Game Changer

Foresight Sports

Local golf tech company takes off

Posted on July 24, 2018

Nearly a decade ago, three golf industry veterans had a vision to revolutionize the industry. Today, Foresight Sports offers what they describe as the most trusted launch monitors and simulators in the world. Their devices have attracted the attention of recreational and professional golfers including Top 10 PGA pro Rickie Fowler.

The San Diego-based company designs and builds performance analysis solutions for golfers to improve their swings and ball striking while also providing an immersive entertainment experience via its golf simulators. The toaster-sized, transportable launch monitors are placed on the ground next to the golfer to provide instant feedback from multiple cameras that measure aspects of the motion of the golf club and ball upon impact.

Versatility is key as the devices can be used to improve a golfer’s swing or to aid the custom fitting process when purchasing new clubs. The launch monitors start at $6,500 and provide a residential or commercial, fully seamless indoor-outdoor experience capable oftransitioning from Foresight Sports’ premier golf simulators to the real green to support a “best of both worlds experience,” says president Scott Werbelow. The line includes the original concept called the GC2, the upgraded and award-winning GCQuad, and the soon-to-be-released GCHawk. Fowler, a former PGA Rookie of the Year and an elite 8-time PGA tour event winner, swears by the technology and has installed a GC Quad powered simulator in his Jupiter, Florida home.

The devices are designed, assembled, and packaged locally. “Vertical integration has been critical to the company’s success,” says Werbelow. He credits the team of 26 engineers from Foresight Sports as the brains behind the revolutionary GC2 and the GCQuad, which totes an improved, 10,000 frames-per-second, quadrascopic, barometric-sensing, integrated infrared light-bearing launch monitor. The engineering team has also created apps for users to further their immediate data analysis while developing new camera-based technology for future products. Later this year, the company plans to release the GCHawk — an overhead, ceiling-mounted launch monitor that allows for an unobtrusive golfing experience. It will also release advanced software for enhanced data tracking and visualization. Both products are “ahead of the rest of the golf industry,” says Foresight Sports director of sales Rick Cuellar.

An impressive 125 PGA players use Foresight products to better their game, according to the company. The products, carried online and in 27 countries, are utilized by golf equipment manufacturers and retailers including Callaway, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ping, TaylorMade, Titleist, and other top brands.

The success of the company is “better than we had ever imagined,” says Werbelow. He says “the sky’s the limit,” and believes the GCHawk will open up new vistas for training simulators in sports such as soccer and baseball. The early vision to improve professional performance, overall golf training, or simply the enjoyment of recreational golf has really taken flight. foresightsports.com   Jacob Aere

Photography courtesy of Foresight Sports