Twilight tee times, ugly shorts and summer golf are a distant memory. If you are of diehard status; the frost delays, multiple layers and pocket hand warmers have quickly grown old. When a vast majority of golf courses have closed until spring the avid urban golfer begins to worry…
When will I play golf next? Will my one or two vacations this winter keep my game intact?
There are some great winter golf packages available online, try www.golfzoo.com but flying out every weekend is unfeasible and again you need golf now and often.
99.9% of NYC golfers are aware of Chelsea Piers driving range. It is heated and you can crush balls down a pier on the Hudson River. It is quite aesthetically pleasing. Very enjoyable to ogle over a super yacht on your right and take out a little office frustration with your driver down the left.
Heated driving ranges are a great way to keep sharp during the winter but it is almost 2012 and technology has delivered the next step. Golf simulators have been around for years at golf retail stores, driving ranges and instructional schools but their growing popularity has made them more available to the public.
Golf simulators have ascended to the next level. Cameras, lasers, computer programming and software have revolutionized the concept. Top of the line golf simulators, coming with a luxury car price tag, deliver a unique golfing environment. Play famous championship courses in the comfort of the indoors.
Based on the calibration and quality of current simulators the gameplay and swing results are surprising realistic. Cameras or lasers capture spin, distance and trajectory mirroring your game. Be pleasantly frustrated when the technology reads you did in fact skull that approach through the back of the green. Top simulators even register and offer putting. All the joy of a driving range combined with the delicacy of the short game awaits you.
Manhattan has a few options for golf simulators. Chelsea Piers Golf Club has several simulators priced affordably per hour. Luxury health clubs like Manhattan Athletic Club and condominiums have integrated golf simulators into their amenities as well but come at a price.
The frontrunner and newcomer to golf simulators in NYC is Golf Manhattan. This private room in the back of a day spa is a diamond in the rough of Flatiron. Golf Manhattan is BYOB and encourages you to bring or order in food. The staff is exceptionally helpful, fun and personable.
Do not fear the experience if your grasp on technology is a 28 handicap. A staff member, usually a certified professional, helps operate the machine for you facilitating play between golfers and holes. With multiple flat screen televisions Golf Manhattan is a great place to enjoy a Knicks game this winter over a round of golf.
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