THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 5, 1996 TAG: 9602030089
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Tech Track
Gadgets and Gizmos for the next century
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
THIS TIME OF year, Midwestern golf courses are about as warm and playable as ice floes in the Arctic. But that hasn't stopped anybody from the St. Paul, Minn., company Soundadvice for Sports Inc. from peddling what it claims is the nation's first low-cost electronic swing ``doctor.''
Jeff Eliason, Soundadvice vice president of research and development and co-inventor of the diagnostic device, says the creation could shave strokes off any golfer's score.
``The perfect golf swing involves a soft, light grip and a smooth acceleration,'' he said. With Soundadvice, ``if you jerk the club or squeeze too hard, it will beep.''
A slip-on rubbery sleeve, just under 11 inches long and resembling an oversize microphone, fits snugly over a club's grip. The sleeve contains a thin, 10-layer sandwich of mylar, copper, tin and special adhesives that hold 28 sensor pads.
The proprietary design, derived from flexible circuits used in the telecommunications and aerospace industries, acts like a sort of switch. A bad grip or improper movement causes compression of the composite sandwich and embedded sensors, triggering the beeps.
Depending at what point during the swing the beeps occur, golfers can figure out how to adjust their stance, their grip or club position. Two tiny white switches at the sleeve's base can be adjusted for shots with woods or with irons.
Soundadvice works off a lithium battery, which the company says should last at least five years.
The device retails for $79.95, Eliason said, and is, or will be, available in most golf shops or through specialty catalogs. Included in the base price is an instructional video.
Customers can call Soundadvice directly at (800) 515-2307 for more information on the product and how to find it, or to order direct.
The company is planning to trot out more diagnostic gear for other sports, probably by the end of this year. Eliason wasn't saying, however, which sports would be next.
Tennis, anyone? MEMO: Tech Track'' appears every Monday in The Daily Break. Readers with
ideas for future columns are invited to contact staff science and
technology writer James Schultz at (804) 446-2599 or via e-mail at
schultz infi.net
by CNB