When every shot matters
Shedding light on how and why the elite of golf use Trackman’s Performance Center to enhance their game … one stroke at a time
In elite golf, one shot can change everything.
It can mean the difference between missing the cut on Fridays or potentially winning big sums on Sundays.
So it’s only natural for Tour Golfers to utilize anything that might give them an advantage. Using the Trackman 4’s Performance Center on the driving range provides that portable edge.
With Performance Center, every range ball is an opportunity to improve. Every stroke is a chance to optimize. Every shot matters.
As part of the inaugural Pro Week, Trackman showcases the reasons why Performance Center is rapidly becoming a key support tool embraced by top-tier players and coaches.
Meaningful reps
Trackman Chief Technology Officer Fredrik Tuxen reveals that it’s no coincidence that Performance Center has evolved into a popular tool for the golfing elite.
In fact, its development comes at the behest of the Tour Players themselves.
“When you're on the range, the shots don’t count as much — you can sometimes get into this routine of just banging balls out there,” said Tuxen.
“But you really need to get the most out of your practice. What you're trying to do as a Tour Player is to play great in tournaments and doing so under pressure.”
Part of replicating that, contends Tuxen, is being able to bring as much of the in-tournament scenario to the driving range as possible.
Strokes gained, success claimed
Just as Tour Players compete with one another in tournaments, Performance Center allows players to compare individual shots with their peers on the driving range.
Whether shooting a 7-iron at a back left pin or a pitching wedge at a front pin positioned just beyond a bunker, every shot is compared to the very same shot made by fellow pros.
The pro can then see ‘Strokes Gained’ — the data-driven concept developed by Mark Brodie — in that comparison to measure up with peers and ascertain whether they are ahead of the pack or behind the curve.
Tuxen maintains that Performance Center provides pros with a more modern and analytical way of uncovering positions of strength and weakness.
“If you hit a great shot, maybe you gained 0.1 strokes over the field by hitting that simple shot. You can see whether you are improving in areas that you should. And that you are perhaps losing out in areas that you hadn’t anticipated.”
Fredrik Tuxen
CTO - Trackman
So how do pros use it?
There are many ways that Performance Center is utilized by pros, but perhaps the most important occurs just ahead of tournament rounds — when players receive pin sheets that reveal the event’s pin locations.
This lets players zone in on the pin locations they’ll face in forthcoming rounds and figure out how to best approach challenging pins.
“When you practice using Performance Center, you get help answering questions you might have when you're out on the course. Where should I aim? How should I play this specific hole?” said Trackman business developer, Nicolaj Hermansen.
“Then you can go and see your results in the summary. The summary is nice because it's breaks everything down into strokes gained so you can see exactly how you performed compared to the rest of the pack.”
Precision play, the pro way
James Martin, a Trackman sales representative and an early advocate of the Performance Center, contends that it provides players with tasks that enhance their problem-solving skills.
On ranges, players can become so absorbed in the technical element of practice that they remove the skill of being able to get the ball towards an intended target.
Martin argues that Performance Center counters that with a new dynamic on how to practice — a sentiment echoed by pro golfer and three-time DP World Tour event winner, Chris Wood.
“Performance Center brings a different element to how I practice on the range. In the past, I would often hit balls without a clear intention or outcome that I was trying to achieve,” said Wood.
“Performance Center allows me to create the right challenge point for my practice session and allows me to be immersed in the task in front of me”
Chris Wood
Bridging the gap
From a coaching perspective, Performance Center also adds a lot of value.
According to Hugh Marr, an European PGA Tour coach who has worked with some of the top players in the game, one of the great coaching challenges is translating what you do on the driving range to the course.
Marr underscored that players only get one opportunity in tournaments and must contend with an infinite number of variables.
So, anything that goes towards bridging the gap between the range and course can have a significant impact.
“It's great for training players from a strategic perspective, getting them to understand where to aim for certain shots to certain flags”
Hugh Marr
Advancing the game
So when top players and coaches take to the driving range, there’s more at stake than a few balls hit and some work done on swing mechanics.
Every stroke provides an opportunity to gain an advantage when it really matters.
With Performance Center, Trackman continues to use state-of-the-art technology and collaborate with the sport’s top actors to move the needle in terms of elevating golf.
“Performance Center is the next natural step in ensuring that we consolidate our leading position in relation to effectively using technology in golf,” concluded Tuxen.
“We always want to have a product that satisfies the most sophisticated players and coaches in the game.”
The reimagined Performance Center in Trackman Golf Pro changes the way players and coaches work on situational shot execution. Featuring three test formats, Performance Center is a versatile, powerful tool for evaluating and elevating shotmaking skills.
Download the Trackman Golf Pro app
Please note:
You need to connect to a wireless Trackman unit to use this app. For full swing data, you can use the Trackman 3e and Trackman 4. For putting data, a Trackman 4 is required.
Finally, some features in the app require a software subscription