional camera phones as they cannot capture video fast enough to make the analysis of a golf swing viable. Not to mention that you would have to use several angles at once to give any useful information. My golf swing looks sweet in 2D, but I have a strange shoulder pull that causes a slight spin (slice) on the ball after I hit it. This would only be visible from behind.

As a design project, some former classmates made a golf simulator that could help you correct your swing - it wasn't simple and required quite a bit of electronics. I will see if I can find the information on it to see if it is something similar to what you were thinking of.

I think if I could "brainstorm" with other golfers I might refine my concept somewhat and from there, I'd know if the idea actually has legs...

in my mind (sorely influenced from years of watching Star Trek) I see the virtual pro like the doctor in Voyager... holographic, all knowing and a little sarcastic...

perhaps this idea is ahead of its technotime and it's back to the driving range for me...

do not give up what about investments?

Well there is usually 4 people in a group - one could easily hold the "camera" that could then be relayed back to the pro.

thanks everybody for all the feedback. I have so many ideas that are likely to be easier to implement, I think I will take a few days to think through a couple of them and see what comes out..

I now have a better idea how far to "work out" my idea before posting it.

tx

;)

mulligandog, I've automatically resubmitted this idea into the 2007-11-28 round of IdeaWarz, which will focus on mobile applications. I believe that this would not have been possible as a non-carrier-backed-app. But it may be possible on the gPhone/Android platform as an independently developed application.

The only practical channel I see for an expert to offer you feedback on your swing is via video captured by the phone and posted automatically online with a request for feedback. Without video capture I don't think this app can take off, as there's no real way to spot mistakes.

Possibly ANDROID mobiles will come equipped with teleconferencing modules (or one will be developed), in which case it is the facilitation of online student-to-pro meetings, and the retaining of a player's data which can become the primary challenge... not "how do we enable video conferencing?"

I'd appreciate a brainstorm on additional features this app could offer. And for any tech-heads wondering what the ANDROID video recorder APIs look like...
http://code.google.c...lbox/apis/media.html

I'm having trouble seeing this working. How far away does the camera need to be placed? Would backround noise be a problem? Things like this could make the device fail to read or give accurate feedback.

Google "Nokia N93 Golf Edition"
http://www.mobiledia.com/news/49478.html

I haven't read up on the N93 in depth to know how similar it is to your idea, but they would certainly compete for the same audience. None-the-less, I love golf and I love cell phones, so I'm giving a good rating to this idea.

PetersonLimitedCo, you could have joked about such a specific product being released, and I'd have thought it funny. Obviously there's demand!

The name "Virtual Pro" is good for any "Know-how" apps...

Wow, I think some serious development would be required. Got any potential investors?

Certainly possible.