One of the reasons why it takes me longer to complete a round in my golf club is that I have to look for my golf ball many times. Sometimes I even have to admit that I lost my golf ball in the rough. This why I was happy to discover the crowdfunding project of NEVER LOST golf ball. Technology-wise it reminds me little bit Nike Golf‘s golf swing analyzer.
The NeverLost golf ball looks, weighs, and behaves like a regular golf ball (in line with USGA and R&A regulations), but has an intelligent core built in that communicates with any smartphone (Android, iOS). The core is a Bluetooth low energy transmitter (battery can work for a year). It seems to be more useful than Visiball lenses.
This is why I mentioned Nike Golf’s golf swing analyzer, although it is using sensors instead of Bluetooth transmitter. The intelligent core communicates with the „Chip-ing FINDER“ mobile application (see picture below). The signal in the mobile app will tell you how close you are to your golf ball. Golf balls can be tracked and found up to a distance of 150 yards.
A set of NeverLost golf balls (starting at $35) will be available for pre-orders on Indiegogo until November 2, 2015.
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My questions about Never Lost golf ball are:
- What kind of golf ball do they use? (2 or 3 piece balls?, brand?)
- Wouldn’t be wise cooperate with golf ball manufacturers?
- How do you solve that the Bluetooth transmitter will not be at expense of other components of the golf ball?
- Will they charge for downloading their app (I hope not)?
- What are the branding options for advertisers?
- Could this be a future feature of Game Golf?